Cherished Readers,
Warm regards from my fascinating cockpit and high praises to our Almighty God for His abundant goodness and mercies in our lives every day!Global aviation celebrates its birthday every year on 17th December as a result of the Wright Brothers’ invention of the first aircraft on 17th December 1903. So this year, global aviation is 112 years old!!!! Hurray!!!!It all began with an experiment that led to the invention of a self-motorized aircraft that could overcome the forces of gravity and suspend into the skies for a few minutes. Prior to December 1903, those who invented flying devices in a bid to emulate birds, only succeeded in designing paragliding devices whose sustenance in mid-air was solely dependent on free air and high altitude terrains.This was until Orville and Wilbur Wright, sons of a mid-western US clergyman, invented the first self-motorized aircraft on 17th December 1903.
The accelerated evolution of the Wright Brothers’ Flyer One aircraft is an astounding reflection of man’s dexterity and creativity. Readers who missed my recount of this fascinating evolution should read the November Epistle from my blog (ie Our 21st Century Gifts pt 1: Cardio Surgical Ward Breakthroughs).As we celebrate global aviation’s birthday this week, I think it is important for Readers to be exposed to the valuable contributions of Ghana’s aviation pioneers to the growth and development of the industry in Ghana. Exactly a year ago, Kilo Alpha Aviation Holdings and Felvic Aviation Events Ltd proudly celebrated 9 Ghanaian aviation pioneers during its yearly “Wright Aviation Family Fiesta” programme by presenting beautiful framed citations to honour them.
It’s my pleasure to introduce you to these outstanding pioneers. Let me start with the Pilot pioneers, for obvious reasons! CAPTAIN ALEC GRANT SAM was among the first four Pilots to be trained by Ghana Airways. The other 3 Pilots who have passed on, were CAPTAINS THOMAS AGYARE, PETER DORKENOO AND KOFI AMPOMAH. These 4 pioneers did Ghana proud with their selfless and meritorious accomplishments while flying Ghana Airways for almost four decades.In the Airforce, REVEREND CAPTAIN EMMANUEL WOOLLEY, GROUP CAPTAIN WILLIAM AHORNU and AIR VICE MARSHALL NAPOLEON ASHLEY-LARSEN are the 3 surviving pioneers who were among the first batch of sixteen Airforce Pilot Cadets to be trained by President Kwame Nkrumah. It will interest you to know that after his laudable service in the Ghana Airforce and Ghana Airways, Reverend Captain Emmanuel Woolley proceeded to be a DC-9 and F28 Aircraft Type Rated Instructor and trained many experienced Pilots including myself.
A few years ago, someone curiously asked me whether Ghana had ever produced a female Pilot. My response was “Very much so!” President Kwame Nkrumah’s government trained two female Pilots for the Ghana Airforce and they were among the pioneers Kilo Alpha Aviation Holdings honoured in 2014: SQUADRON LEADER RETIRED MELODY DANQUAH and SQUADRON LEADER RETIRED ESSEL- AMPAH.If you have read my earlier Epistles, you will recall how clumsy and frustrating it was to fly aircrafts three decades ago, due to the intense manual skills required. So for these two women to have excelled as Airforce Pilots means they were extremely competent at flying and worthy of being celebrated! In addition, another sterling female Pilot, SENIOR FIRST OFFICER VINCENTIA BREMPONG was among the first batch of Ghana Airways female Pilots to be trained.As I have indicated in my earlier Epistles, Pilots work in tandem with other Airline Units to ensure safe and smooth flights. MR SAMUEL OMARI AMPADU was also among the first Air Traffic Controllers to be trained by Ghana Airways. The job of Air Traffic Controllers, according to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) annex 2, is to separate aircrafts in the air from colliding and ensure a smooth and orderly flow of air traffic in and out of airports. Once more, be reminded that these Pioneers used very outmoded and difficult methods to do their work, but inspite of these, they beat all the odds and discharged their duties efficiently.
Next, let us celebrate MR EMMANUEL NTOW QUAO, who was among the first Aircraft Maintenance Engineers to be trained by Ghana Airways. Aircraft Maintenance Engineers ensure that aircraft fleets are in top working condition. MR. THOMAS ESSILFIE was also honoured for being among the first Ghana Airways trained Flight Dispatchers. I earlier indicated that the Flight Operations Dispatch unit is, in my estimation, the “cardio-surgical ward” of every Airline since it has authority over dispatch execution and termination of flights. As a result, Flight Dispatchers are pet-named “Ground Captains” since technically, they work hand in hand with Pilots to ensure safe flights.In the Cabin, Pilots also work with Flight Attendants and we were delighted to honour FLORENCE ANNORKOR QUAYE as one of the first Flight Attendants to be trained by Ghana Airways and I had the privilege of working with her in Ghana Airways.
Finally, we celebrated a good friend of mine EBUOE BEECHAM, who though a Data Analyst by profession, has created an immensely vibrant Facebook group page accessed by numerous aviation enthusiasts worldwide known as “Crazy About Planes”. This platform has succeeded in attracting a large network of aviators globally who frequently share the latest aviation news, aero politics and insightful comments and pictures on recent state-of-the-art aircrafts.
In the coming years, Kilo Alpha Aviation Holdings looks forward to celebrating more Ghanaian Aviation Pioneers as a first step to sensitizing upcoming aviators and the general public on their invaluable contributions. We also believe in the popular axiom which indicates that: “a nation that does not celebrate its heros/heroines is not worth dying for!”On this note, join me in saying: Happy Global Aviation Birthday and long live Ghana’s Aviation Pioneers!!!
Lord may your Name alone be praised for bringing aviation this far! Adieu!