SAFA Skysailor Magazine

47 WINTER 2026 | June-July-August SKY SAILOR connection to their sites and the way things have always been done. What has your volunteer experience shown you about the work that keeps us flying? It has shown me how much happens behind the scenes. We’re part of a much larger network than many pilots realise. If we have a bad relationship with councils, landowners, National Parks, CASA, or the broader community, it affects everyone. We have to be coordinated nationally because the regulatory requirements are complicated, and our impact goes beyond ourselves. Australia is a heavily regulated envi- ronment. People sometimes take an oppositional approach to this and assume regulators are trying to stop us flying. I don’t think that’s the right way to look at it. Regulators and legislators don’t want to stop us flying. They want pilots and the general public to be safe. They want us to not threaten other airspace users or create problems for communities on the ground. The work also happens at club level. People are mowing sites, maintaining relationships with landowners, negotiating with councils, dealing with National Parks, managing access and insurance, and doing all the small things to allow us all to fly. Insurance is a good example. Some pilots don’t understand why it’s essential, but without it, councils and National Parks may refuse site access, and CASA may not allow us to operate. It’s not just there for us as individual pilots. It’s there to make sure that if something we do affects someone else, that person is protected. People often learn to fly because they want freedom. They don’t come into the sport because they love rules and struc- ture. Yet what actually helps you stay in the sport, get more airtime, fly safely, and have a better experience, is your relation- ship with other people on the ground. I’ve had excellent support from the pilots I fly with, and I’m grateful for the work all of our volunteers put in to main- tain all the complex relationships that allow us to fly. This interview is part of a series profiling women in our sports. If you know a pilot whose story should be shared, please reach out at safamarketing@adacy.com.au . I’d love to hear your suggestions for future articles .