Young female pilot's career takes off. (Australia)

Pilot Talia Sheppard, with the Aerostar twin-engine plane, is enjoying the wide mix of tasks, from charter flights to aerial fox baiting.

Picture: Campbell Brodie.

Source: The Advertiser

SOUTH Australia not only has another female chief pilot but she is the youngest in all of Australia.

Talia Sheppard, age 26, is chief pilot for Opal Air, based at Coober Pedy. It means she is responsible for the actions of any of the 18 pilots from owner Wrightsair stable who fly the Opal Air planes.

And she is elated at achieving endorsement to fly an Aerostar twin-engine plane. The 520km/h aircraft is considered "a big sports car" after the runabout small Cessna 210 single-engine plane she has flown until now.

Ms Sheppard - born in South Africa and spending her teenage years on the Gold Coast - is enthusiastic about her work.

"On my 11th birthday I went flying with a friend of my parents and had a go," Ms Sheppard said.

"After we landed I knew that's what I wanted to do."

She has been flying for more than six years, mostly in the SA Outback piloting sightseeing and charter flights. Her recent work has included Lake Eyre scenic flights, charters, aerial fox baiting and aerial photography and cattle stock work.

She is in no hurry to leave that environment because she likes the wide mix of tasks.

"I'm thinking of eventually trying for corporate jet flying or the RFDS (Flying Doctor) or air ambulance," she said.

She said she believed she was the youngest chief pilot in Australia.

At this stage of her career, flying a large airline's plane up and down mainstream routes does not appeal: "I enjoy the variety of work here," she said.

Ms Sheppard is the second female chief pilot in South Australia after Felicity Brown, 44, of Chinta Air, based at Ceduna.

Source: http://www.news.com.au