[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Hey, and welcome to the latest edition of the Sky Careers podcast. I'm your host, Mark Hodgson, co founder of Sky Careers. And this time it's my absolute pleasure to introduce you to Danielle Stevens, who's the head of aircraft airworthiness and Maintenance Control, which is a bit of a mouthful, and she does that at McDermott Aviation in Queensland. Welcome, Danielle.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: Thanks, Mark. Absolute pleasure to be here. Appreciate you having me on the podcast.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: You're super welcome. And Danielle was one of our original Sky Careers ambassadors and she helped us break ground with our early work in helping to elevate the various roles of women in aviation. And I wanted to invite Danielle to give us a little bit more depth. And that's one of the lovely things about the podcast, get a bit more depth. So, Danielle, welcome. And I'll ask. I'll start with the question, what do you do and where do you work?
[00:01:16] Speaker A: Yeah, thanks, Mark. It's an absolute pleasure to be back supporting Sky Careers.
Where do I work? McDermott Aviation. So we are.
We work the largest privately owned helicopter company in Australia.
We're not privately owned anymore, so we can't take the claim on that, but we are still the largest helicopter company in Australia. So we operate 50 helicopters globally.
And predominantly our work is in aerial firefighting. And we have head office is based on the Sunshine coast, but we have maintenance bases, Sunshine coast and over at Janicot in Western Australia, in Alabama, in America, and also Elefsina in Greece.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Wow, that's a bit of a spread. So who owns you now? Who owns you now?
[00:02:00] Speaker A: Still predominant, like John McDermott, predominantly. But then, yeah, we have an equity trust that has bought into the business.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: Oh, fantastic. Because those helicopters, they cost a bit of dough, don't they?
[00:02:11] Speaker A: That they do. And at the rate we're growing, we needed some more funding to keep us booming as we are.
[00:02:18] Speaker B: Fantastic. So, going back to the early years, so where did you go to school and what were your favorite subjects?
[00:02:24] Speaker A: Yeah, so I started early life up in Far North Queensland in Cairns.
I went to a small school called Warree State High School.
My favorite subjects, I was a bit of a maths music nerd. So both maths B, maths C. I don't even know if they exist in this day and age.
But then also music, so they were sort of my three main focuses. But I did dabble in. And the sciences and obviously physics as well.
Yeah. And then moved off from high school, graduated, decided I didn't want to go to university because we all go through the rebellious stage and I Didn't want to lock in for, pardon me, for studying for another four years when I didn't really know what trajectory I wanted to go on. So through my later years in high school, our year 1112 coordinator sort of sat with me and said, Danny, what are you doing with your life? And I said I don't know, I really don't know.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: That's a big question at 18, that's a bit unfair, isn't it?
[00:03:21] Speaker A: I think I was only 17 at the time, so yeah. And I was just like, I don't know, I don't know what I'm doing next year, let alone for the next four years.
And she's like, well you've always had an interest in aviation. So back in the early piece, you know, When I was 13, 14, I wanted to be a pilot, sort of, that's what I was working towards.
Hit a bit of a stumbling block in year 11 and it rocked my confidence a little bit. So I sort of decided to, to take a step back from that passion and that Joy. And her husband was actually a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer at Skytrans up in Cairns. She said, look through grade 10, you did work experience at Skytrans. You know, you met my husband. She's like, yeah, yeah. She's like why don't you go back there and do that? She's like have a talk to him. You know, you race, go karts, you like getting your hands dirty.
Maybe you might want to be a mechanic. They went oh maybe, look, I suppose so. You might be right. So stubborn 17 year old went and had a conversation and thought, well what else am I going to do? What else am I going to do?
I'm stubborn and firm. I don't want to go to university so what else can I do?
That's when I found Aviation Australia.
So after I graduated high school I was accepted into Aviation Australia.
I completed my cert for in area skills, the study portion of that.
