RFDS pilot celebrates 20 years helping Queenslanders

Capt. Williams reflects fondly on that fateful flight when he was just 17 years old.

"A school teacher of mine was a pilot and he took me up for a flight. I knew straight away that's what I wanted to do, and when I told him, he said I was old enough to get a medical and start now. So, I got into it, and here I am 42 years later," Capt. Williams said.

Capt. Williams is now a Flight Standards Piot with the RFDS in Queensland, training new and existing pilots across the state - a long way from his humble beginnings as an ag pilot in Goondiwindi.

Over the 20 years he's worked with the RFDS, he has flown as an aeromedical pilot from bases across the state taking him from Birdsville to Cape York and the Gulf of Carpentaria.

He still remembers his first day, flying a retrieval flight not too far from the famous Dig Tree in south west Queensland.

"My very first day was with the training captain and we had a clinic run to Birdsville," he said. "We ended up being re-tasked twice that day. Once to a station near the Dig Tree in the far western part of Queensland near the South Australian border.

"My training captain asked if I had ever landed on dirt before. Fortunately, I had during my years as an ag pilot. I remember that flight with a lot of affection, even today."

But it's the incredible impact his flying has had on the people of Queensland and working as part of a dedicated team that keeps him coming back every day.

"The thing that surprised me most all those years ago, was what I got out of carrying patients and seeing exactly what it was that our doctors and nurses do to deliver that care," Capt. Williams said.

"That really ticked an altruistic box for me, and that still happens today. I still get a great sense of achievement when we arrive at a destination and know that we've helped someone."

And helping someone as an RFDS pilot means much more than just flying the aircraft, Capt. Williams said.

"It's more than just being a pilot. It's what we're trained to do when we come to the RFDS, and that's being part of a whole team," he said.

"The interface between you and the medical team is really important. There's lots of discussions that take place. If the patient has a condition that requires us to fly at sea level, we need to know about that early in the tasking so we can adjust fuel and flight plans so we can fly the aircraft at a lower level for the best patient outcome.

"That coordination with the medical team is of really high importance. It's never just about flying an aircraft."

And for any budding aviators looking to one day fly with the RFDS, Capt. Williams has some advice.

"Follow your dreams. If you want to work for the RFDS, whether as a pilot or as a nurse or doctor, then do what whatever you must do to make that happen. Pursue those night hours and pursue those instrument ratings," he said.

"From a nursing perspective I've seen lots of wonderful nurses come to the organisation and it's all they've aspired to be. It's wonderful to see people achieving those dreams.

"My experience has been incredible. I've loved my 20 years with the organisation and wouldn't change it for anything. If I had to stop my career today, this would tick the box as the best flying job I've ever had."

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