Making her parents proud, a Goan girl from Moira, Vidhi Lotlikar, has achieved her dream of becoming a pilot by completing the 200-hour flying hours during her Commercial Pilot Licence training (CPL) training at just 23. What led Vidhi to embrace this challenging career is curiosity and longing to fly in the sky, hard work and persistence.
Trained at the Flying Academy in Baramati, Vidhi transformed her childhood dream into a reality after going through four years of hard training and answering the toughest exams. Daughter of Nilesh and Resha Lotlikar, Vidhi, elder to her sister Kaya, dedicated her time and energy into learning to fly, spending early mornings, long hours of intense study, staying away from home and frequently travelling for answering exams. “It was a disciplined journey. Vidhi remained focused towards her goal and finally made it,” stated Vidhi’s mother Resha Lotlikar while speaking to The Goan.
Resha proudly mentions that Vidhi came first in the English Proficiency exam and got all five stars in her paper. “This is despite the fact that we come from a humble middle-class family, from a village where speaking English is not the way of life,” says Resha, a schoolteacher.
Vidhi’s father explains the practical difficulties and challenges that Vidhi and the family had to face during her four-year training period. “She lost almost a year to doing nothing due to Covid. Otherwise, the training would have been completed in three years, but during covid the Flying Academy remained shut for operations, so Vidhi remained idle,” said Nilesh Lotlikar, a businessman.
A trained Bharatnatyam dancer, Vidhi learnt the art for 12 years, beginning when she was just three. With encouragement from home, she participated in various competitions as a kid and was always ahead in studies. She won the Best Student award in St Francis Xavier School at Dhuler Mapusa in class IV. Vidhi who passed SSC with flying colours, often spoke about her wish to become an air hostess, and fly in the sky when she was a teenager, recalls her mother. Vidhi is a pet lover too, and owns her own pets, and helps people adopt pets, she fondly adds.
The parents motivated her to take up pilot training instead of being an airhostess. So, after SSC Vidhi took Physics and Maths which were compulsory subjects to be a pilot. She scored 80 %. Her journey towards becoming a pilot began in 2019. “In those days we did not know much about how to go ahead. I advised Vidhi to clear exams before she joined the flying academy, so she passed the exam, which is held by a third party. Flying school operates independently. We didn’t know that the validity of the exam is only two years, and during these two years the student should complete 200 hours of flying. Otherwise, the exam has to be repeated, and it’s very tough, with passing percentile of 70 in each paper of 100 marks,” recalls Nilesh.
Some students take admission in the academy and answer the exams side by side. In India none of the students pass in a year or two, even if flying school admission and appearing for the exams is done simultaneously. Completing 200 flying hours, as well as getting the required percentile in each paper becomes a challenge, adds Nilesh.
After the exam Vidhi joined Red Bird Flying Academy, but the flying schedule was slow due to various reasons. And due to covid more than 10 months were lost as the academy was shut. It opened in 2021, so Vidhi began flying again from September. But by then the exam papers lapsed. She had to appear again for the exam of 100 marks each with passing cut off at 70 %. She took time to clear one paper (RT) that had separate exams – written and oral.
The exams are announced a day or two before the date, and the student has to rush to their centre. There are two options to choose from, and Vidhi chose Pune and Mumbai for the exam, which were closer to her from her flying school in Baramati. Finally, she managed to complete her 200 flying hours and pass the exam too.
Also, to be a pilot, one has to be fit mentally and physically. Through this demanding journey, Vidhi learned that flying is not merely about technical skill – it is about discipline, responsibility, and an uncompromising respect for safety. Each take-off reflected her commitment, each landing, her perseverance. Her achievement is not just personal—it is inspirational. It sends a powerful message to young dreamers: when determination meets dedication, the sky is not the limit—it is just the beginning.
