Top gun aiming high
From the moment Liam Meikle laid eyes on a poster of a pilot as a 12-year-old, he knew he was destined for a life in the skies.
The former student of St Peter’s College in Gore is now less than a year from realising his dream, and seems destined to pass his Bachelor of Aviation with flying colours after being named the most professional pilot in his Massey University class.
Meikle received his commercial pilot’s licence — referred to in the industry as a pilot’s ‘‘wings’’ — at a ceremony last week.
The occasion marked the end of his flight training, with final papers all that now stand between Meikle and his aviation degree.
‘‘I got a proper taste of aviation through a friend at the Gore Aero Club and also a flying camp with the Air Training Corp,’’ he said.
‘‘After getting that taste for the skies there was no looking back.’’
Meikle said receiving the Palmerston North Airport Professional Attributes Award was ‘‘a great surprise’’, but he was thrilled to be recognised.
The ‘‘wings’’ ceremony was more than just a graduation and it was an overwhelming feeling to know he was ready to make a career out of something he loved, he said.
‘‘I really have to thank Massey, all the instructors who have given me knowledge over my time here and my family, who have backed me all the way,’’ Meikle said.
Meikle said one of his greatest memories from his time at Massey was a ’flight safari’, where he took two classmates from Palmerston North to his hometown.
‘‘It was an unforgettable memory — an excellent weekend flight safari with two close friends,’’ he said.
‘‘I was [also] able to take my family up for a flight.’’
After completing
his
final
papers, Meikle said he hoped to return to the South Island to kick-start his career with a southern operator.
There could be no better workplace than one with a birds-eye view of the ‘‘beautiful’’ South Island, he said.