A simple time separates the Emirati young man, Ahmed Al Shehhi, from achieving his dream of becoming the first Emirati human bird, joining a few human pilots who fly high in the sky with wings and an engine with a speed of 120 miles per hour. Al-Shehhi underwent several training exercises, and he will complete them abroad after he was interrupted in the recent period, due to the "Corona" crisis, in order to be able to reach his goal within the project that will be presented in the "Expo Dubai 2020". Al-Shehhi, in his dialogue with “Emirates Today”, described the feeling of flying high in this unique way as “providing one with great happiness, freedom and detachment from reality, as if dancing in the air”, referring to his multiple hobbies, and obtaining championships in free jumping, and his skills in skiing On the water, and other types of sports.
Al-Shehhi - who works in the field of technical support with a government job - expressed his happiness for being chosen in the human aviation project, which was adopted by "Expo Dubai 2020", to launch it during the global event, which offers free flying, including the first human human bird.
Training trips
Al-Shehhi explained that he joined the project about a year ago, and his first trips to Spain were an introductory journey about the human bird, and last November he traveled to China, and began training related to flight control, how to take off, and how it provides safety and security, a training similar to the airport control tower.
Al-Shehhi then traveled to South Africa, underwent a two-month training, and was able to obtain an international aviation license, and this program helped him control the movements of the plane and how it flew, and enabled him to know how to fly, and after that he made a trip to France and underwent a program based on skiing Ice with a parachute only.
The training in an air room in Sweden was the station through which Al-Shehhi learned flying in the winged suit, and he will complete the training on a special trip to the United States of America, as he will undergo flight training in the winged suit, in addition to the jumping course from fixed places, and that course will extend to two months. He noted that through coordination with government agencies he received support to complete training and travel for long periods.
Difficulties
And about the experience and psychological dealings with the idea of flying and flying in this way, and the risks and difficulties it carries, Al-Shehhi said: “Dubai has succeeded in developing safety and security standards in the field, as the human bird carries two umbrellas: the basic, the reserve that developed how to open it within a distance of 100 Meters from the ground, ”considering that through high standards of safety and science harnessing security and skills, one transcends fear or the psychological barrier.
And on the start of the take off and what he turns to, he clarified that he “gets support from the French coaches who help him in his project, as he follows the same streak, and relies on special clothes and umbrellas that are different from those used for free jumping, in addition to the presence of spare umbrellas, which can be opened at heights Even low. ” He added, "In the beginning, he flies with the wing without engines, which is a flight with the feeling of the winged suit itself, but when the engines are added, it is flying after take off," noting that he did not reach the stage of training in the engine and take off.
Professional hopped
On the skills that a human bird must have, Al-Shehhi said: “The person’s mind should be acclimatized to these sports, training step by step, and one should be a professional jumper, and be able to train courses that give him all the ways to engage with flying, In addition to these skills, there must be some physical conditions, a healthy fit, and a sports body owner capable of carrying equipment weighing up to 100 kilograms.
Al-Shehhi practiced a range of sports, including free jumping, water skiing, snowboarding, and other sports that he practiced at leisure, along with fitness sports, riding bicycles on a weekly basis, and strengthening exercises for the back and feet to be able to carry weights ». Al-Shehhi does not deny facing a set of challenges in the project, which he felt was often represented in new sports, which he did not know anything about before, such as that he trained in France, but before he began training on it, he was working to collect all information about it. Then, he focuses on the skills that he lacks, and at first he felt some difficulty, but after his practice he was gradually relaxing, as he put it. Al-Shehhi continued, expressing his feeling while flying: “A beautiful and indescribable feeling, as one feels the freedom of the body and unexpected control over it, as if it were dancing in the air, and this feeling is strange and beautiful, and when I feel bad about anything in my life, I practice free jumping, and I forget All my worries, because flying and flying separates one from reality, and I have seen more than a training tour of the human bird, and I am eager to experience this feeling of flying with an engine, and for this I have a great motivation to experience this feeling ». He noted that during flying, especially between mountains, it is not possible to notice the aesthetics of nature, because the focus is on the flight plan established, it is not possible to be distracted by any external factors, in order to maintain safety.
Aviation Academy in Dubai
Ahmed Al-Shehhi considered that his choice to be part of the human bird project, by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, to participate in the "Dubai Expo 2020" is his pride in representing the country in this international exhibition.
He stressed that the event is the starting point from which he hopes to represent the Emirates in international forums. He expressed his ambition to establish the first human aviation academy in the world, to be located in the Emirates, specifically Dubai.
• Dubai succeeded in developing safety standards, as the human bird carries two parasols: the basic and the spare.
Flying like this is an indescribable beautiful feeling, as one feels freely, as if dancing in the air.