Women in Aviation

They join more established organisations such as the Australian Women’s Pilots Association which elected pioneering aviatrix Nancy-Bird Walton, the catalyst for its formation, as its founding president in 1950.

Now government is getting more on board, recognising that the gender imbalance needs to change and that further incentive is required to stimulate an understanding among women of career potential across the sector.

It’s $4 million Women in Aviation initiative was announced recently by the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack who includes Transport and Regional Development in his portfolios.

“Women currently account for only around three per cent of pilots and one per cent of aircraft engineers in the worldwide aviation industry – and quite frankly, that’s something that needs to change,” he said.

“This investment will be used for a wide range of programs to engage with women but one example is to target school-aged students and their parents to better understand the wonderful career opportunities of the aviation sector.

“From the career path of CEOs such as Tigerair’s Merren McArthur to Saskia Ford from CASA who worked the hangar floors as an aircraft engineer, there’s a world of opportunities for women in aviation and not just for pilots, which the Liberals and Nationals want to boost. ” Minister for Jobs and Women Kelly O’Dwyer said: “An increasing number of female aviation professionals will be key to assisting the aviation industry to meet future demands for skilled workers.

“That major shortfall in female participation – combined with a forecast major growth in demand for air services in the domestic and international markets over the next few decades – means we need to move now to ensure gender diversity becomes the norm in the Australian aviation industry. The initiative will be informed by the recent roundtable which explored ways to promote greater aviation sector diversity and enhanced equality, by addressing a gender gap in industry careers. ” Women in Aviation International (WAI) Australian chapter President Tam Augostin welcomed the announcement.

“This funding will support initiatives by significantly advancing outreach programs, and maximising the ability to support young girls and women across regional and remote Australia.

“The funding will target grass roots programs to reach out to young women, whether it will be handing out pamphlets at airports, advertising, or even mentoring young women as they find their feet or wings in the aviation industry. ” The Australian Airports Association’s WIAN, meanwhile, forms part of efforts to support the “participation and advancement of women working in both operational and leadership roles”.

The AAA said the network would provide a forum to discuss career development and leadership pathways for women working in airports across Australia and New Zealand.

“Airports operate in a truly global industry and a diverse workforce is absolutely crucial to support our growth and success,” AAA chief executive Caroline Wilkie said in a statement.

“With global passenger traffic expected to double in the next 15 years, there will be many great career development opportunities for airport staff in the future.

“We are absolutely committed to ensuring gender diversity is a clear focus as we prepare for this next phase of growth in the industry. ” The AAA said it would hold a Women in Airports Forum ahead of its national conference in November 2019.

In his interview with ‘Australian Aviation’ (this issue) Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said he was determined to ensure the airline is recruiting its pilots from the broadest possible pool of candidates.

That means getting young females to first consider a career in aviation and then giving them the opportunities to study the required science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects that form the building blocks towards becoming a pilot.

“At the moment there is only 18 per cent of women doing STEM subjects and STEM subjects are really required in order to qualify, so a lot of work needs to be done on it,” he said.

‘I could always talk to her (mum) about absolutely everything’ VICTORIA HARRISON

“If you are just fishing from half the population, you are going to have half the talent, half the best pilots that you could have.

“We want the best pilots that we can possibly have and that means making sure that young girls think of this as a career. ” Under the Nancy-Bird Walton initiative, Qantas has a target of 40 per cent of its pilot intake being women over the next decade.

Currently, about five per cent of Qantas’s pilots are women, according to figures from the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, while it is about 12 per cent for its regional wing QantasLink.

Beyond the pilot corps, Joyce said 35 per cent of Qantas’s senior management was female and the target is to get that up to 38 per cent in the next few years and, eventually, to a similar level with the percentage of female staff across the company’s entire workforce.

“We have 42 per cent females overall, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be the same ratio and we need to get there and it will be all on merit,” Joyce said.

PITCH PERFECT

With a global shortfall of pilots and aircraft engineers, the aviation industry is welcoming more women on board than ever before. Tiffany Bonasera meets two Australian trailblazers who are navigating thriving careers.

Victoria Harrison

Royal Flying Doctor Service Queensland pilot

While Australian women first took to the skies as early as 1909, it wasn’t until 1927 that an Australian woman could hold a pilot’s licence and fly within Australia. Despite the pioneering achievements of early aviators such as our own Nancy-Bird Walton, the number of female pilots – across commercial, military and sport – remains dismally low.

Between three and five per cent of pilots are female globally.

It is often argued there is a perception of pilot being a male career, which is preventing more women from entering the profession.

Victoria Harrison – a pilot with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in Townsville, Queensland – doesn’t buy into the gender debate.

