Page 58 - Royal Jordanian Air Force Book
P. 58
CAPT. JAMIL ZAYYAD
CHIEF PILOT
THE ROYAL JORDANIAN FALCONS
A CHILDHOOD DREAM
When Capt. Zayyad was still at school, his father, After retirement as a colonel from the Air Force,
an RJAF pilot himself, came back from work with he joined the RJF as a civilian pilot, holding the
some Falcons stickers, pictures and PR materials. title of Chief Pilot of both RJF departments, Flying
The son pasted them onto his wardrobe's door, the Hawker Hunter and Formation Leader for the
triggering a dream that one day, he would be display team.
flying one of those red planes.
The dream has not stopped. Captain Zayyad is
In 1995, he was already a fighter pilot at RJAF. ambitious to see the RJF further boost its already
After 6 years, when he was at No.1 Fighter excellent reputation and perform in new countries
Squadron, his boyhood dream came true. He "to promote the message of Jordan and RJF".
joined the Team as pilot flying on the Left Wing
and, in 2005, became the Formation Leader until For Royal Heritage Flight, "we are planning to have
2008. He was assigned by RJAF to Formation more vintage aircraft which represent the history of
Leader and Chief Pilot two years later. the RJAF, while a future aviation museum is in the
scope".
In 2012 , he became RJF Director.
It was a perfect career for the leader, with so many
His third assignment was in 2015 as Chief Pilot memories. But the unforgettable moment was when
and Formation Leader for one year. he led the first air show as RJF director.
He volunteered to fly the vintage Hawker Hunter "My heart was beating and I could hear it in my
and Vampire aircraft in 2016, when His Majesty ears. That was because of the responsibility that I
King Abdullah II ordered the establishment of fell on my shoulders to carry the country's message
the Royal Heritage Flight to operate under the to the world with a flawless show".
RJF.
ROYAL JORDANIAN AIR FORCE 57
