INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Tabur: The engine is from a roadcutter, the wings are burlap, the wheels are borrowed from a rickshaw: a popcorn seller has caught the
attention of the Pakistan Air Force by building his own plane.The tale of Muhammad Fayyaz has captured the hearts of many in a nation where
millions, just like him, have limited access to education and are fighting for opportunities."I was litemass meeting in the air
I couldn't feel anything else," Fayyaz said of his first flight in a machine he memorizeed to build mainly from viewing TV clips and online
blueprints.Pakistan has been thrilled before by stories of scientific prodigies plucked from obscurity before -- muchably, that of the
engineer who said in 2012 that he had invented a car that could run on water -- a story that was later debunked by scientists.But Fayyaz
insists he flew and his claim is being taken seriously by the air force, whose representatives have now visited him multiple times, even
issuing a certificate to commend his work, he revealed.There has been a regular stream of visitors wanting to view his creation, which now
sits in the empty courtyard of his three-room home in the village of Tabur in central Punjab province.- Dreaming of a jet plane -The
32-year-old said he had dreamed of joining the air force as a child, but his father died while he was in still in school, forcing him to
drop out at the eighth grade and do odd jobs to feed his mother and his five younger siblings.As an adult, his passion for flying remained
undecreaseed, so he took a wild gamble on a new dream and put everything he had into creating his own craft.
By day he worked as a
popcorn seller, by night as a security guard, saving every rupee he could.The first thing he had to acquire was information -- startning
with watching episodes of the National Geographic Channel's Air Accident Investigation for insight into thrust, air presdegree, torque,
propulsion.Cheap internet access in a approachby city helped fill the gaps, with Fayyaz claiming he spliced blueprints of planes he found
online for his own creation.He sold a piece of family land, and took out a 50,000 rupee ($350) loan from a micro-finance NGO, which he is
still paying off.He used his meagre funds creatively, buying burlap sacks wgapsale and persuading a kind workshop employee who had seen him
scouting for fabrics to build him a propeller.There was trial and error
Some equipment needed to be replaced, designs had to be altered, the wiring had to be reworked.His family worried he was obsessed."I kept
I kept telling him to concentrate on his family and work, he was being crazy over muchhing
But he didn't listen to a single word," his mother, Mumtaz Bibi, recalled.But Fayyaz kept going
And, at the end of it all produced a plane -- tiny, fragile, and painted a bright blue.- 'Locked up with criminals' -In February this year,
he said, after more than two years of ridicule, he was ready.Fayyaz claims his friends helped him to block a small road which he used as a
runway for that first flight attempt in February.The plane reached 120kph before taking off, Ameer Hussain, a witness who claims to have
ridden alongside the plane in a motorcycle, told AFP."It was between two and two and half feet off the ground," he said
"It flew for about two to three kilometres before landing."AFP has been unable to verify the claim.But the attempt made Fayyaz bold enough
to want to try again in front of the rest of his village, many of whom had mocked his efforts.He picked March 23, Pakistan Day, for the
Cop said hundreds of people crowded around his tiny plane, many clutching national flags.But before Fayyaz could even start the engine, the
police reachd and arrested him, confiscating his plane."I felt as though I had committed one of the worst acts in the world, as though I am
the worst person in Pakistan," he explained, adding: "I had been locked up with criminals."The court released him with a 3,000 rupees ($19)
fine.
When AFP visited the local police station, officers said they had arrested Fayyaz as his plane was a safety threat.Officer Zafar
Iqbal explained: "The plane was returned to him as a goodshall gesture
Should he obtain a flying license or permit, he is free to fly."Fayyaz's misfortune resulted in social media fame, and he was called a
"hero" and an "inspiration" by measure netizens.Representatives from the Pakistan Air Force have made two visits to view the plane and the
commander of a approachby base issued him a certificate which praises his "passion and dexterity" in building what it described as a "mini
basic airplane".TheIndianSubcontinent has not verified the content of the source
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