Pilot son gives dad flight of his life

June 15, 2021
Anselm Dewar (right) and his father, Ashman, in the pilot’s cockpit, aboard the flight on June 5.
Anselm Dewar (right) and his father, Ashman, in the pilot’s cockpit, aboard the flight on June 5.
Anselm Dewar (left) and his father, Ashman.
Anselm Dewar (left) and his father, Ashman.
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Ashman Dewar struggled to find words to express his happiness now that he has finally seen his son Anselm fly an aircraft.

A video of the father-son duo went viral last week after Anselm shared with passengers aboard a flight from South Carolina to Miami, that his father was flying with him for the first time since he received his pilot licence 10 years ago.

"The only thing that was going through my mind was that my son was flying the plane," the proud Ashman related to THE STAR.

Ashman, 80, spent his early years in Stony Hill, St Andrew, but later migrated to Patterson, New Jersey, with his wife, Alverine. He had a natural affinity for aviation as he was a cartographer, so it came as now surprise that his only child would develop a passion for aviation as well.

As early as age three, Anselm knew he wanted to become a pilot, and his father nurtured this burning desire by downloading Microsoft Flight Simulator on home computers.

"The first time we took him on a plane, when he realised he was up in the air he was very excited, and that's where it started. He always had an interest. The simulators were something he liked and it kept him occupied, because he would sit all day and set up flights to different places, and it was a never-ending interest," the father said, in-between laughs.

However, by the time Anselm was 22, he was working three jobs and did not know what career path to pursue. He was making preparations to join the US Navy, but as fate would have it, his employers, Steve McNeill and Donald Hall, funded his education at Flight Safety School in Miami after they realised his talent and passion.

NO QUALIFICATIONS

He revealed that his first time flying in 2009, he had no qualifications, just the golden opportunity to fly one of McNeill's small aircraft.

"He was doing his preflight checks and once he was ready, he asked if I was ready and I told him 'yea, I'm ready' and he told me to hop in the aircraft. He starts up the engine and he takes us to the runway and takes off, then he looked at me and said, 'Are you nervous?' And I said, 'Me? Nervous? No man, I was born to do this'. He said, alright then, it's your controls, and he lets go and made me fly," Anselm said.

He flew from New Jersey to Pennsylvania and McNeill was impressed. A month and a half later, Anselm said Hall told him they were sending him to flight school.

"That was the biggest blessing. That moment changed my entire life," Anselm explained. It was also a proud moment for Ashman.

"When he said he wanted to go to flight school, we couldn't afford to send him, and it was good that somebody else decided to pick up that for us; and we are glad that it happened and worked out well," elder Dewar said.

For Anselm, 34, who is an airline captain, having his father on board the June 5 flight was a proud moment, as both of them dreamt of him becoming a pilot.

"If my father never put that little flight simulator on the computer and me actually liking it, this would've never happened. I am grateful for the kindness of that man's heart, and up to this day I don't know how he did it. They say God always has a plan and it's just one of those things that really showed. This is a one-in-a-trillion lifetime chance and this is what the blessing was, and I'm just extremely grateful for it," Anselm expressed, his tone one a happiness.

He intends to continue motivating and inspire young aspiring aviators, especially Caribbean natives, through his platform ELEV8.

"I want people to know that you can do this too, the vision is to change the narrative. This is a reminder for people to not give up their dreams."

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