The theme for today is one of pure joy. Meet @captainaomi – helicopter pilot and wedding celebrant. Joy is her middle name.
Naomi Mowbray had never considered flying until six weeks before she signed up and committed to her Commercial Pilot’s Licence course, marking the beginning of this aviation chapter.
“I had never even been in a helicopter until week three of my theory! I tend to leap into adventure and say yes without any real planning or strategy behind it. I’m all about a good time, and I figured being a heli pilot was pretty badass, so I should just go for it.”
Ironically, her aviation pathway involves a really long, literal path. The Pacific Crest Trail is a 4,200km hike from Mexico to Canada, traversing California, Oregon and Washington. Naomi was hiking solo for a stretch, up on top of a mountain, maybe three days into the forest. Her phone had a couple of bars of cell service, so she called her Mumma back in Australia for a bit of a chat.
“From that vantage point, I began to notice plumes of smoke building and piling up in the distance.” Presently, growing concerned, she said bye to her Mum to call 911 and give them her coordinates. “Honestly, it was like I was in a movie. I sat out there in the middle of nowhere and watched as a plane appeared, flew over, surveyed the spot, and began attacking with fire-retardant.”
A few months later, Naomi was back in Australia. In a flash of inspiration, she figured her next adventure could involve saving the day as a pilot – just like she’d witnessed in California.
Townsville Flight Training was accommodating with her inquiry but seemed to pick up in mere minutes that she was more suited to the rotary path than to fixed-wing. They suggested she contact their sister brand, Townsville Helicopters.
“I asked if my nose rings would be a problem – specifying that I had two and was adamant I would not remove them, even for a license. They laughed and assured me I’m definitely more aligned with typical heli pilots. So I signed up on the spot, starting six weeks later.”
A confessed nerd, Naomi was done in five months.
“It’s not a cheap learning experience, so I’ve got a hefty six-figure student debt these days. However, I also go by ‘Captain Naomi’ and cruise over mountains, beaches, and high risers, and enjoy giving entertaining commentary on helicopter movie scenes, so it evens out. Kinda.”
“The day I completed my Commercial flight test, I shook the Chief Pilot’s hand, and we had a chat. He couldn’t believe I had zero plans. I hadn’t sent out any emails or made any inquiries with companies; I was just going to wing it. He’s the best – though I think my gypsy nature always threw him a little. Anyway, it worked out well, as he asked me to come back and teach the theory for the next intake. Told you I was a nerd.”
From there, Naomi moved into the position of Operations Coordinator and learned how to run a twenty-something aircraft fleet. “I’ve no doubt been ridiculously blessed along the way,” she insists.
“I’ll say it again: I’ve been crazy-blessed throughout this journey. In just a few years, I’ve already had a smorgasbord of opportunities and experiences. I’ve taught theory, run operations, ferried helicopters up and down the East Coast of Australia – and now I work alongside my boyfriend, Purav, for Bekaa Air in Brisbane. That truly feels like the cherry on top of everything.”
Naomi and Purav’s days are filled with helicopter pub crawls and winery tours, cruising around Moreton Island to spot dugongs and manta rays, floating along the Scenic Rim and Glasshouse Mountains, and zipping in and out of the Brisbane high-rises for quick scenics, aerial photography and survey work.
“Proposals, birthdays, anniversaries – the list goes on! On the whole, it’s a privilege to watch people make these incredible memories and have such a key role in orchestrating them. Almost every day is different, which is perfect for me.”
“The days are long, and it’s heavy work, but I am so, so lucky to get to do it with my partner. Purav’s my ride or die, and pretty much every passenger will have to listen to me gush about him at some point.” They met while Naomi was in operations at Townsville – he was a student, and it was your textbook love story. “I didn’t see it coming, and then BOOM.”
“Most mornings, he’ll wake me up with a coffee in bed, and we’ll scroll through emails together, forming a game plan of who needs to tackle what. While it can have its challenges – such as when I try to make gentle suggestions based on things I’ve learned already, and we have a lover’s tiff because he doesn’t want to hear it from me – I feel so lucky to get to do this with him. There’s never been a moment of too much time together; we work really well, and our communication has only gone from strength to strength.”
“But, to all the other couples who happen to work together, please hear me: flying together to a vineyard on Valentine’s Day does not count as a Valentine’s date if you’re the pilots and you have paying passengers! Even if it’s stunning!”
In case you haven’t worked it out yet, Naomi’s a full-time embracer of life, making her other pursuit as a marriage celebrant a natural occupation. “It is so much fun being such a central part of the best day of peoples’ lives. My whole job – apart from a fair bit of legal paperwork – is to help people have a super smooth, super easy, memorable and loved-up wedding ceremony. I laugh a lot. It’s a total pleasure that honestly doesn’t feel like a job.”
That said, it’s also a heck of a lot of time and responsibility for a side hustle.
“I’m probably not maintaining the best work/life balance right now. Eventually, I’d like to do more of what makes me feel like a kid again – the average full-time career doesn’t exactly match up with my wayfaring heart, so it’s up to me to find a healthier balance and not check my emails every hour of every day.”
And her hopes for the future?
“We are yet to do a helicopter elopement where I fly a couple to a remote mountain and marry them up there, but it seems like the natural progression, right?!”
“Look, it’s not firefighting or SAR – yet. But, it is making a difference in the lives that cross our paths. Taking people for that bucket list ride, helping with surprise proposals– and we did a lot of relief work with the recent local floods, as well… So long as I still find the magic in those special moments, my heart will find joy in this.”
“Actually, I do have another hope–!” Naomi decides to go big. “To move internationally and only work part-time, so there’s more time for fun on the side! A four-day week sounds like paradise, and if we were doing that in Hawaii– well! Goals!”
HO | Issue 139
First published in HeliOps Magazine – Issue 139 (Kia Kaha Media) in ‘A Greater View’, a column profiling women in the heli industry
Bronni Bowen 