Mother has always been her mentor

Victoria got the flying bug from her mother, who she describes as her “mentor”. When Victoria was in high school, her mother started learning to fly as a hobby, and went on to get her pilot’s licence. Following in these footsteps, Victoria took to the skies, too. Looking back on her career in aviation, Victoria says her mum made her the woman she is today.

“Even after her death in 2008, I am always thinking about her and how proud of me she would be. Mum never missed an opportunity to tell people her daughter was a pilot, even when I was with her!” Victoria explains.

“I tend to just tell people I am in the RFDS and let them assume I am medical staff. Mum was such a strong and intelligent woman who never let anything stand in the way of her goals. I could always talk to her about absolutely everything. ”

Sky-high career ambition

Like others before her, Victoria got her start in the aviation industry working for the local flying club on weekends. She was given flying lessons in exchange for doing odd-jobs around the office and hands-on tasks such as washing aircraft.

After going solo with her recreational pilot licence (RPL) in 1990, Victoria received a scholarship for the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in 1991.

“It was something my mother always want to do. It was a bonus I could do a degree and learn how the fly the military way, while getting paid.

Plus, it was loads of fun,” she says.

Flying for the Royal Australian Air Force from 1995-2009, Victoria was one of the few female pilots in the ranks. Even today, only around five per cent of trained permanent Air Force pilots are women. This experience provided the perfect runway for new flying opportunities.

‘In my experience, women are often great aviators’ VICTORIA HARRISON

Following a stint flying VIPs in Falcon 900 jets out of Canberra, three years flying Caribous, including three rotations to East Timor, two-anda- half-years as a flying instructor teaching ab initio defence force pilots in Tamworth on the CT4A, then five years flying Caribous as an instructor, training flight commander, and finally, executive officer, Victoria joined the RFDS.

“I joined in March 2010 and have been here ever since, flying King Air B200s and B350s, including the latest Proline Fusion avionics suite with touchscreen flight displays!” she says.

A day in the life at the RFDS

As a pilot for the RFDS, every shift is different.

When Victoria gets to work, she updates the iPads (electronic flight bag), checks the weather and other notices or updates, then pre-flights the aircraft.

“We get ‘paged’, though nowadays it is an SMS, to call into the comms centre for our tasking. We never know where we are going until this call, and we cover all of Queensland. Although, I have once taken a patient from Townsville to Coffs Harbour,” she says.

“Once we know what the task is, we can start planning – flight plan, weight and balance, organise fuel if required, and then help the flight nurse load the aircraft and off we go. ” For Victoria, working for a national icon is a privilege.

“I love that even though we are carrying people who are usually very sick, or critically ill, nearly everyone we transport is so grateful to us [RFDS]. There is usually a lot of friendly banter, including scoring of the flight and landing. Patients we pick up from ‘out Bush’ are tough as nails, like they will try to walk onto the aircraft after they’ve been hit by a bull or rolled a quad bike! It is our job to make sure they don’t, but it can be challenging!” she says.

While dealing with patients has been mostly a positive experience, Victoria says there have been some tricky flying situations to navigate during her time with the RFDS.

“I have landed on diesel-soaked toilet rolls, flown around in some pretty bad weather trying to get into airfields – flying from Mount Isa to Townsville and ending up in Cairns before being able to get back to Townsville in the early hours of the morning, while our patients slept through most of it – and, I hit a kangaroo on landing in Hughenden, which bent two of my aircraft’s propeller blades, and needless to say, grounded me,” she explains.

Never grounded for long, Victoria is planning to stay with the RFDS for the long haul.

Victoria Harrison
Career snapshot

Victoria Harrison Career snapshot Received a scholarship for the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA)

Joined the RAAF as a pilot, and started a science degree at ADFA

2010-present, RFDS Qld as a pilot

“I love my job and am planning on staying with the RFDS until I retire! “If we win the lotto, my husband [who has his Private Pilot Licence (PPL)] and I will buy our own aircraft and travel around Australia. Until then, the RFDS Queensland is stuck with me,” she says.

When the going gets a bit bumpy

In a career spanning almost 30 years, Victoria points to flying the Caribou around Papua New Guinea (PNG) as one of the highlights. The hands-on Caribou is “spectacular”, despite no autopilot, fancy avionics or weather radar. But flying the low-performance aircraft in this PNG terrain presented unparalleled challenges for this seasoned pilot.

“It had every challenge you could imagine in aviation – bad weather, high terrain, airstrips that offer high altitude, short length, large slopes, soft surfaces, animals, and even bends in the middle!” she says. “All this, with minimal to no air traffic control support. ” “We would often be carrying large/ heavy loads to bring in water, food or supplies to help with flood relief or other natural disasters. The locals were always grateful and more than willing to lend a hand to pull the aircraft out if, and when, it inevitably got bogged somewhere, all the while giggling and slipping and sliding in the mud themselves. ” It has been a career that combines much-loved community work – and nerves of steel.

