Roydon Wells (24) is moving to Dallas, Texas, to follow his dream of flying and to marry his US fiancee Christina in two weeks.
"I love everything about flying, and I always have. There's a great feeling of freedom when you're up in the air and I love the challenges. Every day is different. Flying is what I've always wanted to do since I can remember."
Mr Wells began flying at 18 when he moved to Invercargill in 2005 and trained with Southern Wings until 2006, before working there as flight instructor for two years.
In 2008, he moved to Queenstown to work for Air Wakatipu as a senior flight instructor and charter pilot to Milford, Fiordland, Mt Aspiring and Mt Cook.
His favourite plane to fly is the Cessna.
"You can do so much with a Cessna. They demand a little bit more attention from the pilot which makes flying it a bit more challenging."
Mr Wells plans to convert his New Zealand commercial pilot's licence to an American airline transport pilot's licence"
America is like the 'hub' of aviation and I'm looking forward to the many opportunities available there. My ultimate goal is to one day fly for a major international airline."
Over the past few years Mr Wells has been instructing trainee pilots in Gore during weekends, instructing casually over the past few months as he prepares to move overseas.
"Flying is my life and I love every day of it."
