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End of a
Journey
but the Beginning of
Another
HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Thani Abdullah Al-Thani
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HH Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Thani Bin Abdullah Al-Thani is a member of the Ruling Family of
Qatar. Having researched a number of flying institutes Mohammed
decided to join WillowAir
Flying School because of their relaxed friendly attitude, the
ability to specialise in JAR as well as FAA Training and their
‘track record’ with the FAA. He joined WillowAir
in April 2005 and, with a lot of training, dedication and personal
sacrifice, has achieved the necessary qualifications. Mohammed now
possesses JAR, FAA, Jordanian and Qatari Licences and is booked for
an Airbus Type Rating program in London. Mohammed will achieve all
of this in around 1 year - not bad!!
All our thoughts
go with Mohammed, someone who has become a very close friend of mine
(as well as his family) and the many friends he has made at
WillowAir.
Part of our own
family – We all wish you well for the future.
Steve Papi CEO
WillowAir
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Training
from a Cessna 152 |
on to a
Warrior |
then to
Seneca Multi Engine |
History of HH
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Thani Bin Abdullah Al-Thani
Mohammed has
achieved his greatest goal – from the age of 4 he has been
fascinated by aircraft and has always wanted to be able to fly. His
father is a very successful businessman (with company’s
world-wide) and hopes that Mohammed would join him to
help support his father and the business. Mohammed has shown great
determination in achieving his goal although it was seen as unlikely
for someone from the Royal Family to become a ‘civil service
worker’.
After completing
High School, and with business studies in mind, Mohammed was sent to
Cambridge, England to do a course in English Language. He went on to
Manchester for more advanced study in the English Language then to
the London Business School for a Foundation Degree (all a must for
any foreign student in the UK). Having now a command of the English
Language Mohammed's father sent
him to the University of Newcastle to acquire a
degree in Economics and Finance but his love of flying got
the better of him and he quit after one month and enrolled at Oxford
Aviation to study technical aspects of aviation ground school.
Mohammed stayed
with Oxford Aviation for 5 months but decided to go to ‘the best
university in the UK’ (Mohammed's words) City University.
There he was to do a degree in Air Transport Operations. After
successfully completing the first semester he decided to put his
degree on hold as his passion was really for ‘Flying’.
Mohammed went
home to Qatar for 1 week to look closely at Aviation Schools and
Universities, he could have enrolled anywhere but decided to start
training at
WillowAir
straight away. Mohammed needed an institute that not only catered for
the European Licence but one that could train for the FAA Licence.
Welcome to
WillowAir. The tight programme was scheduled for Mohammed
and he never looked back.
It is quite
normal for the Royal Families to go to Europe or America for the
summer vacation but Mohammed sacrificed his family life to fully
commit himself to his training and saw very little of his family and
cousins during this period.
WillowAir is based at London Southend
Airport so Mohammed moved temporarily to the Southend area to be
close to his studies. Mohammed passed all his exams with excellent
results and his ability and competency were commented upon by his
Examiners and good remarks were made about his training institute.
After getting
some experience with Qatar Airways Mohammed has the intention to
further his studies by going for the MSc in Air Transport Management
from City University. He intends doing this as a part time degree as
his flying comes first and he will be involved helping his father
with his business.
During these 9
months Mohammed has achieved his lifetime goal of becoming a
Commercial pilot with four licences under his belt and over 250
hours flying (not to mention many hundreds of hours ground tuition).
All of the team involved with Mohammed's training, including Steve
Papi, George Capon (FAA/JAA Instructor and Airbus 340 Pilot),
Arwyn Jones (747 Training Captain), Ian Harding (Head Of
Training), Mike, Dan, Colin and Stewart, wish Mohammed all the very
best for his chosen career and good luck for the future.
I personally
would like to thank HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Thani Bin Abdullah
Al-Thani for the sheer commitment he has shown over the 9 month
period (April 2005 - January 2006) and for making us proud of his achievements.
Good luck.
email address for
HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani:
qataripilot@hotmail.com
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Flight Planning with Mike & Mo |
Mohammed in Airways looking at
his Charts |
Arriving
Runway 14 Le-Touquet, France |
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After Flight Testing at
Daytona, USA |
We're
here in Le Touquet, France |

At Southend (EGMC)
after Flight to Le-Touquet, France
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2007
To those that became friends of 'Mo'
during his training and to those that are wondering how he has
progressed I think the pictures below recently sent by
HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Thani Bin Abdullah
Al-Thani tell the story.
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