Life as a Westpac rescue helicopter pilot

Dan can't remember what sparked his love of aviation. It's not something that was passed down through his family, but flying was something he always wanted to do.

"I don't know what the initial spark was, I couldn't tell you. But I do know I was making decisions as a primary school kid as to what high school was going to be best to get me into aviation."

It took a while to fulfil that dream. His plan to join the Air Force didn't pan out, but he worked as a computer programmer for 10 years, funding flying lessons until he was accepted into the Army in the early 2000s. During that time, he was deployed to East Timor and Afghanistan.

In 2012, having left the military, Dan began flying rescue helicopters in Victoria.

He had also started a family, and the decision was made about 18 months ago to move closer to family. Dan, wife Candace, and children Hudson, 12, Charlotte, 8, moved to the Northern Rivers.

With that move came a relocation to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.

Dan now flies the state-of-the-art AW139. He said a lot has changed since in the 12 years he's been flying rescue helicopters.

"I started in the Bell 412. It's almost a steam driven helicopter compared to this - all dials and gauges, no computer screens, or what we call glass cockpit, and very rudimentary auto pilot system.

"The AW139 is very advanced, all glass cockpit very high levels of autopilot assistance. So that you can rely on the helicopter doing what it's meant to do and concentrate on the what they are trying to achieve."

This proves invaluable when trying to keep patients in your sights - for example, when they are in choppy seas.

"It always gets down to the challenge of trying to get to a place that's not an airport in bad weather. Airports are set up with all sorts of aids to help fly in bad conditions such as low cloud," Dan said. "Where we're going, it's a hole in the trees, it's a road, it's an intersection, it's a paddock. So that becomes a challenge. When the cloud is low, the visibility is low. There's heavy rain and we're trying not to bump into hills. It's an unknown area for us almost every time."

Pilots have to have thousands of hours flying experience to fly a rescue helicopter. Dan said there's a heavy amount of ex-military in this industry, because of the skillset required with the use of night vision googles. "Not many civilian pilots gets access to that."

Dan said people are surprised to hear he rides a motorbike, given the crashes he attends. But his line of work highlights the importance of embracing life.

"You've got to live in the moment," he said. "But not in a silly way."

That also extends to his children, in whom he tries to foster an approach to life that will keep them safe, rather than shield them.

"I want to instil in them that you have to take responsibility for yourself.

"I'm going to people's worst day of their lives all the time. Some of it is purely by accident. Sometimes it's because they've done something silly and this is the consequence of that silliness.

"I'm not going to put the bubble wrap around them, they've got to make their own decisions. I can't be there all the time, so I need that little voice in the back of their head to be there, saying 'maybe this is not such a good idea'."

Dan has had a few opportunities to catch up with people who they've helped.

"It doesn't happen a great deal, but it's nice when it does. It's good to see someone back on their feet. They are often unrecognisable to us.

"I don't take much for granted any more."