![]() ![]() There are also some great ladies in our company that try to promote ladies in aviation in order to encourage more young females to become pilots … I will get involved where I can as I think it’s important for girls to know that this is not just a male-dominated industry anymore.” “It is very important in order for us to have more pilots in the next generation. “Our company currently flies Children in the Wilderness, which is an organization that aims to educate the local children about our camps and the animals, as well as a little bit about flying,” she said. She’s also passionate about helping mentor the next generation of female pilots. “I was looking for more of a challenge and to broaden my aviation knowledge,” said Henderson. Henderson recently was promoted to safety manager, helping the airline maintain its standards when flying over remote lands to get passengers to and from the lodges safely. The people in Botswana are also very friendly and welcoming, and it doesn’t hurt that as a pilot I sometimes get to spend nights in some of the most amazing lodges as part of my work.” ![]() I love that every day is a new challenge and no two days are ever the same. ![]() “I also really enjoy flying the (Cessna) Caravan as it has the most amazing capabilities and is perfectly suited to our operation. “This is one of the main reasons why I fly for Wilderness Air Botswana as it is such a beautiful country,” said Henderson. The scenery she flies over every day, as well as resting up at some of the world’s finest lodges, are some of the fringe benefits of the occupation. Kirsty Henderson (pictured) carries tourists to the remote corners of Africa as a bush pilot. “A few months later, I was lucky enough to find a job as a Grade 3 Instructor at Lanseria Flight Centre at Grand Central Airport in Midrand, where I worked for two and a half years and also gained my Grade 2 Instructor rating.”Īfter doing some flight instruction, she was hired as a bush pilot by Wilderness Air in August 2016, starting out by flying the GippsAero GA8 Airvan, eventually upgrading to the Cessna C208B Caravan. LOW TIME PILOT JOBS IN AFRICA LICENSE“I went to 43 Air School in Port Alfred, where I completed my Commercial Pilot License with a Multi-Engine Instrument Rating, Grade 3 Instructor rating and ATPL subjects,” said Henderson. After the aviation bug had bitten, she decided to make a career out of being a pilot. Originally from Cape Town, she completed her private pilot’s license at Stellenbosch Flying Club. She “completely fell in love by how beautiful it is.” The company today is operating over 26 aircraft and employing over 40 pilots, flying to Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.įor Henderson, flying over the bush is a return of sorts, as she did a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta with her family as a child. Wilderness Air began in 1991 with one aircraft based in Botswana servicing two camps in the delta. She flies for the company partnered with noted safari company Wilderness Safaris, which has a variety of camps in Botswana around the Okavango Delta. Kirsty Henderson, 27, is a pilot for Wilderness Air Botswana. They are an essential part of getting tourists to safari camps, serving as the connective tissue from major airports into the wilds of Africa. These aircraft are used to provide both planned and unscheduled passenger services to remote areas, touching down on shorter and sometimes dirt runways. People fly into main hubs, but the most time-efficient way to get around is hopping on to small bush planes. The vastness of Africa requires all kinds of transportation. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |