FUTURE FACES By Jaasmin Foote
HAI Scholarship Recipient Nic Tillim Student aspires to use piloting skills to help wildlife conservation.
N
IC TILLIM HAS KNOWN FLYING helicopters would be his life’s mission since his father intro-
duced him to aviation at the age of three. Nic’s dad works for a prominent family in
Johannesburg, South Africa, that operates a private fleet of aircraft through its aviation business Fireblade Aviation. The company conducts a variety of missions, including game conservation, charter, and tour flights. Most of his father’s missions didn’t per- mit Nic to ride along when he was growing up, but Nic relished the work photos his father would show him when he returned home. Nic was certain that, one day, he’d follow in his dad’s footsteps and pursue a career in aviation. In March 2018, a year after graduating
high school, Nic started flight training at Henley Air in Germiston, South Africa. He received his private pilot license (PPL) in November of that year, gaining 50 flight hours. “Achieving my PPL and 50 flight hours
was one of the greatest moments of my life,” Nic recalls. “Firstly, because it meant achieving the goal I had set for myself in my teenage years, and sec- ondly, because I was fortunate enough to be able to do the training.”
“Achieving my private pilot license and 50 flight hours was one of the greatest moments of my life.”
Nic credits his success to setting both short- and long-term goals, which helped keep him on track. “Having short-term goals during my training was, and
still is, very important,” Nic says. “This is a career that takes a long time to make real progress in, so short-term goals are the stepping-stones that keep me focused and moving forward. At the same time, I always keep the end in mind.”
Creating goals was also essential for success because flight schools in South Africa require students to be extremely independent. Students are given 18 months to complete their PPL, which includes eight exams, and courses aren’t conducted in a classroom. Instead, students are responsible for teaching them- selves their curriculums at home and scheduling flight hours with their instructors. Nic had a difficult time adjusting to this arrangement because he wasn’t a straight-A student in high school and was used to receiv- ing extra tutoring. “You can’t simply ask your professor a question about the reading—you must conduct research on your own, which can take time,” Nic says. “A lot of people struggle in South Africa with the learning environment. A full ground school for all the subjects and extra tutors can cost $2,500. If you can’t afford that, you have to teach yourself. I sat in my bedroom for two years studying.”
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