“Currently, the hardest part of the job would be flying around North Queensland during the wet season.

We are one of the only operators in the world who fly the B350 King Airs single-pilot, and our training really pays off at this time of the year,” Victoria says.

“There are a lot of storms, cyclones and generally unpleasant weather.

Trying to avoid this, especially flying single-pilot at night, back of the clock, is definitely a challenge. When the patient is in a critical condition, there is the added pressure of trying to make sure they get where they need to go as quickly and safely as possible. ” This is where Victoria relies on her instincts and experience.

“We fall back on our training, checklists and standard operating procedures, and the knowledge that as long as we are operating safely, whatever decision we make at the time will be 100 per cent supported by our managers and the medical crew,” she says.

It is eye of the tiger

In an industry well-known for gender bias, Victoria believes she has not been impacted by this personally. She concedes her intentional decision not have children may have helped pave the way for a smoother career progression. In saying that, many female pilots she knows have kids – and she doesn’t see it as a big deal.

Everyone has equal ability.

“There is nothing different for girls or guys. I may not have a mechanical brain, but luckily, I don’t have to build my aircraft either. In my experience, women are often great aviators due to their multi-tasking skills. My boss says I’m the most organised pilot in Townsville!” If anything, Victoria says there is one trait women would benefit from having.

“My instructor used to call it ‘tiger’.

It is that little bit of aggression that makes you act and respond as opposed to sitting back and being a ‘passenger’ – not an ideal trait if you’re the pilot! However, this is easy enough to learn and develop once you ‘get it’ and realise what you need to do to get the job done,” she says.

What advice does Victoria have for women keen to pursue a career as a pilot? “Go for it! I am nearly always mistaken for the nurse or doctor, and the look on people’s faces when I tell them I’m the pilot. It makes me laugh that they are either surprised or so excited that they’re being flown by a girl. We need more of us out there, so one day it is just assumed that the girl standing around is the pilot and not the nurse,” she says.

“I have the best office with the best view. ”

ENGINEERING CHANGE

In the footsteps of the pioneers

Emma Mahoney

Instructor/Assessor – Mechanical Aviation Australia

Aircraft engineers keep Australia’s fleet of more than 15,000 private and commercial aircraft flying safely. However, by 2025, it is estimated there will be a 30 per cent global shortage of trained aircraft engineers. Australia and the Asia Pacific region will be hardest hit.

One way to tackle the conundrum is to attract more women to the maledominated sector.

Important initiatives, such as Women in Aviation/Aerospace Australia (WA/AA), are aiming to drive up numbers and even up the gender imbalance. Airlines are also starting to introduce measures to attract more females to nontraditional roles in aviation.

As the aviation industry wrestles with solving these issues, Emma Mahoney – an aviation instructor and aircraft engineer – is playing a significant part, too.

A career in aviation takes flight

For Emma Mahoney, a career in aviation has plenty of perks – getting out of bed at 3am to start an early morning shift is not one of them. Turning to coffee to get her through, she nominates this as one of the few challenges in a job she’s loved for 17 years.

Emma’s aviation journey began when she was just a youngster in regional Victoria. Her mum was an accountant for a helicopter company. Wide-eyed Emma developed a keen interest in aviation from her visits there, captivated by the comings and goings at the hangar.

Enrolling in the course was the best decision I ever made’ EMMA MAHONEY

Still, when Emma finished school she didn’t have any clear career direction. What she did know was she wanted to work with her hands. As fate would have it, Emma saw an advertisement in the paper for a pre-vocational course in aviation maintenance.

“Enrolling in the course was the best decision I ever made,” she says.

“When I completed my Certificate IV course with Aviation Australia in 2003, I secured an apprenticeship with Alliance Airlines. After completing my apprenticeship, I spent a few years working as a contractor for QantasLink, Jetstar and other general aviation operators. Here, I gained an excellent range of experience on many different types of aircraft. ”

Ups and downs of engineering

In Emma’s experience, woman make excellent aircraft engineers.

She’s found the skills of patience, communication and problemsolving come naturally, which are key components of the job. Despite this, her gender did prove to be a barrier initially.

“Early on, I found it difficult to find a company that would take me on as an apprentice. It took time for my male colleagues to get used to working with me,” says Emma. “In time, I feel they have all seen I bring a different skill-set that can enhance any maintenance team. ” In 2009, Emma accepted a permanent position at Hawker Pacific, where she worked on projects with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), including both line and heavy maintenance, medical installation and medication programs, even travelling to remote locations to retrieve unserviceable aircraft. Every day was an adventure.

“One of my most memorable moments was the day my first LAME [Licenced Aircraft Maintenance Engineer] arrived in the mail. The first aircraft I ever released to service as a LAME was an RFDS King Air,” explains Emma.

