4 minute read
SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS
by PHI
Meet Our New Senior First Officer in Cyprus
HomeBase spoke to Isabel Orran Padilla, Senior First Officer at our Cyprus base, about her career as a helicopter pilot, her experience as a woman in the aviation industry and what it’s like being based in sunny Cyprus.
Isabel’s interest in flying started at a young age, with her father’s passion for flying fueling her curiosity in a career as a pilot.
“Being a pilot was always the goal, but I had put it to the back of my mind because I couldn’t see an obvious route into training school. I was incredibly lucky when an opportunity presented itself,” says Isabel.
Isabel was preparing to go to university when she was awarded a financial grant to support her to pursue her dream and go to pilot school. She studied for two years to get her commercial license, which combined a lot of practical training, as well as time in the classroom studying aviation theory.
Isabel entered the workforce in 2010 and has had an exciting and varied career since then,working across emergency response services, the oil and gas industry and passengertransportation services.
She first worked as a firefighting copilot with Faasa Aviation where she was flying Bell 412 and Russian Kamov Ka32 as a fully type-rated first officer. The Ka32 is one of the biggest firefighting helicopters flying in Europe with almost 13,000 kg maximum take-off weight (AW139 is 7,000kg) and 5,000 liters of water in the Bambi bucket. She then took on a role with Babcock (formerly INAER), flying non-type-rated Agusta 109 and Eurocopter EC 135 helicopters as a copilot. During this time, she undertook 10 firefighting campaigns—nine in Spain and one in Chile, which Isabel describes as being both exciting and challenging.
“Working as a pilot, fighting fires and attending emergencies is incredibly rewarding. Flying towards a large fire, you get goosebumps and you can really see the progress as you tackle the fire. It’s a great feeling to be able to make a difference, saving homes and saving lives in challenging conditions and often racing against the clock to limit the spread and extinguish the fire.”
Isabel then served as Senior First Officer with Helity, a passenger transportation services providerin Europe, before working for the NHV Group as First Officer where she served the offshore oiland gas industry in the Northern Sea.
“I heard Cyprus was a great place to live, and when I saw the role advertised, I put my nameforward. I was also encouraged by colleagues who had worked for PHI previously. I had neveractually been to Cyprus before, but the role and the lifestyle in Cyprus motivated me to apply.”
“So far it’s been great! I have time to enjoy the island and live just 200 metres from the beach.Between the mountains and the beach, there’s a lot to enjoy, and there seems to be a good worklifebalance.”
For those who are interested in a career in aviation, Isabel encourages patience.
“It’s a combination of learning on the job through getting your flying hours in as well as studying. Itcan be intense and demanding and requires a lot of commitment.”
Being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry has presented some challenges butsignificant progress has been made, says Isabel.
“I think the industry has come a long way in the last few years and while there’s more that can still be done, it’s a great industry to be a part of, with a lot of opportunities—whether that be aerial firefighting, flying as part of emergency response or servicing offshore industries. I’d recommend it as a career to anyone.”
