Richard Brown
"The
dream of becoming an airline pilot was strong at an early age.
With both my Grandfathers pilots in WWII and a strong influence
from my father, I was always destined to fly. The question was
where should I learn?
After considering different courses privately in Bankstown and
University courses in Newcastle and Western Sydney, I attended a
seminar in Sydney held by Captain Roy Garthwaite promoting the
University of South Australia flying school. I was very impressed
with the combined flight training and ground studies and chose to
enrol. After moving 1500km away from home, I knew the first week
that the course was designed to lay down the foundations for a
professional and rewarding career in Aviation. Not only did the
course offer highly motivated and experience lecturers, but the
students were great people with the same professional attitude and
drive to succeed as I had.
After graduating in 1997 I worked construction for 8 months to
save up enough money to travel up north in search of work. My
first job was scenic flights in Kakadu, which gave me the
experience to gain a job in a charter company based out of Groote
Eyland and Darwin. I flew C207, C206, C210, C310 and Baron’s on
operations throughout NT, QLD and WA. In 2001 I was employed with
Qantas as a Second Officer on B747-400 and 2 years later gained a
First Officer promotion on B767.
I recommend anyone with high motivation and a strong desire to
succeed to choose a career in Aviation. The road is tough and
unpredictable but the overall achievement is awesome."
Richard Brown
First Officer – B767
QANTAS Airways Limited