And whilst you're at Aviation Australia, it's a 12, I think they advertise it as a nine month course but with all the school holiday breaks throughout it, it ends up being about 12 months. And whilst you're there you apply for jobs. So you're unemployed, you don't really have a commitment from any business that you will get a job. So I was just sort of like, well you know what if I really don't like it after studying for 12 months, no harm, no foul, it's only 12 months.
So I was working two part time jobs whilst I was studying Full time.
About halfway through the course, Qantas opened up their applications for apprentices.
So I applied for those.
I'd say it's the worst interview I've ever done in my entire life.
One of their questions was, so how does a plane fly? And I went, oh, you know, like pressure differentials, Bernoulli's theorem, that sort of stuff. And they just sort of looked at me like, wow, she's been studying this and that's her answer. But I've never been a strong person that's been good at interviews or when it comes to exams. I like to overthink everything and talk myself out of success.
So I sort of had kissed that career opportunity goodbye and didn't hear anything from them. Ended up graduating in December.
Again, didn't have a career plan. I had applied for a few smaller aviation businesses in Cairns, hadn't heard back.
And then a week before Christmas I got the phone call from Qantas saying you've been offered an apprenticeship and it's going to be in Brisbane and you start in February.
[00:06:13] Speaker B: That's amazing.
[00:06:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:16] Speaker B: Just to clarify, so your study, your 12 month study, aviation, what do you qualify with, what you graduate with?
[00:06:26] Speaker A: You end up with basically your exam results which lead to a certificate for in aeroskills, so you don't end up with a result to actually get the full certificate for, you have to complete an apprenticeship.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: So aero schools, aero skills. Excuse me, is that a broad sweep of sort of various aspects of aviation? Is that what you're essentially studying?
[00:06:50] Speaker A: Yeah. So when you apply to Aviation Australia, back when I did it, there were three pathways that you could go. So you could go mechanical, you, you could go mechanical structures or you could go avionics. So that's why they call it assert for an aero skills. And then in the brackets they'll have mechanical structures or avionics.
[00:07:07] Speaker B: Understand it? Perfect.
[00:07:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:10] Speaker B: So that's. So you're in Brisbane, it's February and this is your first role in aviation. So tell us a bit more about your first role.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: Yeah, so after graduating after the 12 months of study, I wasn't really sure aviation was for me.
So I sort of like moved to Brisbane thinking, well again, if I didn't like it, I'm now the small town girl that's moved out of the little city. I'm in a big city, it's opened up more opportunity. So I went in sort of thinking, one foot in the door, one foot out.
I showed up to Hangar 3 on the first day and I was absolutely in awe for Those that have seen Qantas Hangar 3 in Brisbane, it is a megastructure. It's huge. And it sort of was very surreal for a little girl coming from Cairns.
Yeah. We used to get the Jumbos into Cairns, but you never really got up close and personal with them. And there's definitely no hangers of that size up in cans. So I just sort of sat in the car park for a little bit staring and joined my cohort. And I was fortunate enough there was one other girl in my cohort, so it wasn't the little loner girl and a bunch of men. So There was about 30 of us in our intake and our induction took two weeks.
And after that two weeks, my very first night on the tools, as they would say, I fell in love.
I absolutely loved it. I was just working on chairs, so what we all sit on when we travel.
But I just really got this great feeling that I was like, I'm where I'm meant to be.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: That's. That's so beautiful.
I love, for those of us who've flown long haul and the chair doesn't quite work and it doesn't recline or something's not working. I love the idea that there was a. There was a young Danielle Stevens feverishly.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: Trying to make that arm rest.
[00:08:51] Speaker B: You were fixing it up, so thank you for that.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: Yeah. And so then. Yeah.
[00:08:56] Speaker B: And where did you go from there, Daniel? How long. How long were you at Qantas?
[00:08:59] Speaker A: I was at Qantas for eight years. So because we're in Hangar 3, that's one of Qantas heavy maintenance bases, which they now refer to as base maintenance.
So aircraft are in there anywhere from two weeks up until possibly three or four months. So you really get to strip them down and then build them back up. Whilst I was at Qantas, I also got the opportunity to go across to line maintenance. So that's where you're on the line at the terminals. You're mixing in with all other areas of aviation. And I really liked the fast paced environment of line maintenance. So that's where I really fell in love with my job.
