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An aircraft is an engineering marvel that usually takes several years and collective experience and expertise to build.
But Mr Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan, a resident of Alappuzha in Kerala, has stunned the world by building an aircraft on his own and flying it in 18 months.
The mechanical engineer has been taking his family in the four-seater on holidays across the United Kingdom and Europe.
The Malayalee, who lives in London, finished building the aircraft model Sling TSI last November. He named it G-Diya after his younger daughter Diya.
The son of former Kerala legislator A.V. Thamarakshan told Asianet News that he was inspired to build his own aircraft while being cooped up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I used to rent small two-seater aircraft for trips after getting my pilot licence in 2018," said Mr Ashok.
"But since we had our two daughters, I required a four-seater aircraft. They are rare and even if I could get one, they were very old."
The difficulty in finding a four-seater aircraft got Mr Ashok researching and learning about home-built aircraft.
The 38-year-old found out that Johannesburg-based company Sling Aircraft was launching a new aircraft, Sling TSI, and visited its factory in 2018. He later ordered a kit to build his own plane and sourced for materials and equipment from various countries.
"I haven't really studied aircraft manufacturing," Mr Ashok told Asianet in an interview.
"The aircraft is usually obtained in the form of a kit and can be assembled by amateur manufacturers.
"Those doing it for the first time need to do a lot of research before building the aircraft.
"There are resources available on YouTube and you'd need to find out more information while developing the aircraft."
Mr Ashok began building the aircraft in May 2019 and finished it in November last year.
"I've been captivated by aeroplanes since young. After I moved to the UK, I developed a genuine interest in purchasing an aircraft," he said
The engineer from Kerala moved to the UK in 2006 for his masters degree after completing BTech from Palakkad Engineering College.
After obtaining a degree in automobile engineering from the UK, he went on to work for Honda before switching to his current job at Ford Motor Company.
"I obtained my pilot licence and began looking for an aircraft. Then I realised it would cost me about Rs5-6 crore ($867,000-$1 million)," he said.
"I bought the avionics equipment in the US, the engine in Austria and the parts for my plane in South Africa. In Essex, I established a workshop and began working in April 2020."
He made test flights over three months before getting a licence from the British Civil Aviation Authority.
Mr Ashok took his first flight with his family in February this year.
The family has travelled to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic on the aircraft.
His wife Abhilasha said they saved everything they earned to support her husband's dream.
The family spent about Rs1.4 crore to acquire the equipment for the aircraft.
"It's much more exciting than getting a new gadget," Mr Ashok told The Sun.
"We started saving money during the first lockdown because we had always wanted our own plane. And since we had been saving a lot, we decided to give it a go."
Indo-Asian News Service