“It had an air return. I was terrified I had made a mistake during the servicing. Luckily, it was a completely unrelated issue. I will never forget that moment of sheer panic!” As a LAME, Emma carried out servicing and maintenance work, and supervised the work of other engineers in the team, which included signing off on work and certifying that jobs had been completed to the required standard – and aircraft were ready to fly.

‘Early on, I found it difficult to find a company that would take me on as an apprentice’ EMMA MAHONEY

Through her time working with the RFDS aircraft, she spent a lot of time with apprentices on the hangar floor. One of them suggested she’d be good as a trainer because of how well explained things to him. It was a career-changing conversation.

A smooth career transition

In 2017, Emma took on a part-time position with Aviation Australia, teaching the Certificate II program.

This year, she is working full-time as an aviation instructor and assessor.

“Working as an instructor and assessor means no two days are the same. I could be either travelling to the Norther Territory to teach a Certificate II class, meeting with apprentices to assess their progress or, I could be visiting trade and career expos to speak to students at schools about different career opportunities in aviation,” says Emma.

Emma follows in the footsteps of aviation pioneers such as Connie Jordan, who was Qantas’s first female licensed ground engineer in 1942. It is understood the men at the base at Archerfield, Brisbane went on strike because they didn’t want a woman as their boss.

Emma believes the attitudes of the past are changing; perhaps not fast enough.

Most aviation organisations are now embracing women on the hangar floor. However, there is still a gender bias in aircraft engineering – of the 10,900 aircraft maintenance engineering workforce in Australia, only 1. 9 per cent are women.

A path less travelled

While Emma acknowledges women are under-represented in aviation, she is an advocate for encouraging everyone to learn more about aircraft engineering as a career. The bottom line is, aviation is not wellknown as a career path.

“We have quite low enrolments for women – probably one or two per class,” she says. “A lot of the girls I talk to at career days, or in everyday life, say they don’t even realise engineering is a career path open to them. The girls who enroll are strong-minded and smart. ” Emma just wants to see more of them join the industry.

“I want to show women this is a career that is achievable for them.

There are still lots of stereotypes about the kind of women who go into this kind of work,” she says.

“You can still enjoy being a woman, being feminine, and have a fabulous career in aviation engineering. ” Cairns-based Emma has this practical advice for all would-be aviators.

“Get out there and visit a local hangar and ask for some work experience,” she says. “This will give you a real insight into what being an engineer is really like.

“At Aviation Australia, we provide high-quality aviation training from Certificate II in Aircraft Line Maintenance right through to the Diploma level and aircraft-specific training. High school students can enrol in a Certificate II program to prepare for an aviation career after school. ”

Emma Mahoney

Career snapshot

Apprenticeship with Alliance Airlines

Contract roles with aviation operators

Worked with Hawker Pacific on RFDS Qld aircraft

Work experience / part-time teacher with Aviation Australia

Full-time aviation engineering teacher with Aviation Australia

Wide-eyed about aviation

While the electrical theory was tough for Emma to get her head around during training, she has applied the same determination to mastering all aspects of her career in aviation, from baggage handling and customer service to the technical stuff.

“I have spent my career working on so many different aircraft – large commercial aircraft to smallsingle engine Cessna aircraft,” says Emma. “Most recently, I have been working on King Air 300 and C208 aircraft. The King Air has become my favourite aircraft to work on. ” All these years later, and Emma is still wide-eyed about aviation.

“Every day is different, you can be working in a hangar one minute then on your way to a remote location to retrieve an unserviceable aircraft the next,” she says. “I get to work with people who are all different and have made many great friends in this industry. ” For now, though, the focus is on teaching and upskilling into management. There is never a destination in aviation – it is a career that presents a never-ending learning curve.

“I have been able to surprise myself at times, completing a task I never thought I could do. You also get a great sense of satisfaction when you complete an aircraft service on time and the aircraft leaves the hangar looking fantastic and working beautifully,” she says.

CAREER ON THE MOVE

From humble beginnings to key overseas role

Jodie Bevan

Director of Piston Aircraft Sales for India Pacific and Asia Pacific Textron Aviation

A career in aviation had long appealed to Jodie Bevan. From humble beginnings as a young aviator working multiple jobs to pay for flight school; today Jodie heads up Textron Aviation’s Piston Aircraft Sales for the India Pacific and Asia Pacific regions.

In this role, Jodie represents some of the most produced and best loved aircraft in the world. Models in her portfolio include the iconic Cessna Skyhawk 172, Beechcraft Baron and Beechcraft Bonanza.

With a role that oversees more than four-dozen countries, Jodie supports Textron Aviation’s growth in these regions. Her success is in part thanks to a sound understanding of the needs of her customers, stemming from her own experience as a pilot and business owner.

Jodie spoke with CHRIS FRAME in April about how a career in the aviation sector has helped shape her life.