I liked being put in a position where I had to think quickly. There's. There's a plane full of people, something's broken down, and you've got to get that going as quick as possible. People are, you know, time is precious to people, especially when they're going on potentially the one holiday or the only holiday they've ever had.
[00:09:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: And the last thing you want to do is be the reason that they can't go on that holiday.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: So you're the person when they say, we're just waiting for an engineer to come and inspect the negligent catch at the back of economy section. You're the one we're going, come on, come on, come on, fix my holiday.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I am that person. And I've had to be in a position where we've had to communicate with operations that, I'm sorry, this aircraft is not leaving the ground today. And it's never a pleasant position to be in. And you see all the faces up in the terminal looking down at you and you're like, I am so sorry, but it's for the better good.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: That's cool. And so. And you say you did that. Was that what the majority of your time in that eight years was on that line? That line management sort of troubleshooting?
[00:10:35] Speaker A: No, no, unfortunately, I'd say it was about one third of my time at Qantas, So two thirds was in heavy. That was. That was where I was employed, and that was my primary base. But I was fortunate enough to get a few tours over to the line maintenance. So for about two and a half years, I. I managed to weasel my way over there because I just loved it so much.
[00:10:59] Speaker B: Well done. Now the sh. The sharper listener will work out from what they've.
The information you've so far shared that Qantas is not McDermott Aviation. So draw us a map from eight years at Qantas to your current role.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: Yeah, so at Qantas, obviously, it's such a large organization, and I was such a small piece of the big picture.
And I don't know, I guess it's got a bit of a tie to my personality. I like to make a difference.
I like to.
To put suggestions forward, I like to be heard, and I really like to try and make change wherever I am.
And I just feel like when I was at Qantas, there wasn't that room to do that, because you're working with hundreds of thousands of people in this big corporation.
So I started, I guess, feeling a little bit lost in my career there, and I was like, well, you know what, what else is out there? I have a fantastic foundation. I know heavy maintenance isn't where my heart is, but that's where I was.
And so I just started having a look.
I'd also met someone and they lived on the Sunshine coast, so I was commuting for two years, and that was starting to take its toll. So I started looking for jobs on the Sunshine Coast. And at that point in time, Maroochydore Airport wasn't really a big airport, so there wasn't a lot of airline work up here.
But that's where I sort of stumbled across GA again. And it was sort of like a bit of a full circle moment.
Small city girl moved to a big city and then started looking for the little town again.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: So GA, for the uninitiate. General aviation.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: General aviation, yeah. Yeah.
And, yeah, that's where I found the rotary side of things. So I contacted most rotary companies on the Sunshine Coast. I didn't hear back from many of them. I think coming to a general aviation company without any rotary experience obviously didn't work in my favor, but I still applied for a job at McDermott's in Tech Records. So unfortunately, it was off the tools. Wasn't really the avenue I wanted to go down. But I thought, you know what, if I can just get my foot in the door and if I can build on my skill set, that's going to make me a favorable candidate. If another door opens, that's.
[00:13:14] Speaker B: And I'll just jump. So I'll just jump in there, Danielle. Because that's one of the common themes we've heard a lot in the many conversations we've had, both online videos on the podcast and also when we're out and about with Sky Careers, exhibiting and speaking to people across the country.
One, I think the key qualities we talk, we encourage people looking to get into aviation or even change their aviation to get a foot in the door somewhere. So exactly what you've illustrated there wasn't your dream job, but you put in the door at McDermott in documentation, and then once you're in there, then you can start to find your feet again.
[00:13:55] Speaker A: Yeah. And it's definitely one bit of advice I give to people who are like, how do I get into the industry? And I was like, sometimes you can't be scared to pivot. You might have to take a few steps to the left or right before you can get back on the trajectory that you were on. But don't be scared to do that either.
