Meet the 10-year-old aspiring pilot for whom the sky’s not the limit

Meet the 10-year-old aspiring pilot for whom the sky’s not the limit

Sarvysswharan Yogeswaran is passionate about aviation and is on his way towards achieving his dream of commandeering his own aircraft.

Sarvysswharan Yogeswaran has always loved aviation and is determined to fly his own plane one day. (Yogeswaran Tamil Selvam pic)
KUALA LUMPUR:
Sarvysswharran Yogeswaran is determined to become a pilot one day, and is actively taking his love for aviation to the next level.

On March 11, the 10-year-old attempted – and broke – the Guinness World Record for most airlines identified by their plane tailfins in a minute. He trumped the previous accomplishment of 57 by naming some 86 airlines.

In preparing for this achievement, Sarvysswharran did not memorise the name of every airline in the world. Rather, “I read a lot about aircraft and have many airplane models, which helped me to remember the airline simply by the logo”.

The Year Four pupil has a lot to be proud of. He is a member of Kelab Remaja Udara Malaysia, an extracurricular club and platform on science, engineering, mathematics, entrepreneurship, arts and design for students.

He was also appointed as brand ambassador for SIMFLIGHTKL, a flight simulator for seasoned flyers and newbies located at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor; and has received sponsorship to be trained under the Young Aviator Academy’s Young Pilot Programme.

The 10-year-old has been on flight simulators and has even sat in a fighter aircraft. (Yogeswaran Tamil Selvam pic)

On April 26, Sarvysswharran was invited by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia as a special guest to chat and interview its chief executive officer and director of operations.

“I was asked in conjunction with World Pilots Day, and it was an incredible opportunity I will never forget,” he shared.

And last Thursday, Sarvysswharan was named AirAsia’s young ambassador and met Capital A’s group CEO Tony Fernandes, who congratulated him on his latest achievement.

Not just flights of fancy

The lad’s love for aviation began at a young age from watching his aircraft-engineer father, Yogeswaran Tamil Selvam, at work.

“Before the pandemic I even used to follow my father on flight simulators, which really piqued my interest in aviation,” he told FMT.

Growing up, Sarvysswharan was always intrigued by aircraft. “I used to watch airplane movies, research aircraft online and look at the images, and I also collected models.”

Sarvysswharan enjoys playing aircraft-related video games, which he says has helped him gain further aviation knowledge. (Yogeswaran Tamil Selvam pic)

The Guinness record isn’t the first one Sarvysswharan has broken. Just last year, he smashed the Kids World Record, an online platform based in Canada that awards young’uns for their outstanding achievements, by naming 213 different types of aircraft in just six minutes.

“I used to watch talent programmes like ‘Little Big Shots’, ‘Guinness World Records’ and ‘Malaysia Book of Records’ on YouTube, and that inspired me to work on my own personal record,” he shared.

And that’s not all. Apart from aviation, Sarvysswharan also bagged the Kids World Record for naming 200 dinosaurs in two minutes and 36 seconds, as well as the Guinness World Record for “fastest time taken to stack 20 Lego bricks” – 28 seconds, beating the previous record of 45.

Last December, he broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to pack a school bag; and just this March achieved another Kids World Record for reciting 200 countries in one minute and 54 seconds.

Furthermore, the boy is a skilled chess player who represented Malaysia in the Virtual Asian School Chess Championship last year.

He is also in the midst of writing his own book, which he hopes to donate to one million students. Is there anything this child can’t do?

The KL lad was recently awarded a replica of an AirAsia aircraft by CEO Riad Asmat (left). (Yogeswaran Tamil Selvam pic)

Aviation may be Sarvysswharan’s true love but he always makes sure his education comes first.

“I try to remember that my studies are my No. 1 priority and everything else is secondary for now,” the SJK (T) Taman Melawati pupil said, adding that his favourite subjects are science and maths, which help him connect with aircraft-related activities.

“My ultimate dream is to become an astronaut and fly to space one day,” he added.

Indeed, it seems that for young Sarvysswharan, the sky’s not the limit!

Follow Sarvysswharan’s adventures on YouTube, where he shares videos on aviation and his many other interests.

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