How did your early career start and what drew you to the aviation industry?

I completed a degree in IT Systems and Technology at Monash University in Victoria, focusing on business and marketing. After graduating, I moved to Adelaide to work with Internode.

There I worked my way up through government and corporate sales.

While at Internode I completed a Certificate IV in training and assessment and became a sales team trainer.

It was while I was in South Australia that I began my flight training with Adelaide Biplanes in Aldinga. Here I took my first aerobatics lesson in a Super Decathlon! From there I moved to Perth, where I completed work for my private pilot licence and worked with the Red Bull Air Race in 2009.

‘Jodie represents some of the best loved aircraft in the world’

At the age of 22, I started a flight training school with a business partner. After two years in Perth, we moved the flight school to Melbourne. Business at the flight school grew, and we progressed from leasing the training aircraft to owning several aircraft.

During this time, I continued to pursue aerobatic flying, competing in six competitions around Australia each year. Eventually I sold my shares in the flying school and began consulting to help build other businesses in the aviation industry, while later taking on a position with Matt Hall Racing, the Australian Red Bull Air Race pilot in New South Wales.

What are some of the barriers or difficulties that you have had to overcome in your early aviation career?

I was 21 years old and living interstate from my family when I began learning to fly. Like many young aviators, I took on multiple jobs to gather enough money to complete my flight training, while keeping a roof over my head.

At one time I was holding down four jobs, as what started as a flight lesson every four to six weeks, soon became a regular weekend occurrence for me.

When it came to the challenges of starting a flight training business, the barriers were once again financial. Fortunately, this time I had the support of some incredible financial investors who each offered us a loan. They believed in the success of the business plan and I am very happy to say that each one was repaid in full before the term of loan was due to be completed.

What drew you to Textron Aviation?

In 2016, I made a career move with the goal of expanding my aviation experiences into the international market. To achieve this goal, I applied for a role with Textron Aviation, home of the Cessna and Beechcraft brands, in the USA.

After applying for this role, I participated in a series of phone interviews, face-to-face interviews, and online tests. I was successful in these, which led to the offer of a position with Textron Aviation as Director of Piston Aircraft Sales for India Pacific and Asia Pacific.

In this role, my experiences around Australia as a pilot, owner of a flight school as well as being an aircraft owner and operator, all enabled me to engage in meaningful discussions with flight training academies, business owners, CFOs, flight instructors, and aircraft owners or operators.

I get a lot of personal satisfaction at Textron Aviation, which allows me to connect aviation businesses to one another and support the industry’s growth.

What does your role at Textron Aviation involve?

In my role, my tasks vary from day to day. There are 53 countries within the region that I oversee. In some of these countries, I work closely with teams of Textron Aviation’s local authorised sales representatives and Authorised Service Facilities to support clients’ technical and financial enquires.

In other countries, I am the direct link to the factory. I enjoy supporting aircraft owners with personalised operating cost analysis, discussing operating specifications and performance features.

I work with fleet operators to maximise their efficiency, engage with various aviation regulators and industry professionals, as well as support the export for new aircraft from USA, and finally, importing aircraft into our region.

What is the forecast for the Asia Pacific region and how do you support this?

The aviation industry is currently in a rapid growth phase for Asia Pacific and Australia, with a rising need for pilots, aircraft engineers, and other industry professionals.

This growth presents opportunities for international partnerships and other various business opportunities.

‘At one time I was holding down four jobs’ JODIE BEVAN

As a result, I have been supporting many flight organisations and airlines for the acquisition and the growth of their Cessna and Beechcraft training fleets.

What are some of the benefits of working with Textron Aviation’s portfolio of well-known brands?

I specialise in the current Textron Aviation piston aircraft product line: the Cessna Skyhawk 172S; the Cessna Skylane 182T; the Cessna Turbo Stationair HD T206HD; the Beechcraft Bonanza G36; and the Beechcraft Baron G58.

I was drawn towards working with the industry leader in aircraft manufacturing because they hold many historic accolades.

For example, the Cessna Skyhawk 172 is the world’s most produced aircraft, with more than 45,000 deliveries. It remains the most popular flight-training platform globally.

This aircraft is approved for spin training in the utility category. It is robust in the circuit pattern, simple to repair, cost-efficient, and holds the highest resale value for its category at approximately 77% of its value after 10 years.

Another great aircraft is the Beechcraft Bonanza, which holds the record for longest continuous production of a civilian aircraft. It celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2017. Additionally, the Beechcraft Baron 58 model celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year.

These aircraft are well designed and assembled and quite predictable in flight, and they continue to be upgraded and equipped with the latest technology in Garmin avionics and other redundancies.

What are some of your career highlights, working within the aviation sector? How have these experiences impacted on your life?

