Cameron Marchant
Director/Instructor
Like many Australian pilots, Cameron’s career began as a charter pilot in remote Queensland & the Northern Territory, however instead of seeking an airline career he took a Commission as an Officer in the Australian Army & became a reconnaissance helicopter pilot. Based in Darwin with 161 Reconnaissance Squadron, & with several operational deployments behind him, he ultimately became a military Qualified Flying Instructor – responsible for the training of Army pilots. Following his tenure in Army Aviation, Cameron worked as the Manager of Training & Checking for two regional airlines, operating aircraft such as the Beech 1900, Fairchild Metroliner, Embraer 120 Brasilia & Dash 8.
Cameron was the Chief Pilot of Chartair during the period 2011 to 2016, leading the transition of that Company from a general flying charter operation into low capacity RPT & Approved Single-Engine Turbine (ASETPA) operations. He is a Civil Aviation Safety Authority Approved Flight Examiner with approvals for a range of licences & ratings, including the Air Transport Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot Licence, Flight Instructor Instrument & Low Level Ratings as well as Aerial Mustering. For the past 15 years Cameron has also served as a consultant in the aviation industry, conducting training & assessments for a number of commercial & private organisations.
Cameron’s experience in pilot training & development, combined with several years of remote area flying, forms the foundation for his operational philosophies – he believes that discipline in training & the ongoing development of standards is the cornerstone of flight safety.
Ben Mackney
Director/Instructor
Ben commenced his flying career in 2004 on the north-east coast of NSW. Since then Ben has operated in a range of flying capacities including flight instruction, sight-seeing, passenger & freight carrying charter, low acuity aero-medical retrieval, remote regular public transport services & FIFO services throughout remote Australia.
Ben is the Chief Pilot of our sister company Mistar Holdings & in this role oversees 30 pilots engaged in charter operations across a number of bases in WA, QLD & the NT. Within Flight Standards much of his time is spent training students towards their Instrument Ratings or providing familiarisation training & flight reviews on Cessna 441 & Cessna 208 aircraft. Ben maintains his own proficiency contracting as a line, supervisory or training pilot to charter & RPT operators throughout Australia on types ranging from the Cessna 210 to the Cessna Conquest / Caravan & Fairchild Metroliner.
In addition to flying experience Ben has had significant involvement in safety & compliance, assisting as an auditor & investigator within the Safety Management System as well as the Training & Checking organisation at Chartair from 2011 to 2016. During this time he was heavily involved with the ongoing mentoring of pilots & assisting in the progressive development of comprehensive, relevant aviation training packages.
He has a strong background in business, having studied a Bachelor of Aviation Management at the University of New South Wales as well as managing hotels in Sydney for several years. Ben is committed to a holistic approach to pilot training emphasising such elements as operational efficiency, passenger management & customer service as well as a high technical standard.
Luke Zanatta
Senior Instructor, Darwin
Luke commenced his flying career in 2011, learning to fly at Redcliffe aerodrome in South East Queensland. Luke completed his Bachelor of Aviation degree at Griffith University & worked as a Flight Instructor at the Royal Queensland Aero Club. Luke’s tertiary qualifications provide him with a holistic insight into the aviation industry from an administrative & management perspective, whilst his previous experience with a large aviation training provider brings a direct injection of technical proficiency to Flight Standards. Luke has broadened his flying experience whilst in northern Australia by being a “reserve” pilot for local charter operators – & has enjoyed tenures away from Darwin operating a variety of aircraft including the AC50 Aerocommander in a survey role. In 2019 he was successful in becoming a Grade One Flight Instructor, this being worthy recognition of his efforts in developing as a trainer.
Prior to aviation, Luke worked as a restaurant manager, a role which has taught him to value the importance of friendly & efficient customer service, an aspect that he emphasises to students wishing to pursue a career as professional aviators.
