Mr. Kamal Parvez Butt (Location: Dubai, UAE)

Tell us about yourself briefly?

Mr. Kamal Parvez Butt: My father was in the Civil Service and we frequently moved from place to place every few years. Schooling was mainly in Karachi and Rawalpindi. Did O’levels from St. Mary’s Lalazar and FSc from Sir Syed College, Rawalpindi, BBA and MBA from IBA Karachi. Started my career in banking but I wasn’t too happy, so began taking flying lessons at the Rawalpindi Flying Club and got a commercial pilot licence. Joined PIA in 1996 as a cadet pilot and later flew the F27, B737 , A310 and B777. In 2010 I was selected in Emirates Airline based in Dubai.

When did you start Aeromodelling?

Mr. Kamal Parvez Butt: When I was 5 years old, I got a Cox P51 Mustang control liner as a birthday present. Since I couldn’t fly it, my father tried his hand with varying degrees of success until one day a boy ran into the circle in the line of flight, and in taking evasive action my father, lost control and cracked it up.A few years and many relocationas later I rediscovered the Mustang, and my father decided to order a replacement. But what came instead was a Guillows Mustang! My father started the build but soon gave up. I (now 10 years of age) decided to have a go at it. Balsa stringers and fingers were cut with equal frequency using double edged Treet shaving blades (modeling knives were unheard of), The glue of choice was Durofix which took a few hours to set and a whiff of which would send one soaring to the heavens. Shrinking tissue with dope was a technique yet to be understood. Balancing and trimming were a black art, so I didn’t bother.

As can be imagined, what resulted was the sorriest piece of model aircraft, but I had made it, I loved it …and I was hooked!

Was there an organized club at the time?

Mr. Kamal Parvez Butt: At the time in the early 70’s in Karachi, I didn’t know the existence of any such club. But the hobby must have been popular. One could readily find Guillows kits in most toy stores, and I remember seeing an immaculately finished R/C model finished in orange tissue hanging from the ceiling of one. Karachi had a dedicated hobby shop run by Rusi Mobed, one of the early pioneers of the hobby in Pakistan. A selection of aeromodelling magazines were available at various book stores. I now know that aeromodelling was organized with varying degrees of success right after partition, but for the most part I had to learn by trial and error, until I joined MASK in the early ‘80’s.

What category of aeromodelling existed at the time and what was your favourite?

Mr. Kamal Parvez Butt: I suppose all categories existed, but for me as for many others in school, it wasn’t a case of choosing , but of what we could afford. I started with free flight until I got my first engine in the late 70’s, coinciding with a move to Rawalpindi. There I met and befriended Asad Khan at school. He was as enthusiastic about the hobby as myself and that got me into control line. A few years later I got my first 2 channel radio and scratch built the ‘Coin Foo’, a plan blown up from Model Airplane News magazine.

Was there an inter club competition at that time?

Mr. Kamal Parvez Butt: It wasn’t until I moved back to Karachi and got in University that I became aware of an aeromodelling club, (MASK) which I joined in 1982. The club was run very efficiently by Raja Sabri Khan the Secretary, who brought out a monthly newsletter, Sky Trails, and was an accopmplished control line flier. He also made what was surely one of the largest R/C model aircraft in the country at the time. …a ¼ scale P-51 Mustang. He soon became a good friend and was helpful and supportive on countless occasions. The club held frequent competitions in free flight, control line and R/C.