Yeah. So started at McDermott Aviation in Technical records, and I was responsible for looking after the Airbus helicopter fleet, which, when I started here, flew probably one hour of a year. So they were very boring. There wasn't a lot to them. So it gave me a really good opportunity to dig into the records, really understand how the helicopter works, and basically present the best document suite I could, because I had time to do that.
[00:14:37] Speaker B: Sorry, dad. Just. Just so we understand is for those of us who have an incomplete understanding, helicopters have got a lot more moving parts and work things that go around and go up and down and so forth.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:52] Speaker B: Are they, from a record keeping and maintenance perspective, are they.
Are they more exact, are they higher maintenance, or do they have a higher maintenance requirement or documentation requirement than fixed wing?
[00:15:04] Speaker A: Yeah. So that was definitely something I had to learn when I came across. So being the mechanic, swinging the spanners and having to record the work I'd done, now I was on the flip side of the coin, having to process all of that paperwork and never having been able to see that because head office for Qantas was in Sydney, you actually never saw where the paperwork went. But at McDermott's Rotary are a whole nother. A beast on their own, as you say. So many dynamic moving parts, not only do they have overhaul life, they have life limitations on certain components, and they aren't all the same. So you might have a main rotor head assembly. So that's made up of your. Your main rotor blades, your grips, your scissors, your swash plate, your sizzle. Like all of that comes in together and they all have all their own life limits and overhaul limitations on them. But then on top of that, they've got an inspection schedule specific to that part. So a lot of the maintenance tracking for those is all broken down because just because it's on helicopter A today, doesn't mean it won't be on helicopter B tomorrow. And if we don't track all of that maintenance accurately, we might be redoing things or it might actually be missed never doing them. Yeah, yeah. So I also got to see that we actually had these things called component history cards. So every single component has its own history card, and it basically tells the life story of what that component has done, where it's been, how long it's been in service for. And that really excited me. I know that sounds a bit weird for people, but I really like seeing, like, most of our helicopters. Some of them are built in the 60s, and these parts have been in operation for that amount of time. And you get to see all the different aircraft it's traveled on. And I sort of used to like to sit there and think, imagine the story it could tell if it could speak.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: I was just gonna say, I've got like a little Disney movie in my head going on. Yeah, great, wouldn't it?
[00:16:48] Speaker A: Yeah. And I mean.
Yeah. And like, I'm not just talking. They haven't just been in Australia. These parts have been in Saudi. They have been in the States. They have been in Canada. They've been in Japan. They have. They've been everywhere. And I'm like, man, if you could tell a story, you'd have a damn good one.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: I think. I think there's a little children's story or a book in there somewhere, Danielle, A little side project, I think that'd be fascinating. I think a really cool idea.
[00:17:14] Speaker A: The Sizzlings, that could.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Let's call it Bolt. There you go. There's another movie called Bolt already.
Call it something else.
So tell us. So in your current. You've obviously worked your way back into your current. Actually, sorry, describe. Can you just detail your current role, having worked your way back onto. Out of the records and actually getting. Getting back to what you love doing, and then talk us through a typical day in your. In your current role.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: So as the head of Aircraft Airworthiness and Maintenance Control, I'm responsible for ensuring that all of our helicopters are maintained to the regulators. Requ.
So I'm lucky. At McDermott Aviation, we're under the American FAA system and we're also under the Australian CASA system.
So I get to.
Sorry, I'll put a little caveat in there. We're also under the Canadian system, so I get to understand all the regulation requirements for those three countries and make sure that all the helicopters are being maintained in alignment with those regulations, but then also how that maintenance is being performed in our business. So we try to standardize things across the regulations as much as possible because our staff do travel globally. So what we do, for one, we want to make sure it works for all of them so that it's not, oh, well, today you're working on this, so this is the set of rules, and tomorrow you're working on the other one. Because, you know, let's face it, that's human factors. We're opening up those holes in the cheese to line up.
So my job is pretty much to align all of that, make sure that if there's any deviations in our maintenance schedules, I approve all of that.