I have experienced amazing career highlights with Textron Aviation. I have had the privilege of working with teams, both within Textron Aviation as well as with our clients, to exceed our collective expectations and find unique solutions.

I’ve had the opportunity to support a diverse client base in their aircraft acquisitions. This includes working with many leading flight-training organisations, which I enjoy, given my business background.

All these career highlights impact my life and my family. Aviation is very much a part of our lives and led me to meet my husband, which positively changed both our lives. We frequently travel, fly and meet up with other aviators in all corners of the world to share flying and travel experiences.

Our daughter will certainly become an international citizen as a result of our love of aviation, and we hope that she will experience many countries, cultures and languages during her upbringing.

Jodie Bevan

Career snapshot

Degree in IT Systems and Technology at Monash University in Victoria

Certificate IV in training and assessment

Flight training school operator and aircraft owner

Industry consultant

2016 Textron Aviation

What is the best pathway to a career in aviation?

The aviation industry is a very welcoming industry. It offers opportunities for people from diverse career backgrounds. Regardless of the career path you’ve taken, there’s likely an opportunity to follow that career within aviation.

Aviation is so diverse, that it really doesn’t matter what subjects you study at school or university, or whether you’ve started off as a student pilot, or have skills in maintenance, finance, legal, marketing… you name it… there are pathways to aviation for anyone who sets their mind to it.

Working in the aviation industry makes the world feel smaller and more accessible. You are instantly connected with a network of individuals in every country. This opens you up to any cultural and language experiences and broadens your horizons. It is a very rewarding industry to be a part of.

And finally, do you have a favourite aircraft?

I have many favourite aircraft! They range from basic models with a simple cockpit to others with highly advanced flight characteristics.

I have to say that my eyes always wander to an aircraft with a tailwheel and I really appreciate a machine with aerobatic capabilities, be it a modern design or an antique.

LUCY IN THE SKY…

Youth no obstacle to pursuing the dream

Lucy Simkin

President Goulburn Valley Aero Club

Lucy Simkin was just 15 when her passion for aviation and interest in flying led her to the Goulburn Valley Aero Club in 2009.

When she first joined she would snag the occasional joy flight and talk to the other members.

Now she is the club’s president, the first woman to hold the office in the club’s 59-year history and on par with its youngest.

Lucy says that this year will be one of her biggest, breaking ground as the new president, finishing off her studies to achieve her flight instructor rating, and gaining her formation flying endorsement.

Lucy sat down with Australian Aviation’s ROB BRUS at the recent Avalon International Airshow for AA’s podcast series to speak about the Austraian Women Pilots’ Association, and also her career path to date. This is an edited transcript.

So tell me a little bit about the Australian Women Pilots’ Association, or we’ll call it the AWPA for short.

Yes, yes, so the AWPA’s all about getting women into aviation of course, so we start off with just nurturing people into aviation. We also support women once they’re in aviation, so (it’s) a networking group. This can help you with employment and also mentoring, so getting to know people who are captains in airlines can really help you with your promotional options later on, so that’s a fantastic thing.

Is it mainly for pilots, or is it for everybody in the industry?

It can be for everyone on the industry.

It primarily focuses on pilots, but we do have people from ATC – air traffic controllers in there – and we also have associate members as well. So yeah, anyone who likes aviation can be a member.

‘Getting to know people who are captains in airlines can really help you’ LUCY SIMKIN

Are there different branches around Australia, or is this an online thing?

How does it work from a practical perspective? It’s national, and then we have state branches. Within the state branches, you have state activities. They can go interstate as well. And then we also have a national conference once a year where we all get together and have a great time.

Tell us a little bit about you, Lucy, because you’re early on in your flying career. It’s very exciting. I know how hard you guys have to fight for a job. Tell us a little bit about your history and your background with flying.

I’m a Shepparton girl, come from Shepparton, Victoria. I trained and now am working for the school that I trained at. I started off in RAAus (Recreational Aviation Australia) in the Tecnam P92 Echo Super, and then I progressed into the Cessna 172.

Now I’m a recreational aviation and general aviation instructor. I also do charter work in a 182, and a little bit of fire work as well when the season’s happening.

What type of fire work?

Fire spotting.

In the 182?

In the 182.

Not with a load of water yet?

No, no, no. Not quite yet.

What do you aspire to? Have you got a twin endorsement yet?

No, I haven’t quite got a twin endorsement yet. Working on that.

I aspire to be with the Royal Flying Doctors. Primarily that would be my goal. I’d really like to use my aviation to help others, so I think that would be a good way to go.

PC12 or King Air?

PC12. Yes. (And) I’ve got friends who fly the PC24 jet in WA, and I would really like to get myself into that as well.

Early on in your instructing career, what does that look like for someone like yourself? You’ve finished your commercial pilot’s licence, you do an instructor rating, what’s the progression look like?

