Teen becomes UK’s youngest qualified commercial pilot after mum sold her home to fund his dream
- Seth Van Beek has inked his name in the history book as UK’s youngest qualified commercial pilot
- The 18-year-old successfully completed a GHC634,000 (£85,000) flight school course in Greece after his mother sold her three-bedroom home to fund his dream
- Seth Van Beek received his licence from the European Aviation Safety Agency
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At eight years old, Seth Van Beek had the dream of becoming a pilot and through relentless hard work, he has inked his name in the history book as UK’s youngest qualified commercial pilot.
Seth Van Beek received his licence to fly passenger airlines after successfully completing an intensive £85,000 flight school course in Greece.
Metro UK reports that after 18 months of training and 150 hours in the air, he passed with flying colours.
Seth Van Beek owes his success to his mum Frances, a 42-year-old Zimbabwean native, who had unshakable faith in her son, sold the family's home to fund her son's dream.
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Frances downsized her three-bedroom Milton Keynes home for a flat to pay for her son’s course.
The teenager, who was top of his class reveals that he wanted to succeed at all costs to make his mum proud.
The young prodigy believes that he is fortunate to have made it in his dream career because of his mother.
''None of this would have been possible without her, I love her to pieces,'' Seth Van Beek said.
His mother, who didn’t have the opportunity to receive proper education said she has been overwhelmed by the success story and accomplishment of her son.
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''For years I have told him that as long as he has faith and believes in himself, he will be able to achieve anything he sets his mind to. To think he’s the youngest licensed commercial pilot in the UK it blows me away.''
At 17, he began attending prestigious Mediterranean flight academy Egnatia Aviation Training College.
Seth, was one of 14 students, who opted to learn in Greece so he could break the world record.
He practiced flying at Kavala International Airport every three months, taking to the skies five-times-a-week during these periods and spending 828 hours studying learning theory and averaged an exam score of 90.6%.
In September 2019, he graduated top of his class and received his licence from the European Aviation Safety Agency a month later at age 18, beating a record previously held by Luke Elsworth who passed out aged 19.
In other stories, YEN.com.gh previously reported that eight-division world champion and Senator, Manny Pacquiao, has visited victims of Kidapawan earthquake in the Philippines to hand-out packages which included food, water and other essential relief items.
Nearly 300 families were displaced and evacuated to centers following a series of powerful earthquakes in October 2019.
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Source: YEN.com.gh