Captain Patrick Drate is a certified commercial pilot and a co-founder of Ocean Heights Aviation centre, Kajjansi which trains pilots. His journey as a pilot started as a childhood dream which he narrates to our reporter Irene Lamunu
He had the dream of becoming a pilot as a child. One day, a newspaper clip from The New Vision about a foreign pilot gave Captain Patrick Drate a turning point and made him confirm the path he wanted to take after university. Another story that blew the captain away was the one of Capt. Francis Babu, which aired on Capital FM’s Desert Island discs; this sealed the deal for him. Captain Patrick grew up in Bugonga, close to Entebbe International Airport and his father worked for the Ministry of Land in the department of Lands and Surveys in Entebbe.
He had opportunities to see airplanes landing and taking off, and he thought to himself that when he grew up, he would become a pilot. He did not stop there; he decided to talk to his dad about his dream.
After his O-level, Capt. Drate wanted to go straight to flying school and begin his flying course, so he reminded his dad about the dream he had shared with him. The tricky bit was the cost; the course was so expensive so his dad advised him to complete his university studies first, then, he would make a clear choice with a better decision.
After listening to his dad, Capt.Patrick did not despair. He decided to join senior five at Maryland High School, Entebbe. Later, he was admitted to Makerere University to study Community Psychology, after his senior six. Here, he successfully graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Community Psychology after three years. His dream still lived on until the time he was determined to pursue it. He got his first job with Air Uganda so that he could get exposure to aviation. His love for his work was exceptional, which made it easy for him to garner experience of working with clients. Therefore, he was moved to work at the airport. Capt. Drate knew that he was getting closer to achieving his dream.
In Entebbe, he was posted as a ground supervisor, working in the customer service department, where he handled aircraft fueling and aircraft catering. He got exposed to the aircraft, and at this point, Captain Patrick decided to apply to Soroti Flying School in 2010, to fully pursue his dream.
Fortunately, he got admitted to Soroti to study a Pilot course. Since the course was expensive, he continued with his job because he needed to finance his studies. His work colleagues, Sandra Drajo and Joyce Kabasita were very supportive and many times, they would cover up for him if he failed to show up at work.
After three years, in 2013, Capt. Patrick completed his course as a full commercial Pilot. He immediately got an opportunity to get trained as a flight instructor to teach other pilots to fly at Soroti Flying School. He also got an Instructor rating where he was qualified to train other pilots, still in Soroti Flying School.
The 42-year-old Captain instructed pilots until 2015 with this experience when he joined Kampala Executive Aviation (KEA) to do commercial flights, which exposed him to flying outside school. He flew clients to the game parks in Uganda and to other parts of the country, depending on where they wanted to go. He worked with KEA until 2019. Capt. Drate also trained on a private jet, which he flies till today.
At Kampala Executive Aviation, he also got a type rating; this means that he is able to fly other planes, other than the ones at the flying school. Capt. Patrick has flown a Cessna 208 Caravan, Cessna 206, and Cessna 210. Two years ago, Patrick with a colleague opened up Ocean Heights Aviation Training Centre in Kajjansi to train Pilots.
Capt. Patrick is a happy man because he got an opportunity to fulfill his dream, even when he was not so good at Mathematics. He has beaten all odds to achieve the dream of being a certified Pilot. To Capt., he cannot ask for anything because he is living his dream. He is a fully trained, certified and active Pilot and he also trains Pilots in his flying school, just exactly what he wanted to do as a child.
The school is recognized and certified by the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority. Capt. Patrick explains that the school is a low cost-school but they have tailored training to meet different needs; that is why he calls it a community school. Being a new school, they have not yet acquired their aircrafts but rent them from Kampala Executive Aviation. In June, the school held her first graduation and graduated 60 Pilots.
