Maharashtra’s youngest pilot Jayhan Bhagvati: I just love to fly planes

Following in his grandfather’s, father’s and older brother’s footsteps, Jayhan Bhagvati, at 17, has become the youngest pilot to get his license in Maharashtra. He beat record holder Neetu Gupta who got her license at 18 in 2002. “I wasn’t looking to break any records, I just love to fly planes. It has always been something I wanted to do. I was inspired by my father as I used to see him fly planes to all different places as a child. He was also my first instructor,” says the young aviator, who began his training at the age of 16. When he is not soaring the skies, he loves to play all kinds of sports, including swimming and playing squash.
Jayhan’s family has a long-standing relationship with the aviation field, as his grandfather, Deepak Bhagvati was a chief engineer with Air India. His father, Mihir Bhagvati is a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) examiner and owns an aircraft charter company, which has a Cessna 172 aircraft that Jayhan has practised on. His older brother, Captain Shivan Bhagvati, also holds a commercial pilot license.
He wants to continue on this journey, making it his career and is already working towards his goal as he completes the mandatory 200 hours required to obtain his commercial pilot license. A student of Mumbai’s Mithibai College, he played a balancing act with both his studies and pilot training. “I was taking my 12th board exams and my pilot license exams at the same time. My parents are very proud of me and just want me to be a safe pilot. They are also now looking forward to flying with me in the pilot’s seat,” elaborates Jayhan, who is currently preparing for his engineering exams.