What happens? Because I trained in the school that I got my accreditation in I was employed there straight away, which was fantastic. Then you have to build up your clientele. You can’t just go and poach students from everyone.

So you’ve got to be around the school to build that up. I get all the ab-initio students at the moment, and I’m building some up to circuits. Yeah, so I have about five students. It’ll grow from there. You get people walking in from the street all the time, so it’s good, yes.

I don’t think I’d be a very good flying instructor … because you’ve gotta have nerves of steel to do that?

Yeah. Sometimes, yeah. You have to be good at talking.

How do you know how far to let a student go? Because if you don’t let them go far enough, they can’t really learn a lesson. If it’s getting a bit tricky, a cross-wind approach or something like that . . . What are you doing there? Are you sitting there with your hands on knees, or your hands in your lap?

Lucy Simkin

Career snapshot

Joined Goulburn Valley Aero Club

Recreational and general aviation instructor

President Goulburn Valley Aero Club

Studying to complete flight instructor rating

Charter work Cessna 182

You’ve have to be close to the controls of course, but you have to let them make their mistakes and learn from them too. Obviously not close to the ground, but yes, you’ve got to be close. As I progress, I will get better and better at knowing when the point comes to call it. So it’s all about your own personal comfort zone. I’ve talked to my chief flying instructor about it, too.

You do develop the skill to be able to gauge that when it’s not okay any more, and when you need to intervene.

When you progress in anything in life, it’s not just flying, you learn the gut feel of what feels right and how far that can go, yes?

Yes.

Do you find yourself debriefing yourself very much?

Yes, yeah, absolutely. All the time.

You take notes, write down about what you think you should do or do better, and then you discuss with your chief flying instructor to help you improve. I want to be the best instructor I can, so I’m always looking at ways to improve. I’m probably really self-critical at times.

Do you let it run away from you from time-to-time. Are you the hardest person on yourself?

Yes, yes. I am. But the students are really happy though. Like, you turn to the student and you say, “Oh, how was that? What did you think of that?” And they go, “Oh,that was great. ” They loved it.

So tell me about your experience Lucy, with the AWPA.

Well, I joined the AWPA quite early on. I think I was probably a private pilot or not quite. The reason I joined it was because I knew that ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ in aviation. So I knew that I needed to get involved in that.

Same with my aero club as well. So I got really involved. I was quite shy, and I thought, “No, I need to push myself and become involved with these people. ” And through that, I’ve met some of the most amazing people. And today, I’ve caught up with a heap of friends all through the AWPA. Through those people I’ve known, I’ve gotten into some pretty cool cockpits, and had some pretty cool conversations. So it’s just awesome.

Excellent. And it’s all about networking?

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. So important.

What would you say to somebody who was a little bit maybe shy, and didn’t like that aspect of it, and just wants to go and fly airplanes?

How would you help them get across that little block? A lot of people are like that. You have to show them the people you know and how you can negotiate and find a way. I had a young girl with me today and I’ve been teaching her my ways of talking and doing all these things, and yeah, she’s really starting to come out of her shell and flourish really nicely. I think she’s come to the realisation of how important it is.

What’s the best way for people to connect with you?

You can get on the Australian Women Pilots’ Association website www. awpa. org. au or email us or get us on Facebook.

POWER AND PASSION

This manager’s order book is a best-seller

Kathy MacKenzie

General Manager GEnx product line GE Aviation

It is an interesting twist on the theory of six degrees of separation that every time you get on a Qantas or Jetstar 787 (and a majority of 787s with airlines worldwide for that matter) you have, in part, to thank Kathy MacKenzie and her team for getting you to your destination safely and efficiently.

Assuming the airlines do their bit, that is.

MacKenzie is the General Manager of the GEnx program for GE Aviation and, put simply, that means she is in charge of the team behind the power attached to the airframe: those two huge engines many take for granted but which help, for example, deliver Qantas 787-9 passengers between Perth and London – the third longest flight on the planet.

Put in GE technical-speak the GEnx’s innovative features are a twin-annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor that dramatically reduces NOx gases while larger, more efficient fan blades help make the GEnx the quietest commercial aircraft engine GE has ever produced.

“The GEnx engine is also the world’s first commercial jet engine with both a front fan case and fan blades made of carbon-fiber composites. ” Or, as the marketing people tell it: The GEnx is the fastest-selling, high-thrust jet engine in GE Aviation history with more than 1,600 engines on order.

In addition to being the best-selling engine for the Dreamliner (about 65 per cent of the 787 market) GEnx also powers the four-engine Boeing 747-8.

No matter what the spin, it does add up to an impressive success story and one of which MacKenzie is justifiably proud – not for herself particularly but for the GEnx team and what she describes as GE’s strong customer support.

That includes the embedding of customer support teams within airlines. “They are just part of the team. ” she said.

