OpeOluwa Iyortim

Founder
My name is OpeOluwa Iyortim; I go by ‘Ops’ for short. I fell in love with aviation on my very first flight as a toddler during which I got taken into the cockpit. Since then, I lived with the single-minded goal of becoming an Airline pilot; as all my friends and family will tell you while rolling their eyes.  This end goal of a career in aviation has influenced all my major life decisions, including my choice of a Bachelor’s degree in Geography after high school. I spent a year after university teaching high school geography as part of a mandatory service corps programme, a detour that expanded possibilities for me and helped me discover my love for sharing knowledge through teaching and mentorships. By the end of this year, my love for aviation was stronger than ever, although I mourned leaving my teaching position. I concluded final preparations and left the country for flight training the following year.  I enrolled in the integrated commercial pilot course (ICPC) at the Moncton Flight College in 2015. 18 months, numerous overnight study sessions and 200 hours later, I was faced with the dilemma of how to move my career forward. My love for teaching eventually won out and I opted to enroll in the instructor program. I served as a full-time instructor for two years during which time I took the option of an upgrade to become a class-II flight instructor. I served in multiple roles including dispatching, internal audits and ground school instructing before moving on to a regional carrier in 2019. I am currently a first officer on one of the two biggest airlines in Canada and when my schedule permits, I take on freelance instructing gigs. It’s a tight juggling act, but I find joy and fulfillment in bringing people into the family that is aviation.   Wholly appreciative of the peculiarities that have provided me the runway to perform the impressive feat of building an airline career in just 4 years, I decided to leverage on my experiences; past and ongoing, to create The Vectored Approach. My new dream is to lower the barriers to aviation and standardize safety and professionalism.  

Mergim Veliu

Partner
Mergim Veliu started his aviation journey in 2013 although his love for aviation existed in his first memories. In his early teens, Mergim was a member of the Royal Air Cadets. Before he made the decision to put aviation on hold until he graduated high school.  After graduating high school, Mergim enrolled into a Professional Pilot Program, at Greenwood Flight Center in Waterville, Nova Scotia. Once he completed his flight training with a little over 200 hours of flight time, he completed the flight instructor course after which he got an employment offer as a Flight Instructor in Nova Scotia. Mergim’s passion for aviation drove him to develop his career as a flight instructor further than most. He took the certification exam and completed another flight test to upgrade his instructor rating. Subsequently, Mergim was promoted to Chief Pilot and Operations Manager at his Flight Training Unit.  Mergim later accepted a First Officer Position with a commercial operator flying a King Air 200 around the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. Mergim is now a first officer on an Embraer 175 for one of the biggest airlines in Canada, and is enjoying every minute of it.   Although his childhood dream became a reality and he is flying a jet, Mergim has stayed true to his instructing roots; he continues to act as a freelance instructor in his spare time. He is passionate about passing on his knowledge, love for flying and high quality training to his students. We are thrilled to have Mergim contributing his passion and experience to the team at TVA and by extension our Mentees.

Patrick Kaswara

Partner
Patrick’s aviation dream was born at the age of five after his first flight. He stayed focused on his dream of becoming a pilot in the face of financial difficulties and minimal support. Fortunately, a few people in his life believed in his dream and were instrumental to him never giving up. After high school, he was enrolled at Kampala Aero club Flight Training Centre, Uganda. This was made possible by sponsorship from a family that believed in him. Due to financial reasons, he took a year off flying upon completion of his Private Pilot Licence before starting his Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL). He moved to Canada with his family after a year of saving some money where he then enrolled at Greenwood Flight Centre and completed his training with the addition of an instructor rating at the Debert Flight Centre in Nova Scotia in 2012. He subsequently got a job at Moncton Flight College as a Dispatcher and duty instructor. Patrick is an avid educator that enjoys teaching. It’s no wonder that he instructed at the college for almost seven years. During this time, he worked hard to upgrade to a class 1 Instructor rating. He then accepted an offer as an Air Ambulance pilot in Nova Scotia from where he transferred to the Airborne Maritime Surveillance Division. He fondly recalls flying surveillance as some of the most fun and challenging type of flying he has done till date. Patrick then received an offer from one of the biggest Airlines in Canada flying a Boeing 737. An aircraft that he enjoys flying immensely (he is team Boeing). He is well known for motivating young pilots. Given the circumstances he went through; Patrick believes if he did it, anyone can. He also believes in staying a student (continuous learning), safety, dedication, discipline and professionalism.

