Kash Douglas is too young to drive a car but he can fly a plane. And that’s good news for a region grappling with ways to get passionate and skilled young people to stay.
The 16-year-old from Cloncurry, in north-west Queensland, has always had an affinity for being up in the air and enrolled at a local flight school a year ago.
He is part of a growing number of trainee pilots taking to the skies across the region amid plans to expand Cloncurry’s airport with new hangars to accommodate the increase.
Like most parts of the bush, the region struggles with a skills shortage and keeping young people is a challenge.
Local leaders hope giving more people the opportunity to fly will combat the tyranny of distance in the outback and keep outback residents closer to home.
Motley mix of pilots
An increasing number of miners, farmers, business owners, health practitioners and students of all ages are getting into the cockpit, according to the region’s only flight school Horizon Airways.
After two years of operation at the Cloncurry airport, the school has become a prized service.
Without it, budding pilots would be forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to the coast to complete courses, forking out thousands of dollars on travel.
“We get people from all different backgrounds; some are miners, others [are] from properties, to people that just want to learn to fly … from Kash at 16 years old to [other trainees] at 60,” said Will Heimans, one of the company’s two instructors.
The diversity of trainees is an encouraging sign and means a greater range of businesses and residents are investing in the area, said Cloncurry Shire Mayor Greg Campbell.
“The best way to get somewhere quickly out here is by air and businesses out here are expanding their reach.
“Whether that be family pastoral businesses that now own hundreds of thousands of hectares across the state or mechanical businesses that have staff and customers all around the place,” he said.
It also means young people like Kash, who are passionate about learning new skills, do not leave the community.
“If you can do it all here, why move away?” Kash said.
Combating FIFO
Cloncurry is one of the only shires across outback Queensland that has a growing population.
It is an agricultural epicentre and is rich in critical minerals, which power renewable-energy technology, and the council hopes to benefit from the industry’s growth as countries across the globe aim to reach net-zero emission targets.
About 74,000 people passed through the airport last year, many travelling to and from surrounding mines.
Local leaders want to encourage families to permanently live in the community, instead of flying in and flying out, and offering the chance to learn in-demand skills is another way to keep Cloncurry’s population growing.
“If you want to do something like this, get your pilot’s licence, to be able to do that on your own doorstep is a great bonus, especially for the industries that people are involved in out here,” Cr Campbell said.
A costly cockpit
Flight-school lessons can cost come in at about $500 an hour, a steep total for Kash.
It means he works two jobs alongside his schooling and pilot training.
Two days a week he works at the Cloncurry airport as part of an in-school training program as he completes a Certificate III in business aviation.
“Practice makes perfect really. You might have to go over a particular thing five or six times to get it right,” Kash said.
The price is worth it for the opportunity to pursue his passion.
“I’d like to become a commercial pilot, flying passenger planes,” he said.
Kash’s instructor, Mr Heimans, has seen the value of keeping driven young people in outback communities.
“He’s amazing. I keep telling him, the sky’s the limit. He’s going to be mayor of Cloncurry one day.”
Watch this story on ABC TV’s Landline at 12:30pm on Sunday or on iview.
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