If anything happens to any of our aircraft, I'm sort of the primary point of contact where I'll work with the chief pilot so he'll be advised by his flight crew, it'll come to me, and then I'll distribute that out to the maintenance organization. So a lot of troubleshooting and fast reaction times on when an aircraft goes aog. What was the cause, what's our rectification, and how are we getting this aircraft airworthy again? AOG is Aircraft on ground.
[00:19:13] Speaker B: Thank you.
These podcast guests, they start to jump in their acronyms. Before you know it, we're all lost.
[00:19:21] Speaker A: That's aviation. I often say to new staff, I'm like, you're about to learn a whole new language. And they look at me like, yeah, no, we all speak English. I'm like, no, no, no, you're now going to learn to speak aviation.
So, yeah, that's sort of what I do.
I work primarily for the operator. So my responsibility is making sure that the aircraft are ready to operate. But I'm that conduit and liaison to all the maintenance organ and making sure that they're maintaining our helicopters to the standard that I expect.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah. And gain. It sounds like, as with many things, aviation very, very much a team game. You're interacting with a whole lot of different people and also different geographies.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Yeah. So I have three meetings a week with our team in the usa. I have two meetings a week with our team in Canada and then I'm obviously here in Australia. And so it's just a constant day to day meeting where we're all.
And the nature of our business, it's all weather depend. You know, we're firefighting. We don't know when a fire is going to start. We don't know how long it's going to take for a fire to go out. Is it going to rain, is the wind going to pick up? So we're a very reactive business so we can literally change minute by minute the direction we're going in. So we all need to be a real cohesive team to make sure that we're delivering the best product.
[00:20:36] Speaker B: And are you moving the fleet around between different countries regularly or do the Australian fleet stay in Australia?
[00:20:43] Speaker A: No, we are always moving. I'm currently in the process of moving six helicopters from Greece back to Australia, ready to kick off our season that's starting in November. And then I'm also moving five helicopters from Greece back to America to undergo some heavy maintenance.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: Okay, how do we move them?
[00:21:02] Speaker A: Oh, there's a couple of different ways at the moment because of the tight time frames and the seasons getting really close. We're air freighting a lot, but we have also put them on boats.
[00:21:12] Speaker B: Okay. So just for the. It's too far to fly them, isn't it?
[00:21:17] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Helicopters don't have long range. And again, with all those parts, with all their life limitations, we don't want to burn them out just by flying them halfway around the world because they are valuable when they're earning money and on a contract, I love it.
[00:21:31] Speaker B: So your job is to kind of keep your very valuable assets, working hard, earning money, and doing all of those things safely compliant.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: Wow. Fantastic. So what's the part of your job you enjoy the most, Danielle?
[00:21:47] Speaker A: Putting out those spot fires. So when things don't go to our plan A, B, C, and we have to execute plan D, as stressful as it can be, it's probably the most exciting part of my job. Again, you get to work with a really amazing team and seeing all of us under so much pressure, but then executing something so well, really just sort of. You step back and go, huh? We managed to get that done even though 5 minutes ago we were yelling at each other over a phone call because they wanted one thing and I wanted something else. So it can be quite tense, but I think that's what I like about it.
[00:22:23] Speaker B: Yeah. Passionate people. One of the things I love about aviation people, that they just. They cut them in half. They all get shit done, people and, you know, they stay calm in a crisis and very, very outcomes focused. And don't flat.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: Yep, yep.
You can't pass your pressure onto the people below because you've still got to. You're the duck swimming on the pond. Right. The feet are doing these ones, but you're cool, calm, collected on the outside.
[00:22:51] Speaker B: I love it. Serenely gliding across the surface. What's the least favorite part of your job, Danielle?
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Reading regulations.
[00:23:06] Speaker B: From three jurisdictions.
[00:23:07] Speaker A: I'm not a lawyer, and they're written in lawyer speak, so making sure that I have the correct understanding before we implement change in our business is probably the part I enjoy least because it's something I really don't want to mess up.
And again, you know, imposter syndrome kicks in, so you sort of go, no, I can't have this. Right. That sounds too simple. You overthink, you overanalyze, and you talk yourself into a deep, dark hole.
