Popcorn seller catches attention of Air Force by building his own plane: Pictures Inside

A popcorn seller in Pakistan has captured the hearts of many who are just like him- have limited access to education and are fighting for opportunities. This 30-year-old man, Muhammad Fayyaz, has dreamt of flying an airplane since he was in school. However, he had to drop out before he could finish his senior year, due to poverty. 

According to NDTV reports, as an adult, his passion for flying remained undiminished, so he took a wild gamble on a new dream and put everything he had into creating his own craft. The plane engine is made from a roadcutter, the wings are burlap, while the wheels are borrowed from a rickshaw. "I was literally in the air. I couldn't feel anything else," Fayyaz said of his first flight in a machine he learned to build mainly from viewing TV clips and online blueprints.

Media reports further states that, he began his search with watching episodes of the National Geographic Channel's Air Crash Investigation for insight into thrust, air pressure, torque, propulsion. Cheap internet access in a nearby city helped fill the gaps. He also sold a piece of family land, and took out a Rs. 50,000 ($350) loan from a micro-finance NGO, which he is still paying off.

In February this year, he was ready. Fayyaz claims his friends helped him to block a small road which he used as a runway for that first flight attempt in February. The plane reached 120kph before taking off, Ameer Hussain, a witness who claims to have ridden alongside the plane in a motorcycle, told AFP reports. He picked March 23, Pakistan Day, for the unveiling, police said hundreds of people crowded around his tiny plane, many clutching national flags. But before Fayyaz could even start the engine, the police arrived and arrested him, confiscating his plane.

"I felt as though I had committed one of the worst acts in the world, as though I am the worst person in Pakistan," he explained, adding: "I had been locked up with criminals." The court released him with a Rs. 3,000 fine. Meanwhile, Fayyaz's misfortune resulted in social media fame, and he was called a "hero" and an "inspiration" by some netizens.

This man is a HERO. Any one trying to justify his arrest & remand on my time line will not get any kind words from me. Yes CAA has regulations but this is an extrabordinary story & this man needs to be groomed & encouraged & helped to comply with law & asked to innovate more. pic.twitter.com/reJxUXOQsy

— Fakhr-e-Alam (@falamb3) April 1, 2019