Henry Deacon
Instructor, Darwin
Henry began his flying career in 2016, learning to fly at Nelson Aviation College in New Zealand. Eager to get some industry experience he moved to the Northern Territory. He worked as a line pilot and later the Senior Base Pilot for Kakadu Air where he conducted scenic and charter flights across the Top End. Taking on supervisory line training for new pilots entering Kakadu Air sparked an interest in the flight instructing / check and training vocation leading to Henry completing an Instructor Rating through Flight Standards.
Henry continues to provide training and supervision for the pilots at Kakadu Air and Marthakal Yolngu Air as well as using his previous experience to provide industry relevant training leading to the growth and development of individuals starting out in the industry. In his spare time Henry enjoys reading or heading out hunting and fishing.
Beau Thornton
Instructor, Alice Springs
Having come to Central Australia in another career, Beau admits that the move was originally intended for “just a few months”… However, like with so many before him, the Red Centre took hold of him and didn’t let go!
Beau originally learned to fly at the Alice Springs Aero Club and completed his Commercial Pilot Licence with Flight Standards in mid-2018. With a couple of years of subsequent experience behind him as a remote area charter pilot with Alice Springs Air Charter, Beau became a Flight Instructor with the aim of providing the Alice Springs aviation community this much-needed capability.
Beau continues to fly remote area charter, but is now an essential part of the relationship between the Alice Springs Aero Club and Flight Standards, managing the Club on a day-to-day basis whilst providing instruction to a growing number of budding Centralian pilots.
Andrew Harris
Senior Instructor, Archerfield
Andrew commenced his flying career after initially completing an automotive mechanic apprenticeship in Brisbane.
He was drawn to flight instruction both for the interpersonal interactions (there weren’t too many of these in the mechanic avenue!!) & the opportunity to assist people improve & maintain their professional standard. Andrew aims to achieve his Flight Examiner Rating & continue to experience as many different avenues in aviation as become available!
Pieter Hawkins
Instructor, Archerfield
Pieter commenced flying in 1998 at Archerfield. Whilst obtaining his initial hours, Licenses and Ratings he commenced working in skydive operations around Brisbane. During this period he also completed his Bachelor’s Degree at Griffith University.
Pieter’s career then progressed from Brisbane to Western New South Wales flying Multi-Engine IFR Charter and becoming Chief Pilot for a company in Moree. During this time he became aware of the need for training, and gained an instructor rating and multi-engine training approval as it was known then. This opened up the opportunity to conduct turbine training from previous experience. In 2003 Pieter moved to Cairns to fly for a large GA operator. He found the Cape Yorke, Torres Strait and Outback Queensland provided a challenging but enjoyable environment.
In 2004 Pieter joined Qantas as a Second Officer on the 747-300 “Classic“ conducting both Pilot and Flight Engineering duties. Following the retirement of the “Classic” he moved to the 747-400. In 2016 he commenced and completed his training as First Officer on the A330.
Throughout his airline career Pieter has maintained active involvement in the GA industry, conducting training for students seeking Initial Turbine Endorsements, Multi Engine Training and helping operators gain Training and Checking approvals from CASA. The journey during Covid has now found him working for Flight Standards when not flying Freight for Qantas. He enjoys the journey of learning and says “no matter who is sitting next to you there is always something to learn, I hope the feeling is mutual”! His family and love of snow sports keeps his flying habits in check!
Jay Davis
Instructor, Archerfield
Jay is one of life’s most easy going and affable personalities – comfortable with spending his downtime with family and friends on camping trips in preference to the hustle of the big city. Fishing and classical guitar rank amongst his favourite pastimes… Jay’s empathy and interest in others is what makes him a valuable member of our instructional team and for the past five years, has been a stalwart of the Southern Skies / Flight Standards Brisbane base.
These days, Jay contributes to our Flight Instructor Course and in aviation beyond the circuit area, Jay has experience with aircraft ferry flying and aerial photography.
