Ever dreamt of flying?
Hi everyone,
My name is Ella and I’m in my third and final year of a Bachelor of Aviation at Swinburne studying to become a pilot. I love my course and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. While some of my friends sat in a lecture hall on their first day of university, I was up in the sky learning how to fly an aeroplane.
In a typical week I spend half my time at Moorabbin Airport getting taught the basics of aviation, such as meteorology, aerodynamics, navigation, aircraft mechanics, and air law. Once every week or so, depending on the temperamental Melbourne weather, I have a flight lesson. My flight lessons range from practicing take-off and landings, aerobatics or navigating a 400 km trip around Victoria. For the other half of the week I am on campus studying more in-depth subjects such as the mathematics and physics behind jet engines, or the laws and history behind aviation.
In the holidays last year a classmate and I flew a plane all the way back to Melbourne from Cairns. It took us five days and we flew over the beautiful Whitsunday Islands, the Gold Coast and the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge.
At the end of the course I will have spent approximately 150 hours in the air. So far I have got my private pilot license, my aerobatics license and a license which allows me to fly at night. By the end of this year I also expect to have a commercial pilot license, and an instrument rating, which allows me to fly through clouds.
My studies have opened up a wonderful variety of pathways. I can charter planes, drop skydivers, and with a little more experience under my belt, I could eventually fly for the airlines.
Swinburne offers FEE-HELP to assist students with funding their practical flight training (in conjunction with Oxford Aviation Academy). I was also lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship from the Australian Women Pilots Association a few weeks ago, which will help me fund my flight training further. If there are any girls reading this that are interested in flying, I highly recommend you join the association. It allows you to meet some really inspiring women that have great stories and will help you any way they can.
If you’ve ever dreamt of being up in the sky flying around, give it a go, it is never too late to start.
-Ella Krohn.
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