My name is Enrique SALGADO, I am a 25 years old Spanish coming all the way from Paris to pursue my dream!

I was born and raised in Burkina Faso (west Africa), and after finishing high school I moved to France, where I started a Bachelor degree in strategic negotiation and company management.

The Beginning of my dream

My father always wanted to become a pilot and went to the army for that purpose, but for medical reasons he was never able to reach the cockpit. So he kept sharing his passion for planes with me at a young age by taking me to plane spotting areas, offering me planes books etc.

While growing up, I could never focus in class because I was always looking to the sky and trying to guess what type of aircraft was flying above me. Believe it or not, at some point I knew exactly all the types of aircraft in the area and their schedules.

Finding the best school

Finding the perfect school in aviation is almost impossible you will think? Thanks to CADETPILOT.AERO I was able to try the Czech Republic experience! They brought me and helped me from the day I arrived in Prague to find the best school with the best instructors.

I can still remember the day I arrived. They took me to the school and asked to put me on one flight, and that's how I met my instructor who I can now call a friend. I was really amazed by the quality of the aircraft and also the professionalism of the team.

Applying as an international student

Thanks to CADETPILOT.AERO, I did not have to go through the maze of the administrative nonsense. They took really good care of me, and just asked me for all the documents required, some photos and that was it! A few weeks after, I was granted to stay in the Czech Republic and to study here as an international student!

The start of the journey

How can I forget this crazy day! I was having a brunch with my family in Paris, and I received an email from CADETPILOT.AERO. At first, I was sure that I was getting rejected because I wasn't ready for the tests, but I was happily surprised when I read the word: 'accepted' for the cadet programme.

I can tell you that this was one of the best day of my life so far! I immediately stopped my brunch and started to get ready for my first day of class which was three months after. Then the same day, I received a call confirming that I was accepted, because to be honest I still could not believe how lucky I was to get this opportunity!

Studying abroad

The Czech Republic and Prague is very nice place to explore, in fact it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world with these nice pastels building, the parks and all the beautiful scenes of nature.

Also a good point about flying here is the incredible number of airfields around the Czech Republic! There is so many of them that you can land litteraly whenever you want, either on the north the south, east and west! I also like how the Czech people like to gather outside with friends to enjoy drinks and fun times.

School environment

I immediately felt in love with the place. We're flying mostly on Cessna aircraft, which are the best for training purposes because of their versatility and their robustness.

The training is quite fast and progress can be seen very easily thanks to our professional instructors, that are taking their time to give us the best training and advice to become successful in our future professional careers.

Biggest challenge as a student

One of the biggest challenges as a student is definitely finding a position as a first officer after the training. But thanks to CADETPILOT.AERO I can sleep peacefully and focus on my training because they will make everything to find me a position afterwards.

So to me the biggest challenge now is getting ready for each exam at the CAA, but I am very confident as I feel very well prepared.

Advice to someone who wants to become a pilot

My only advice to every wannabe pilot is just go and make your dream come true! Don't listen to the doubters and just take your chances. You don't need to be the most intelligent guy out there, what you need is a lot of motivation and a good work ethic.

So one thing to tell you is to come and live the dream with me!