[00:23:34] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you. I think you know Sue Ann, our co founder in Sky Careers, and one of her many superpowers is as a. As a. As some of the work she's done with CASA in Australia.
And she's a brilliant one for simplifying the complex and keeping. Obviously, you've got to be compliant to the regulations, but she's good at writing in a way that, as we would.
[00:23:59] Speaker A: Normally say, layman's terms.
[00:24:02] Speaker B: Yes. You know, and. And that's sort of. That sort of. How do you. It's about, I guess, D.
De Jargoning, technical.
Obviously, it Needs to be specific and correct, but also understandable such that the Daniels.
[00:24:17] Speaker A: The common people of the world.
Yes.
Yeah. And I will say the FAA do do this really well.
I enjoy their regulations because I read it, I understand it, I can execute it. I just, yeah. Really struggle with the casa side sometimes where I'm like, have I got that right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey. And you go to five other people for verification on what you've understood. So, yeah, that's probably the least enjoyable part. When I have to second guess myself.
[00:24:44] Speaker B: That's kind of important. And just how big's your immediate? So we've talked about, obviously you're talking with, connecting with peers and contractors and operators all across the world. How big is your immediate team? As in who can you shout out with in a room as opposed to over the phone?
[00:25:05] Speaker A: So tough one here in Australia. I think our full time on site employees is somewhere between 60 and 80.
That's our on site. My direct team that I'm responsible for. I have 11 staff that I look after. However, they are global.
So I have three in America, six here on the east coast and actually I have one in Jandapot as well. I think I've got my numbers right there.
[00:25:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
So you're a master of heading up a virtual team.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: I wouldn't say master. I'm learning.
But yeah, it's time zones. Time zones are a huge thing. So my mornings are with America because that picks up their afternoon. My midday with Australia and my afternoons are with Greece.
[00:26:01] Speaker B: So, no, I reckon you're pretty good at what you do. You have to be. Right.
You can't be kind and good. Oops, sorry, we kind of messed that one up. Never. Never mind. We'll do it again tomorrow.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: My bad guys. We'll just pivot.
[00:26:13] Speaker B: No, no, you don't get to do that. So I love that you've given us a great. You've given us a great picture about what you do. Can you share?
Have you got a favorite story, a favorite aviation story about your experience that comes to mind of when you've been proudest about kind of what you've done, either directly or indirectly, that's actually changed stuff in the real world.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: That's a tough one.
[00:26:42] Speaker B: Sorry, you're giving us. I love the picture of you walking into Hangar 3 at Brisbane as a starry eyed 17 year old. So, Dorothy, I'm not in Kansas anymore.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I've had some really great opportunities in my career to date where I have been able to represent both Qantas and McDermott Aviation from the engineering side of things.
I guess most recent accomplishments that I'm proud of is I've worked with the AHIA on engineering shortages and, you know, liaising with CASA and working out across the industry how we can fill this engineering shortage. I mean, that's something that I'm pretty proud to say I'm part of.
But then also with the Women in Aviation Australian chapter, I'm the head of their mentoring committee. So again, just being able to connect people in the industry and help people try and establish and figure out what pathways they can take as to again, trying to get their foot in the door, what do they need to do, what steps can they take? And yeah, just being part of those things.
I'm also pretty proud of myself for being able to achieve being the head of Aircraft Air within this and maintenance control at what I think is such a young age.
You know, most people in the industry in these sorts of positions are sort of at retirement age. So I think that's a pretty great achievement for me and I couldn't have done it without the support around me.
But I also don't think I would have been able to get here if I wasn't sort of who I am and driven to keep moving forward.
[00:28:15] Speaker B: I concur entirely. You should be very, very proud of what you've already achieved. And as you say, you've got many miles to go, so I can't, I can only imagine what's, what's ahead in 5, 10, 15 years time. It's gonna be exciting to watch you.
[00:28:28] Speaker A: Retirement, come on.
[00:28:31] Speaker B: You'Re far too young for that.
