Soar Aviation training takes off using light sports planes

Neel Khokhani sees a big opportunity in the global shortage of pilots and has used novel methods to tap it.

Soar Aviation chief executive Neel Khokhani.

Neel Khokhani sees a big opportunity in the global shortage of pilots and has used novel methods to tap it.

The Mumbai-born entrepreneur, who struck a partnership with Melbourne’s Box Hill Institute last year to train pilots, was working at a flying school when he began questioning the practice of training pilots in planes with up to eight seats, when European light sport aircraft were that much cheaper.

Deciding to establish his own business, he sold vouchers for trial flights over the Scoopon website to raise funds. Within 22 hours he had to stop offering the deal because he had sold so many vouchers.

“These days you call it boostrapping or crowd-funding, same terms, that’s how I bought my first plane,” the Soar Aviation chief executive says.

Mr Khokhani, who came toAustralia at the age of 16 to study aviation, now owns several aircraft.

He thinks the global need for pilots means the training sector here is ripe for export.

“It just gives Australia huge opportunity as an export commodity, whether we take that in education or take that in pilot training, it’s just a huge opportunity for all of us,” he says.

Despite the gloom around the outlook for the general aviation sector, which has included the closure of flight schools, the 27-year-old says his firm has done “remarkably well” since it was established.

Earlier this year, Box Hill Institute and Soar Aviation Flight Training signed a deal with Katherine Aviation and AAA in the Northern Territory that will create an employment pathway.

The fleet includes the Foxbat A22LS, Vixxen A32, Piper PA-44 Seminole, Beechcraft Duchess and Aquila A210.