Barely an adult, and already capable of maneuvering the largest airliners. Guarik Landry, 18, became the youngest employable airline pilot in Europe this Thursday. Trained at the Aérofutur school in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), he has just obtained his commercial pilot’s license, reports La Semaine du Roussillon.
Aviation has fascinated him since childhood. As a child, he admired from home the takeoffs and landings of planes at Pôle Caraibes, the Pointe-à-Pitre airport, reports a local newspaper. Growing up, the Guadeloupean didn’t give up and spent most of his free time on Flight Simulator. At 17, he obtained his private pilot’s license, but he still needed 150 hours of flight time to officially become a professional pilot.
Training completed in one year
Guarik, who is also a jazz pianist, is one of those who, while preparing for the baccalaureate, simultaneously devotes time and energy to their passion. At 17 and a half years old, he obtained his baccalaureate. His obvious aptitude saved him two traditional years of preparatory class for the national civil aviation school. Driven by unwavering determination, the young prodigy joined the Aérofutur school in Perpignan, which he completed in one year (instead of the usual two years).
Guarik’s family has always been his biggest support, even when it was necessary to pay a significant sum of 100,000 euros to finance his training in Perpignan. They were present to see him pass his flight test on September 14, after a trip between Perpignan and Béziers during which examiners assessed his skills in the event of an engine failure, as well as his skill during stalls and high-speed turns. inclination. This is how Guarik obtained his commercial pilot’s license.
From now on, its objective is to integrate airline or business aviation, with a first attempt planned in Guadeloupe. When he looks to the future, Guarik already sees himself at the controls of an A350. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before he becomes one of the youngest long-haul pilots in history.