For World Pilot Day (26 April), we spoke to three pilots to unpack why flying with the RFDSSE is more than a job – it’s a calling. Read on for a behind-the-scenes insight into how we train our pilots to overcome any obstacle in the Outback, get into the mind of a pilot soaring the skies, and the reason we exist: to bring the finest care to the furthest corner.
RFDSSE’s Training: Preparing to Expect the Unexpected
Tamlyn’s first taste of the RFDSSE’s training began in 2008, when she did work experience at our Broken Hill Base when she was in Year 11. She was hooked, but the right opportunity to join the RFDSSE wouldn’t come into her life for more than a decade.
She finished school, got her pilot’s license, and flew for the next few years all over Australia. She was doing surveying, charters, freight jobs, and honing her skills as a pilot. In January 2022, a pilot position became available in the RFDSSE’s Dubbo base. Tamlyn grabbed it with both hands.
Tamlyn was already an accomplished commercial pilot, but the RFDSSE’s training was like nothing else. “In other workplaces, there can be pressure to go through training as quickly as possible, so you can start flying. It’s the complete opposite at the RFDS as the minimum supervised hours can be high.”
Tamlyn spent 140 hours of supervised flying with an experienced training captain. Like all RFDS pilots, she had rigorous training covering countless scenarios to prepare her for anything the Outback could throw her way.
“For most commercial flights, unexpected detours are exactly that – unexpected. At the RFDSSE, rerouting your flight path, without the aid of a co-pilot, can be a common occurrence. Because I spent so much time with my training captain, I gained the skills needed to confidently bring healthcare to patients in extremely challenging situations. When I’d passed my training, I knew I could calmly and swiftly respond to situations as they unfolded.”
For Tamlyn, becoming an RFDS pilot was a real full-circle moment. She is now one of the leaders passing on her skills, knowledge, and resourcefulness to the next generation of pilots.
Take-off: Getting Behind the Yoke
When you ask a pilot what a ‘typical’ day with the RFDSSE looks like, you’ll likely receive a knowing chuckle.
No day is the same. One pilot who knows this all too well is Jesse Hawtree.
In 2020, Jesse started in our Mascot Base in Sydney before feeling the pull to come back to his birthplace: Tasmania. After six months of flying in New South Wales, he swapped red dirt for rugged mountains to work out of our Launceston Base.
Our pilots not only fly the aircraft, but they are also responsible for flight planning, refuelling, aircraft loading, and may assist with patient handling. Alongside juggling these duties, pilots are continuously monitoring their environment.
“New South Wales and Tasmania have very specific challenges when you’re flying. In rural New South Wales, you’re more likely to be landing on airstrips on people’s properties, normally much shorter than a typical runway, but you’re probably landing on fairly flat, dry land,” Jesse said, “Whereas in Tasmania, you’re navigating high mountains, lots of wind, colder temperatures and rain. At any given moment, you’re ready to handle anything the great outdoors could throw your way.”
Most importantly, the pilots are working with the medical team onboard to ensure they can fly the patient to care safely.
Jesse said, “It’s really rewarding helping people and moving them so they can access better healthcare.
One example is when we move organ transplant recipients. There’s no facility to actually conduct the organ transplant surgery in Tasmania. People receiving an organ need to be moved to Melbourne, and it needs to happen very quickly. They might have been waiting for months or even years, and then suddenly they get a call telling them to get to the airport in 30 minutes. It’s a meaningful moment, and very humbling to be part of.
We’re ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so we can make sure life-changing journeys like that happen.”
From the Seas to the Skies: Join us for a Mission
Mark Woods, aka ‘Woodsy’, has an impressive 18 years of RFDSSE piloting under his belt. He believes that flying for the RFDSSE is “without a doubt the most dynamic aviation job you will ever find.” So, it’s no surprise that when we asked Woodsy to recount a memorable flight, he did not disappoint.
Woodsy recalls, “I was conducting a nighttime 'civilian' aeromedical retrieval from Lord Howe Island. For many years prior, only the Royal Australian Air Force could do them because they used night goggles. In 2011, Lord Howe Island installed lights and gave us the ability to land at night.
“We needed to retrieve a patient from a cruise ship who had suffered a stroke. Now, Lord Howe Island has no facilities to berth a large cruise ship, and the ship dropped its anchor offshore. The patient was brought partly to shore by a smaller boat, but they wouldn’t be able to make it all the way. We acted pragmatically and quickly. We transported the patient the final leg by paddleboard. From there, we could get them onto our plane and fly them to critical medical care."
“Sometimes we just need to do whatever is required to get the patient to safety. That's what makes this job the most rewarding in aviation.”
When reflecting on pilots’ role in the wider RFDSSE, Woodsy said, “This answer to this one is contained in our motto "furthest corner, finest care". Pilots provide access to the 'furthest corner', 24 hours a day, seven days a week, day and night and in nearly all weather conditions. This allows the medical professionals to provide "the finest care", no matter how far from medical assistance someone might be.”
Do you have what it takes to be an RFDSSE pilot? Check out our Careers page to stay across the latest job and training opportunities.
