Believe it or not: This Indian man made a plane during lockdown and flew family to Europe

Everyone loves to travel, right? But have you thought about making your own aeroplane to fulfil your aspirations? Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan, a native of the Southern Indian State of Kerala, built a four-seater aircraft for family vacations. London-based Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan, a native of Alappuzha in the Southern Indian State of Kerala, has successfully constructed a four-seater aeroplane in a project that took close to 18 months to complete.

Now, Thamarakshan and his wife fly around the UK and Europe in their home-built aircraft, along with their two daughters. They have travelled to a number of nations aboard their single-engine Sling TSi, which Thamarakshan has dubbed “G-Diya” in honour of his younger daughter Diya.

The son of MLA A V Thamarakshan, Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan, relocated to the UK in 2006 to pursue his master’s degree after earning his BTech from Palakkad Engineering College.

The plan was to have a private plane crash while Covid-19 was under lockdown. The family spent Rs 14 million and 1500 hours in 18 months to finish their project, according to a story in The Sun.

In his conversation with The Sun, Ashok discussed his experience and added, “It’s much more exciting than getting a new gadget. We started saving money during the first shutdown because we had always wanted our own plane. Since we had been saving a lot of money in the beginning, we decided to try it out.”

After receiving my pilot’s licence in 2018, I initially used to charter modest two-seater aircraft for excursions, he said, adding that as his family increased, two-seater aircraft became obsolete. Since four-seater planes are uncommon and difficult to find, Thamarakshan came up with the idea of building one himself after realising he would need one if he wanted to take his family with him on his trips.

(WION)