Jesse Rabin

Partner
Jesse started his aviation career at just 16 when he did an intro flight in his hometown of Montreal. After that short hour he knew that being a pilot was what he wanted to be. He was never top of his class before this time behind the yoke, but once he got the flying bug, he started to apply himself and work hard to achieve his dream of becoming a pilot. He started training towards his Private License in the summer of 2009. He graduated high school and went to college but just couldn't get comfortable at a desk in a classroom filled with people that didn't have the same dream.  So, after a year of college he decided that he was going to stop and attend Moncton flight college. He went to summer school to take the math and physics prerequisite and by August of 2010 he was moving east! After completion of his course, he left Moncton with a heavy 270 hours and signed up for the army in Israel. He went through basic training and received an award for top soldier in the company. Then he proceeded to go to his unit where he served for the remainder of his service in underground warfare as a team leader. He retired as a Sergeant and returned home to Montreal. After a well-deserved year off, he decided that he wanted to become an instructor. He returned to Moncton in September of 2016, promptly completed the instructor program and started his instructing career. Jesse moved on from his position as a Class 2 flight instructor at the Moncton Flight College to a job as a medevac pilot for Ambulance New Brunswick where he still works.

Rebecca Barkhouse

Partner
Rebecca Barkhouse was born and brought up in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.  She knew at a young age she wanted to be a pilot and never lost that dream throughout her childhood and schooling. Although she dreamed of becoming a pilot, taking another course was the more practical option after high school. She took a Hospitality course at her local community college and learned the ins and outs of the service industry by working at a family run hotel in Nova Scotia. Subsequently moving to Lake Louise, Alberta and working at a resort. Living out in Alberta among the mountains and the gorgeous scenery her dream of flying resurfaced and Rebecca started the process of applying to flight school. Two years later, after the illness of a close family member, saving money and doing extra on-line courses, she started flight training in 2002 at Moncton Flight College in the Diploma program.  Two months into the course she knew with certainty she was in the right field and had entered a career of like-minded, energetic and passionate people. Since her first day of flight school there have been challenges, such as breaking her leg in the first year which delayed her training, but the passion remained to keep moving toward the goal because even baby steps will reach the goal eventually! Her career path since has taken her from getting a float rating in northern Manitoba, to teaching ESL students flight training in Moncton, New Brunswick; she spent 9 years in Beijing, China teaching Aviation English and preparation courses for flight training in an English-speaking country to presently working as a Medevac first officer out of Halifax Nova Scotia. She may not have followed the traditional path of an aviator but to quote her, “I have no regrets on the path my career has followed.  I am living my dream of being a Medevac pilot in my home province and all the experience I’ve gained has only enriched me as a person and a pilot!” Her extensive experience with ESL in the aviation industry makes her an invaluable resource to students and instructors in that environment.

Xavier Cormier

Partner
From a very young age, Xavier has been passionate about aviation. From his first flight at the age of 5, he knew working for an airline was something he could see himself doing. After a recreational flight in the cockpit of a family friend’s small airplane a few years later, he was hooked. From that point on, he had no doubts about his dream career as a pilot, and never looked back. Fueled by this passion, he enrolled in the Mount Allison University aviation program in 2014. During the last year of his university degree, he furthered his flight qualifications by obtaining a Flight Instructor Rating from the Moncton Flight College. This proved to be the key to getting his first flying job as a flight instructor at MFC. The following years saw him rise up the ranks to the position of Class 2 Instructor, where he taught Multi-Engine and Instrument flying. Along with teaching some of the most technical flight topics offered at MFC, he was also a check instructor for students completing their commercial pilot’s license. Two years of flight instructing later, he was hired by one of Canada’s largest regional airlines as a First Officer on the Dash-8 Q400. His dream of making it to the airlines is not quite fulfilled, his sights are set even higher than before. His next goal is to become a Captain on the Q400, and eventually go on to fly larger passenger or cargo jets. In addition to being a mentor in our programs, Xavier manages TVA partner relations.