Mission 50: A young pilot's tribute to Bangladesh's golden jubilee

A young Bangladeshi pilot living in the US has paid tribute to the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence by drawing the number "50" in Bengali through a flight path over the skies above New York on Thursday (16 December). 

20-year old Farhan Hoque, together with his friend Asad Abdullah, ventured out on a 2.5-hour flight on a Cessna C172 airplane to draw the number "50" in Bengali in the skies above New York to pay their tribute to 50 years of independence of Bangladesh.

"For the first time, something in Bengali language has been drawn on the aviation radar map! Well proud to announce that, 'Mission 50' is officially accomplished! This is Bengali number ৫০ or 50, which symbolises 50th Victory Day of Bangladesh and was plotted with 71 GPS Coordinates which basically represents the independence year 1971. Thanks for the support Asadullah Abdullah and our ZNY ATC Controllers to make this happen! বিজয় দিবসের অভিনন্দন," Farhan wrote on a Facebook post. 

"I am a born AvGeek and always felt as a part of the Bangladeshi aviation community. I am an FAA-certified Private Pilot, based in New York, USA. I am also working with Qatar Airways at JFK Airport as a ground operations crew. So basically since I was a kid, I always dreamt of flying as a pilot for BAF or Biman. But due to personal and professional reasons, I had to settle in the US," Farhan said. 

"The urge of doing something for Bangladesh, was always on my mind. And then when we were preparing to celebrate our 50th Victory Day, it struck me. I thought of drawing the number 50 with an aircraft, in Bangla, in the sky as a tribute to my country and all those who sacrificed their own lives so that we can celebrate such a milestone," he added. 

Farhan stated that to immortalise the number "71"- which is another important number for Bangladesh as a country, he selected 71 GPS coordinates for the flight to draw the number 50.

"Initially we wanted to do it over the Atlantic Ocean but due to safety reasons we had to move our plan over land and we chose the skies over Connecticut state as our canvas. The duration of the flight was nearly 2 hours 30 mins," the young pilot said. 

He added that making the flight possible in one of the busiest airspaces in the world, with a Cessna 1C72 was a challenge. 

"The New York area air traffic controllers did a great job helping us through the process and made sure we could pass the traffic intersection comfortably. At the end, me and my co-pilot Asad Abdullah were able to finish the whole look without any complications, and Mission 50 was a success!"