• Youth

Flying high and saving lives at 19

Kariiue Katjikonde





In just over a year after finishing her high school journey, Saskia Thieme has managed to obtain a Private Pilot's Licence while doing a paramedic course.

But the real question is, who is Saskia Thieme?

While everyone knows her as the daughter of business tycoon Sven Thieme, we wanted to learn more about who she really is before we got into her becoming a pilot and paramedic.

“That is a tough question to answer, but at my core, I am someone that is fascinated by anything. The way that waves break, the beauty of the moon, or even the feeling of wind on my skin. I know this probably all sounds very cliché, but the beauty in life is what truly drives me in life. Especially the beautiful things nobody pays attention to. So I guess, Saskia is someone that thinks every little thing is beautiful and is fascinated by everything. I think what makes me Saskia is music and nature. I often say that I am ‘high on nature’; I get this huge adrenaline rush from the beauty that surrounds me. I don't know how to put that feeling into words,' Thieme said.

Her Inspiration

“I love learning. I want to learn as many skills as I can. So ultimately this was my biggest motivation. I thought it would be really cool to jump into a plane on my own and fly. My cousin Laura Braune, who is a pilot, inspired me the most. We both struggle with anxiety and she has supported me a lot in the past years. Watching her find so much fun and love in aviation definitely inspired me a lot.”

How her passion for flying came about

“I've always loved planes, simply because I adore travelling. My uncle has a plane and a PPL, so I flew with him here and there. But I could never imagine myself flying a plane, nor had I thought about becoming a pilot until my dad pitched the idea to me.”

Her experience in doing the aviation course

“It was definitely not all fun and games but I think every single person’s experience is very different. I am naturally a very anxious person, so it was mentally challenging for me. I had to learn to focus and stay calm even though I was freaking out inside. My first solos were absolutely terrifying because I was so convinced that I was not ‘good’ at flying. After a couple of solo flights however, it got a lot easier. It was still scary (especially the landings), but I learned to work with the anxiety and I learned to push those doubtful thoughts out of my head. Sometimes I felt like giving up because I didn’t believe that I could do it, but thankfully I pushed.”

Finding balance between the two courses

“It was very difficult to balance both courses. The paramedic course was six weeks long, from eight to five, Monday to Friday. The only time that I could fly was occasionally on Saturdays. I couldn’t do a lot of theory either because the theory for the paramedic course was very intense. So I decided to take a brea from pilot training during those six weeks.”

Advice to someone looking into aviation

“My advice would be to find a reason why. Think about why you want to do whatever course and use it as your motivation. Any course, especially PPL, is going to get hard sometimes but if you remember your reason for doing the course, you’ll be able to push through anything,” says Thieme.

10 Fun Facts about Saskia

1 Her favourite animal is a snake.

2 She loves driving with her whole heart.

3 She is an adrenaline junkie.

4 She wants to be conversational in at least 10 languages.

5 She hads been playing the piano for 13 years.

6 She has a horse who is her world.

7 She is a reader; her favourite author is Haruki Murakami.

8 Her mother tongue is French.

9 She’s a huge foodie, and loves foods from different cultures.

10 She listens to music 24/7.