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Chandigarh 28th November:- Dr Ravi Bansal is the only person of Indian origin American citizen to fly solo around the world in his single-engine plane for cancer awareness and also raised Rs. 1.5 crore for cancer and general hospital in his home town Ambala Cantt.. His feat has recently been recognized for inclusion in the 2020 edition of the Limca Book of Records.
Dr Ravi Bansal, said that it was a tribute to his sister-in-law, Sneh Bansal, who was instrumental in bringing him up but died of cancer in Ambala that gave him the mission to create awareness around the world.
Ravi, based in Buffalo, USA, has published his autobiographical book with an account of his solo flight, "Cleared Direct Destination", which is the final command given by the air traffic controller (ATC) to the aircraft pilot to approach the airport for landing.
Dr Ravi Bansal said that he has taken this title because even before undertaking the flight his destination was very crisp and clear, i.e. to generate awareness about cancer and raise funds for the hospital in his home town.
Priced at Rs.650 he has gifted all his books to the Rotary Ambala Cancer and General Hospital in his hometown and the entire proceeds of the book go to the cancer hospital. He added that this is not a sale price but a donation that anyone may care to give to the Hospital and this book is a gift to them.
Ravi Bansal, born in Ambala Cantt, after graduating from engineering college Allahabad shifted to the USA in 1971. He did his Doctorate in mechanical engineering Georgia College of Engineering, and during his studies, in 1977; he learnt flying and got a pilot licence.
Dr Ravi Bansal said that flying was his passion and he used to love making paper planes and would send them flying from the Kasauli hillside while standing with his father who was a doctor, and resultantly, when he was in USA, he learnt flying but never got the chance to continue with his passion, since he got busy with his business, which otherwise took him 30 different countries every year, till he sold his business and retired himself to follow his passion.
He undertook the flight from Buffalo, USA, on 4th July 2017 and after 46 days of exciting trip returned home on 20th August 2019, which was to spread awareness and raise money for the Rotary Ambala Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, and was able to raise Rs.1.5 crores to partly fund the acquisition of an MRI machine for the hospital.
The highlight of the journey was when he got permission to land in his home town Ambala on the air force base, an honor no civilian plane has ever enjoyed, and received by the fighter pilots and the IAF commander of the station.
The six-week solo flight around the world went right on schedule, despite some glitches with the plane. He flew more than 26, 000 miles and had to acquire numerous documents for each trip, customs clearance and insurance spending nearly Rs.75 lakh from his own pocket on the trip.
He said that if you have a single-engine plane and you are flying over land you can usually land safely on a road or field but when you fly around the world, 70% of times you are flying over the water. When you fly in a commercial the plane you are up at 35,000 feet bit he was flying at 10,000-15,000 feet and saw numerous volcanoes just couple of thousand feet below and many of them were active while others were dormant.
The Rotary Ambala Cancer and General Hospital is providing free and subsidized service to the cancer patients and with the support of Ravi Bansal and his wife, and local Rotarians and philanthropists have started a free home service for poor terminally ill cancer patients, named after his bhabhi as 'Sneh-Sparsh', who are not only provided medical assistance but also a three months ration is also provided to them.
The hospital has a Rs.25 lakh as monthly running expense which is being supported by Rotarians and the community but in order to continue to provide its service, there is a dire need for funds.
Donation to the hospital can be made through its website and by clicking on the individual donation button, on http://www.rotaryhospitalambala.com/ or can also visit directly on the link http://www.rotaryhospitalambala.com/donate/paytm-checkout/
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