Meet Ayesha Aziz, India's youngest pilot who secured license at 16!

May 10: Ayesha Aziz was all of 16 when she got licensed as a pilot. The girl, who dreamt of flying planes when she grew up, got her wish fulfilled and how! At 20, the young achiever feels proud to have become the country's youngest pilot!

Ayesha always wanted to do something challenging and unconventional. "More than being India's youngest pilot, I am happy for having accomplished my childhood goal," said Ayesha, as reported by The New Indian Express.

A resident of Mumbai, Ayesha's love for flying took root whenever she visited her native place, Kashmir. The twice-a-year trips to the valley made Ayesha more determined to become a pilot when she grew up.

"While I would enjoy take-off and landing of the plane, my brother would be scared and always sleep during the flight," chimed Ayesha.

The lucky girl also got the chance to visit NASA and meet John McBride. But her favourite moment was when she met her "second greatest inspiration" - astronaut Sunita Williams.

"I met her when she came to Worli in 2013 or 2014. I shared my experiences with her. I told her about the activities I participated in NASA like scuba diving, moon walk and bunny walk which an astronaut should know," she said.

Ayesha joined a flying school after she passed high school. She took ground lessons and passed five viva sessions. And as soon as she turned 16, she was awarded her student pilot license in November 2013. However, due to financial constraints, her training in commercial flying got delayed.

She currently pilots single engine Cessna 152 and Cessna172.

At the Bombay Flying Club, Ayesha is one of the only 4 girls studying B.Sc. third year in Aviation. But this doesn't pull her down and once she completes 80 hours of the total 200 hours of flying, Ayesha will finally gain her commercial pilot licence.

Apart from flying, Ayesha has done several photo shoots for a magazine and even done an ad commercial for Whisper.

Women like Ayesha Aziz and Saara Hameed Ahmed (India's first Muslim woman pilot) are showing what it is to chase their dreams with ardent fervour and not bow down to the pressures that usually force women to abandon theirs.

Ayesha, you are an inspiration to girls everywhere. May you soar to new heights in life!