Heligirls - Curt Lewis

Female firefighting pilots leading the way

When it comes to taking to the skies to combat fires, women are still few and far between. However, Capt Natalie Jones and pilot Alba Castellanos are paving the way for a younger generation to get in on the action.

Alba Castellanos, left, and Capt Natalie Jones with an Erickson Aircrane at Serpentine Airfield. Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services Photo

From the United States and Spain respectively, they travel the world from Greece to Turkey, the United States and Australia, fighting fires in one of the world's largest firefighting helicopters, the twin-engine Sikorsky S-64E Aircrane.

As the only female Aircrane pilots currently working for Erickson Aviation, the first opportunity they had to work together was in Western Australia on the Aircrane Georgia Peach, which is contracted to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES).

The two were on shift together from first to last light at Serpentine Airfield south of Perth and Alba said it was great to be able to work with Natalie and share some of their experiences.

Alba, 43, a former professional musician, fell in love with flying after tagging along with a friend who was crop dusting near the Spanish coast.

"That sensation of flying was awesome and especially feeling the hover which is different from fixed wing. It just touched me in such a way that it became a love story for me," Alba said.

After completing flight school in Madrid she worked in South America, flying passengers in and out of the jungle for oil-and-gas companies.

This is Alba's first time in Western Australia; however she has been with Erickson for two and a half years and has worked extensively in Greece fighting wildfires.

"There is a lot of sea exposure and winds in Greece. Sometimes you are picking up water from the sea and then climbing up because it is quite steep and you are on full power, full of water just going up and down [cliffs] all day."

Natalie, 38, said she has worked in Australia before during the 2016 Waroona bushfires.

"That was a pretty extensive fire season and we were down there with all the other aircraft trying to be effective," Natalie said.

Natalie said she had dreamed of learning to fly since high school but it was not until after university, when she was working a desk job, that she took the plunge.

"I found a little one man operation that was doing flight instruction and during the introductory flight he let me take the controls. From that point on I was hooked," she said.

"It is one of those things you absolutely fall in love with once you do it."

After 10 years in the industry and four and a half with Erickson, Natalie said she still gets a thrill flying the Aircrane during a bushfire.

"Heading towards a fire you see the smoke plume and where the wind direction is coming from," she said.

"You start setting up how you are going to make your approaches into your drop patterns, looking to see is anyone down there because this beast can carry a lot of water."

Both Alba and Natalie said it was still rare for women to fly large helicopters, but knowing someone else has made it in the industry can be a great encouragement.

"I have had a lot of other female helicopter pilots who have reached out to me to and asked how did you get to where you are because I want to do that too," Natalie said.