An Ethiopian Man Builds His Own Plane After Being Rejected From The Aviation Academy

Asmelash Zerefu is a 35-year-old Ethiopian who fell in love with airplanes at a very young age. After suffering countless of setbacks in his quest to become a pilot, Zerefu decides to make things happen his own way.

Dealing with rejection

The young man, who was a brilliant student, was not admitted to the Ethiopian Airlines Aviation Academy because he was too short. “I did not meet the height requirement. I was just one centimeter short.” he told the Telegraph. This rejection was a turning point for Zerefu as he decided to build his own airplane.

“That was the turning point. That was when I decided to build my own airplane in order to fulfil my lifelong dream of flight. This was in 2001.”

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Continuous learning

Zerefu spent more than 10 years learning about aeronautics. He read countless of FAA maintenance books, spent hours on the internet and watched several YouTube videos. After 10 years of efforts, he finally started building his own airplane. The young man had the ambition to build Ethiopia’s first home-built aircraft. Zerefu sourced his components locally. He used an old Suzuki motorcycle to make his own landing gear and recycled the engine of a Volkswagen Beetle.

“I collected from garages and workshops, and Merkato – which is Africa’s largest market – in Addis Ababa. I used first and second-hand materials to build my aircraft.”

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