Flying High

He’s a top gun with ambition, but still includes God in his plans. By Brenton Stacey.

Conan Jerrard is one of the youngest pilots ever to fly for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Queensland. He joined what he calls the “pinnacle of general aviation” at age 26, fulfilling a dream that began 20 years ago in South Africa. “My uncle in Johannesburg owned a small aircraft and invited me to go flying with him in,” says Conan, who grew up in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. “I was only six, but I knew I wanted to be a pilot.”

Despite this ambition, he went to Avondale College, Cooranbong, NSW, his church’s tertiary training institution (he’s a Seventh-day Adventist), to pursue a career in business. But a turning point came during his first day as a business student.

“I lasted half a morning,” he says, “then transferred to the college’s School of Aviation. He graduated in 1995.

Conan first worked as a pilot in PNG for four years, including two with the Goroka-based Adventist Aviation Services. He returned to PNG after completing further study at Avondale, before flying as chief pilot for charter companies in Cairns and in Mount Isa, Qld. He joined the Royal Flying Doctor in February 2002.

One of 31 such pilots in Queensland, Conan flies a Pilatus PC12, which is capable of speeds up to 500 km/h and has a range of 1500 kilometres.

And while the plane is robust and capable, “Landing in bad weather at night on unprepared strips with no landing lights can be difficult,” Conan says, with a hint of Outback understatement.

His home base is Charleville, in central west Queensland, and services more than 620,000 km2, an area the size of the UK. His territory extends from the New South Wales border in the south, to the Northern Territory and South Australian borders in the west, and east to the Carnarvon Ranges. The flying doctors in Charleville conduct more than 7500 patient consultations per year.

A typical week might include flying doctors and nurses from Charleville on “clinic runs” to remote communities.

“We cancel the clinics if we’re called to an emergency—most of which coincide with the tourist season,” says Conan.

Conan is on call every day of the week, including Saturday, when he is “off” work. As a practising Seventh-day Adventist, working on Saturday isn’t usually an option. But, says Conan, “I’ve got no problems doing my job on the Sabbath.” He cites the Bible story of Jesus healing on the Sabbath then challenging the Pharisees about whether or not they would rescue their ox if it had fallen into a well. “If someone gets hurt, you go and pick them up,” he asserts.

Conan’s interest in the Flying Doctor Service began when he joined their children’s club while in primary school and began writing to the service in high school. “I asked what I needed to do to get a job. I wrote again whenever I reached an academic or aviation milestone or changed jobs.

“My wife, Amanda—my girlfriend at the time—was studying in Cairns, but I was working in Mount Isa. I found the distance separating us hard to deal with.”

Then, about to resign, the Flying Doctor called and asked him to come to Brisbane for an interview with its chief pilot. A test flight followed, and he got the job.

Conan acknowledges the presence of God in his life, and says he believes that God played a major role in the fulfilment of his dream.

“Always stick up for your beliefs,” says Conan. “People will only respect you for it.”

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