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While most teens are out enjoying the summer sunshine, 17-year-old Anshul Ahuja is living and breathing the world of aviation at CFB Comox, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.
A cadet at 513 Hornet Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, Ahuja was awarded a prestigious Glider Pilot Scholarship this summer — a fully sponsored chance to obtain his pilot license. The past three years have been an adventure for Ahuja since moving from India.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would come this far,” he said. “The cadet program has taught me to adapt quickly, and to persevere through challenges.”
He spoke of the first time he applied for the Glider Pilot Scholarship but didn’t make the selection. Not one to stop believing, he tried again the next year. Now, he sits with excitement inside the aircraft and shares the words handwritten inside his baseball cap — don’t stop believing.
“That was the song I sang in the air during my first solo flight,” he said. “Being up in the air gives you a new perspective on things.”
The Glider Pilot Scholarship is an intensive seven-week training program that takes a select group of air cadets, 16 and older, and provides them with classroom instruction and in-the-air training that allows them to earn their Glider Pilot Wings. Successful candidates graduate with their Transport Canada Glider Pilot License.
There are many summer training courses attended by approximately 20,000 Sea, Army and Air Cadets across Canada this summer.
Ahuja is close to getting his glider pilot license, but he already has his eyes set on what’s next – the Power Pilot Scholarship, the aircraft maintenance engineering program at the BCIT Aerospace, and the aerospace engineering program at Carlton University.
The Cadet Program is for youth 12-18 years of age. The aim of the Cadet Program is to install in youth the attributes of leadership, citizenship, physical fitness, and an interest in the air, land, and sea activities of the Canadian Armed Forces.