A field support team of GE Aviation engineers is stationed in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and London, backed by fleet support specialists who analyse real-time flight data. The team also has 24/7 operations centres in Shanghai, Dubai and Cincinnati.

MacKenzie’s oversight runs the gamut of the GEnx program, from design to manufacturing, to sales, costs and customer liaison. And it is the latter which brought her to Australia in April for discussions with GEnx customers Qantas and Jetstar.

She is one of several general managers, each in charge of a different engine program such as the GE90 and GP7000 and the CFM-LEAP joint venture.

The GP7000 is a joint-venture between GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney (called the Engine Alliance) and used on the Airbus A380.

‘No matter what the spin, it does add up to an impressive success story’

Meanwhile the CFM-LEAP joint venture is between GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines and is used on the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo family of aircraft.

It was a whirlwind visit for MacKenzie – in early on a Monday morning via the Qantas direct A380 service from Dallas, and out again within 36 hours – but with enough time to speak with Australian Aviation about her job, her career with GE and some reflections on how opportunities for women in nontraditional roles such as engineering have progressed in the US.

And GE has been at the very heart of MacKenzie’s own career progression, straight from college where she graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1990. Her interest in engineering evolved slowly from a base of a keen interest at school in science and maths.

“I was just a normal kid. I liked math and science. I did well at school, but I didn’t really have a particular passion for aviation or the automobile industry. I just really, I would say, followed my interests – more on a kind of a step-by-step basis versus a lifelong passion.

That step-by-step saw her walk out of college armed with her bachelor’s degree and into the engineering development program at GE. “At the time, I didn’t even know GE made jet engines. Is that hard to believe?” She found out about them soon enough on the two-year rotational program which involved not only classes in jet engines but plenty of hands-on work on first military and, subsequently, commercial types.

The end result was a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a pathway to her current senior position in the organisation.

She said GE is very proactive in the development of a greater focus on STEM in schools, “in terms of getting kids interested”, through its company outreach program and that there has been a noticeable shift in reaching out to younger cohorts than previously.

“It is very active and GE is active with it. Really, in Cincinnati (where MacKenzie lives and GE Aviation headquarters is based), we have STEM outreach into junior high.

“We (then) reach out further in high school to ensure that the girls stay interested in maths and science as they come through and into college.

“We’re really looking for the best and the brightest. ” MacKenzie said she believes pathways for women entering the engineering profession in the US are as defined as they are for men: “I don’t think there’s anything particular that’s a pathway for women that’s different from men. ” There are, however, some stark contrasts compared with some of the gender-orientated employment statistics emerging from the aviation sector in Australia.

Kathy MacKenzie

Career snapshot

BS in Mechanical Engineering, Northeastern University

MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT

Design engineer

Account manager Bombardier CF34-8C program, then Southwest Airlines account manager on the CFM56-3 and 7 programs.

Regional GM Commercial Operations for Asia, China and North America

CF6 program director customer and commercial in 2009, director Embraer programs CF-34, general manager mature fleet programs, general manager regional engines and services.

General Manager GEnx product line.

MacKenzie said between 40 and 50 per cent (and closer to 50) of new employees hired by GE are women.

So what’s next for MacKenzie? Right now she is not seeing an end in sight to the GEnx program. Sales are strong. “We’re very pleased with the sales so far.

It’s actually the fastest selling widebody engine program in history. We’ve won about 65 per cent of widebody orders and also had about 65 per cent of the 787s. ” “There’s really no other widebody under development right now (suited to GEnx), except in China (where China’s Comac and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation) developing the CR929, a 250-320 seat twin-jet.

MacKenzie’s team is already in discussions with Comac, just as it has ongoing discussions with Boeing and Airbus. “It’s all part of the business model,” MacKenzie said.

“We’re targeting about 250 seats over, like, 5,500nm, so watch the later part of the next decade, round 2027. We are in the process of bidding to be the propulsion system provider for that application.

She said statistics show proven fuel efficiency is one of the core advantages of GEnx compared with competitors such as the Trent 1000.

According to GE, the GEnx-1B, designed specifically for the 787 Dreamliner delivers a two per cent fuel burn advantage over its competition and a one per cent advantage with respect to fuel burn retention.

GEnx-2B, optimised for the Boeing 747-8 features a smaller fan, de-staged booster and destaged low-pressure turbine. “The GEnx-2B contains an identical core and similar materials as the GEnx-1B to provide synergies for mixed GEnx fleets. ” In an article published in AIN Online last year she said she anticipated a market for another 1,800 GEnx-suited aircraft over the 20 years. “We will get 1,200 of those,” she was quoted as saying.

In the meantime, the GEnx team is undertaking a process of engineering analysis to maintain the best possible ongoing effectiveness of the engines.

“We are in what I call study mode,” she said.