Conner Gregory
Instructor, Archerfield
Conner is taking the unusual step of commencing his flying career as a junior Flight Instructor, as his primary personal & professional motivation is his desire to help others achieve their goals & make the training fun, rather than to simply fly aeroplanes like most of his peers. This rare altruistic attitude stems from his own experience in learning to fly & he believes that the industry is sorely lacking dedicated instructor pilots. Conner has mostly completed a Bachelor of Aviation degree with Griffith University & hopes to complete his studies for this during 2019. Conner worked as a ground / baggage handler for Virgin Australia to finance his flight training.
In his spare time, Conner enjoys paying touch football & cricket.
Tim Enright
Instructor, Archerfield
Tim commenced his aviation journey in late in the 1990’s – initially through a scholarship achieved through the Air Force Cadets & subsequently gaining a Private Pilot Licence in 2004. Tim’s “first” career was in civil & structural engineering for over ten years – however a desire to make aviation his professional focus led him back into the cockpit to complete his training – ultimately qualifying as a Flight Instructor in 2017. Balancing the two career directions has provided Tim unique experience with a solid grounding in management & business, which he believes enhances outcomes by helping those he works with to achieve their aviation goals in a timely manner without compromising the professional standard.
Raising a young family means that Tim does not get much spare time, but little he has is spent with his kids & socialising with friends.
Derrick Alberts
Instructor, Archerfield
David Roses
Senior Instructor, Perth
David grew up in Europe, but his original home in Australia was Sydney – where he learnt to fly. Over the past ten years since then he has worked as a Flight Instructor & remote area charter pilot in Far North Queensland & the Torres Strait.
Teaching is his passion, especially the Instrument Rating – and this led him to relocate to Perth in 2016 to become the Chief Flying Instructor of the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia’s instrument flight school. This ultimately resulted in him becoming a Flight Examiner, responsible for the standards of this flying school’s growing IFR department.
Eager for a continued adventure, David signed on for regional airline flying in the United States – living for a time in Texas and flying Embraer 175 jet aircraft out of Houston & Chicago-O’Hare. David now has a young family, which he has elected to settle back into the relaxed lifestyle of Western Australia and head up our Jandakot team. Outside of work, David enjoys the outdoors, flies Tiger Moths for fun and tinkers with website design.
Ben Patch
Instructor, Perth
Ben completed his flight training in Brisbane along with a Bachelor of Aviation from Griffith University. Moving to the Top End, he found work as a charter pilot operating a variety of aircraft types in bases across remote Arnhemland & in larger bases such as Darwin. Now that his focus has moved towards flight instruction, Ben draws on his experience as a charter pilot to give the ever-important practical context to students.
For the past 18 months, Ben has been involved in charter & scenic flying operations providing training & checking to Kakadu Air, Gunbalanya Air Charter & Marthakal Yolngu Air. He has also been engaged in marine survey for prawn and dugong spotting operations. He has undertaken training in Aviation Lead Auditing, Safety & Quality Management Systems & assists with the ever-important compliance side of the Flight Standards group.
Ben recently relocated to the newly established Western Australian branch of Flight Standards at Jandakot. He has been providing crew for a local turbo-prop operator whilst working and developing within the flying school.
Rowley Walsh
Instructor, Perth
Rowley completed his flight training at Jandakot in 2018. Seeking adventure and an opportunity to gain valuable industry experience he ventured north to Broome where he found work as a scenic and charter pilot. Rowley flew a variety of aircraft all over the Kimberly before travelling to train with us in Darwin towards his Instrument and Multi Engine Class Rating, then later his Instructor Rating.
Rowley likes seeing students progress through milestones to ultimately gain a pilot licence. He now resides back in Perth and enjoys his work life balance more than ever.
Harry Keal
Administration
Harry is currently training for his Commercial Pilot Licence & has elected to join the Flight Standards team as the Administrative Manager for the Company – ensuring that we always have a presence even when the instructors are all out flying. Formerly an Operations Controller at Airnorth, Harry has an excellent background in the aviation industry to ensure that all our needs are covered & that our clients are always attended to promptly & well. Harry is an accomplished hockey player & when not studying for his pilot’s licence – enjoys a night out on the town with his many friends.