Another of Our Winners Has Secured Full Time Paid Employment as a Pilot
We are very proud to announce that Gemma Bray has secured a full time role as Flight Instructor at Nelson Aero Club! Wohoo!
Gemma Bray was the fourth student to win the Pauwels Flying Scholarship Special Award. This was back in the day when it was only available to Canterbury based students and potential candidates couldn’t apply - they had to be nominated by senior members of the aviation industry here in Canterbury.
Gemma was nominated because of her well known commitment to become a pilot, her steely determination and because of her family circumstances.
By the time she came to our attention in 2022 at the age of 17, she had already known she would become a pilot for five years. She had been bitten by the bug when she was 12.
Discovering so early in life what her career goal was, she was able to plan her senior years at high school and choose subjects that would accelerate her chances to become a pilot. She excelled in school and considered herself a bit nerdy, choosing to forego social occasions so she could focus on her studies. She was an all rounder, having been an advanced skier in more salubrious times and was on her school’s netball team. She loves singing and plays badminton. She also has a very involved background in dance and gymnastics.
Her family life was far from settled and John witnessed first hand some of the difficulties her family were dealing with, when a medical event occurred in front of him in a public setting. Gemma dealt with the event calmly and professionally and carried on once she knew her family member was being looked after.
We took Gemma through the rugged assessment phase, and in short, she dazzled her interviewers and blitzed the testing. We were proud to present her with her Scholarship in June 2022. She was sponsored by Hugo Charitable Trust.
Later in 2022 she was awarded the Young Eagle of the Year Award and also went solo.
She started at IAANZ in early 2023 and completed her CPL in mid 2024, moving to Nelson Aviation College to complete her C Cat Flight Instructors rating. She was fortunate to have been selected for a fully funded position. She formally graduated from IAANZ in December 2024 and began to look for a job at the same time.
Gemma drove the length and breadth of New Zealand, making appointments to meet with potential employers as she did what could be considered to be an epic roadie!
Gemma can pick up the story here….
After looking for a job in New Zealand for six months, things didn't seem to be moving very well with the airlines having stopped hiring. Everything was stagnant. With this in mind, I made the decision to move to Australia (Darwin specifically) and absolutely loved my time over there!
For those of you thinking of going to Aussie, the flying really isn't too different. Just a lot easier to get lost for us kiwis! While undertaking the instructor conversion process, I got a phone call from Nelson Aero Club asking if I was still looking for a job and wanted to run the club. Safe to say I was pretty excited! I've now started at Nelson and am the only employed instructor here. This gives me heaps of hours and also lots of freedom.