You don't get to stop anytime soon.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: I also think people in aviation don't ever really retire, do we? So we love it too much.
[00:28:41] Speaker B: I agree. It's very much a calling. That's very, that's very clear from the various people I speak to. What do you do when you're not at work, Danielle?
[00:28:49] Speaker A: At the moment we're renovating houses, but typically I like to go fishing, love camping and I just like to chill out and listen to music. So a couple of music festivals have been on the agenda this year. That seems to be the thread of the last 12 months, but otherwise it sounds terrible. But my life does revolve around work.
Even if I'm on leave. I'm always working, I'm on emails. It's. It's my life. I don't like to have my finger off the pulse.
[00:29:18] Speaker B: So, yeah, I tell you, your enthusiasm and your passion absolutely shines through as I speak to you. And I think there's nothing wrong with that at all. I think that's very admirable, and it's infectious. And in a world where so many people really, their relationship with work is kind of transactional, they just do it for money. It's so important, especially when we spend a lot of time doing it. It's that it's something that we're a place we want to be with people we want to be with. And doing work that is clearly important and clearly something that matters to you.
[00:29:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:50] Speaker B: And in that.
In that spirit and bringing us to an end. And thank you so much again for your time.
What advice would you give to other young men and women looking for an aviation career?
[00:30:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I've got a couple with aviation. Don't be scared to ask questions. That's probably one really key one. Even if you think it sounds like a stupid question, it might actually lead to more, and it'll help you understand bigger picture bits and pieces. Don't be scared to pivot again. Aviation is not. Well, I mean, no industry is a linear growth industry, but I find with aviation, sometimes you do have to take five steps right before you can start heading left again to get back on track.
And the other one is just really make sure that you're passionate about what you're doing. Because any job can consume you, but if you have passion in what you're doing, it doesn't always feel like a job again. It's exciting, it's new, and it's always sort of an adventure. So you have your bad days, and don't get me wrong, I have my bad days.
But at the end of the day, I like to think that once we get past those bad days and we resolve what the issues are that created that bad day, it's actually flipped the narrative and it's ended up as a good news story.
But I think that comes down because I love what I do, I'm passionate about what I do, and I love seeing the outcome, positive or negative.
Just getting to an end result is something that I really enjoy. So, yeah, make sure you're passionate about whatever path you choose to go down.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: Awesome. Danielle. Your enthusiasm, your passion, your smarts, and your mastery. Or Mr. I don't understand.
I keep using the word mastery, and it sounds. It sounds very male, and I'm trying to. Mischievous.
[00:31:37] Speaker A: I don't take it as male.
[00:31:38] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. You're clearly amazing at what you do. You say your. Your expertise shines through, your passion shines through. I love the fact that you've got your fingers on, you know, 50 plus large helicopters fighting fires in Greece, in California, and hopefully not in Australia, where we live.
[00:31:58] Speaker A: But we are, we're out at the moment.
[00:32:01] Speaker B: Don't tell me that.
But, you know, I just love, I love the fact that you're part of a fantastic organization that's an incredible resource that you are absolutely pivotal and essential to helping operate safely, operate compliantly, operate as often as possible.
And I think you're doing a fantastic job and I've really enjoyed our conversation. More importantly, I think a whole lot of other people and love listening to to you and seeing you as a bit of a poster girl for an aviation career and especially on the engineering side, because as we both know, that's probably one of the areas where we're really crying out for more women to put their hands up and take a chance and see the amazing opportunities that exist in that area of aviation.
[00:32:52] Speaker A: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. Really appreciate it.
[00:32:56] Speaker B: It's been an absolute pleasure to speak with you and we look forward to perhaps having you back. I've got, I've got a few ideas about some other places I want to, I want to involve you in Skyrim. Thanks so much for your time. Really enjoyed our conversation.
[00:33:09] Speaker A: Thanks, Mark. Have a good afternoon.
[00:33:18] Speaker B: Thanks for listening to the Sky Careers podcast.
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Until next time, keep reaching for the skies.
