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Air Services Limited Flight School- pioneering local aviation
By Jarryl Bryan
Air Services Limited Flight Training School (ASLFTS), which happens to be Guyana’s only flight
Administrator of ASLFTS Olivia Rodriguez
training school and the only English speaking one in South America, has through the years been a pioneer in aviation, supplying aspiring pilots with exemplar training, without having to leave Guyana’s shores.
ASLFTS, located at Ogle, was established in 2003 in order to supply Air Services Limited with professionally trained pilots to crew its expanding fleet. The school is fully approved by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) from which it received an award in March, 2013 for the school’s contribution to the development of aviation in Guyana.
Over the years, some of the school’s graduants have started new aviation companies at Ogle. One prolific graduant is the Chief Pilot for the Guyana Defence Force, while another has purchased his own aircraft and is now operating privately. Other graduants, who hail from Guyana’s hinterland, are now providing critical air service to their communities across the hinterland.
The school is staffed by highly qualified flight instructors with thousands of hours of instruction time. The Chief Flight Instructor of the school is Capt. Andrew Ebanks. He is a Jamaican citizen who worked with Skylan Airways in Jamaica and Dean International Flight School in the United States prior to joining ASLFTS. His qualifications include instructor licences for both the United States and Jamaica.
And the force behind the day to day administrative details of the School is none other than 18 year- old Olivia Rodriguez, ASLFTS’s administrative officer.
Rodriguez, a former student of Ketley Primary, first did her school proud when she
Chief Instructors Capt. Ebanks & instructor Capt. Kinch
became the first person to gain admittance to Queen’s College in over a decade. She was to gain even further praise when she graduated from Queen’s College with 11 grade ones, including 8 distinctions in 2012, placing among the country’s top 50. She has been with ASL for a little under two years.
According to the modest flight school official, her rise to managing the flight school took her by surprise. She said that her expectation was to gain a supervisory position within three to five years, not manage the entire school just three months into her stint.
“However I accepted the challenge and I’m doing fairly well so far.”
The administrator is currently pursuing a Degree in Business Management with the Association of Business Executives (ABE), a UK based body.
ASL, noted for its visionary policies concerning gender equality, is one of the foremost organizations with regards to women being promoted into administrative positions.
Rodriguez also had a few words of encouragement for other women who were looking to make a name for themselves in male dominated career fields.
Students at work in ASLFTS
“It will not be a walk in the park. It is far from that, but never let anyone make you feel inferior and stop you from achieving your goals. You may have to work twice as hard as men but just do it! Always get back up when you fall down because one day when you’re living your dream you will be happy you never gave up.”
The private pilot course is scheduled to start on April 13. In order to meet the requirements, aspirants have to have finished secondary school, as well as having an adequate knowledge of mathematics.
It is also necessary for aspirants to show evidence of their financial ability to cover the training costs, as well as passing a medical examination done by doctors appointed by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
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