“Don’t worry, mate,” Karla’s bright eyes twinkle at me from beneath the brim of her Akubra hat. “You’ll get the Performance exam out of the way, no worries. It’ll click for you; you just have to work out the best way to crack it.”
A true wildlife warrior, it’s not uncommon to discover images of Karla Pound with a Frilled Neck Lizard on her head or gazing lovingly into the glass-like eyes of a Black-headed Python that she’s plucked from somewhere in the Australian bush. She’s been around the continent numerous times in various roles: ranger, tour guide, zookeeper, and wildlife presenter. Her head (and Instagram feed) overflows with knowledge — bush tucker essentials, outback survival, and all about the animals, plants and birds that live there.
With this background, it’s not hard to imagine her skippering airboats through crocodile-populated wetlands. Here, she was first presented with the idea of flying helis. “I was working for Outback Float Plane Adventures, where we ran tours via floatplane, helis, airboat, and riverboat. My boss at the time approached me and asked if I had thought about becoming a pilot, as he reckoned I had what it took. I kind of shrugged it off, not thinking too much of it at the time, but went home and started looking into it. Within six months, I was enrolled to complete a Diploma of Aviation.”
After exploring most of Australia’s Designated Remote Areas at ground level, why not do it from the air now, too? Time for the work to begin.
“I really loved ground school. Well, not initially, but I learned to love it. After the first week of theory, I went home and cried, thinking I was in over my head; I had met my limit and didn’t think I was capable. It was the first time in my life I thought I couldn’t do something. I had never doubted myself like that before, and it was an awful feeling.”
But Karla is an extraordinarily determined and energetic human being.
“Once I got over the initial shock of the intensity, my brain switched on, and I found it was actually a really enjoyable course which I was sad had to come to an end. But I certainly do owe a good chunk of it to my theory lecturer, who was one switched-on dude. As soon as he saw I was struggling, he would rephrase, redraw or change his method of explanation until it all made sense.” Karla stands by the merits of working with your learning style when tackling aviation theory, especially as an adult student. “I am a kinesthetic learner, which he recognized, so he would use props and diagrams to help get my head around the subject.”
The work paid off – of the 12 students in her class, only three of them passed all the exams first go. Karla was one of them!
Karla admits the practical side of flying had its challenges as well, but also says once she stopped comparing others’ progress to her own, it became a lot more enjoyable (there’s a lesson in that for a lot of us). But one of the biggest challenges she faced was losing her boss in a helicopter crash, midway through her training. Troy Thomas, killed in an accident in Broome last year, was the one who had planted the aviation seed in Karla, back on the airboats.
“Troy had a significant impact on me, personally, and the tourism industry as a whole. An all-round top bloke, his loss was hugely felt throughout our community. Losing him made me seriously question if I wanted to pursue aviation as a career, and it took a few months for me to get back up in the sky.”
Back on deck, Karla completed her first 80 hours in an R22 before transitioning into the R44. “Knowing that I was going into tourism, it was essential that I get an R44 endorsement.” She also completed a low-level endorsement. A highlight of her flight training, she wishes that didn’t have to end, either. “Five hours is all that was required for the endorsement, but it was absolutely the most fun I have had in a helicopter – I look forward to doing more low-level flying in the future.”
Karla completed her Commercial license with Airwork Aviation in Queensland, signing her name on the graduates’ rotor blade with a flourish. Celebrations were bittersweet, though. “Troy was the one person I wished I could have called. I wanted to thank him for encouraging me.”
Breaking into the industry is definitely a challenge for a lot of new pilots, but with her background in tourism, a few connections made along the way, hard work, and a positive mindset, Karla was able to start her aviation career fresh out of school. Karla had contacted a few companies towards the close of her training to apply for work. She was astonished when one of them offered her a checkride. “So, the day after I passed my flight test, I made the 3000km drive up to the Kimberley. I had a flight with one of their instructors, and to my surprise, I got the bloody job!”
Following a few hours of additional training to build her bush flying skills and get her used to the rugged remoteness of the Kimberley, she was posted to begin operating scenic flights – her first heli job.
It was also here Karla experienced her first slight mishap, involving an unexpected wind change and an approach that reiterated to her the significance of those first 100-200 hours in which such things can go awry. But she learned a lot from it and has tackled it in the healthiest way possible – employing it as experience to make her a better person and pilot.
In true Karla style, she’s traversed the country again – she is a modern-day gipsy, after all, calling no one place home. Today, we find her settled in South Australia’s wine country – quite different from the sparsely populated and rugged areas she’s frequented up north. “I am still very fresh in the industry with around 250 hours, so right now, I am focused on building my hours and experience in a supportive environment – one with continual training to develop my skill set, ability, and confidence further.”
Since Karla is especially passionate about Salties – Australia’s giant, prehistoric saltwater crocodiles, she’s eager to combine her long history of working with them with flying helicopters in the future. She is an incredible communicator who is wildly in love with the outdoors and operating all kinds of machinery, so, really, becoming a helicopter pilot was never going to be a total career change.
“Whether I’m operating a boat, quad bike, jet ski, 4wd, riding a camel, hiking, or flying a helicopter, I’m doing what I love: showcasing the natural wonders of Australia in some of the most unique, untouched, and unforgiving environments. Tourism has always been my niche. It’s what I love and what I’m good at – and now I get to do it from the air!”
First published in HeliOps Magazine – Issue 135 (Kia Kaha Media) in ‘A Greater View’, a column profiling women in the heli industry
Bronni Bowen 