Stunt pilot Emma McDonald breaking barriers at Pacific Air Show
It’s the stuff of nightmares for your average passenger, but dizzying spins and death-defying drops are all part of Emma McDonald’s aviation dream. Here’s how she earned her wings.
Gold Coast
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The plane is upside down, now spinning in dizzying revolutions, and smoke is billowing out from behind.
It’s a nightmare scenario for any passenger.
But for Emma McDonald, this is absolutely her aviation dream.
And when it comes to next month’s Pacific Air Show, that’s exactly why she’ll be up in the clouds while we’ll be safely standing on the sand.
As the only female pilot in the three-day event, which is set to inject $25m into the Gold Coast economy and lure up to 150,000 tourists, Ms McDonald is accustomed to breaking barriers.
The 33-year-old will be flying alongside Australian Matt Hall, one of the world’s most accomplished aerobatic pilots and reigning Red Bull Air Race World Champion, as part of his team.
The pair will showcase their skills in Hall’s Edge 540 racing aircraft or MXS-R display aircraft while Ms McDonald, also a qualified race pilot and aerobatic competitor, will fly the Extra 300.
For Ms McDonald, simply earning a spot in the super-competitive aerobatics industry was an incredible achievement, let alone becoming one of the few female pilots.
“My dad took me to the Raglan Air Show in Rockhampton a few years ago and as soon as I saw the aerobatic display, that was it,” she said.
“I turned to my dad and said ‘that’s what I want to do’. He warned me that not only was aerobatics very difficult to do, it was also a very niche sector and was even tougher to break into.
“But I just knew that I had to do it. We actually watched Matt Hall perform and afterwards we had a chat about what I needed to do to become an aerobatics pilot and I just worked my way through the list.
“When a job came up at Matt Hall Racing, I met with him but didn’t think I was ready. But he told me to back myself so I applied … and I got the job.
“Even then, the job was not guaranteed flying but I just did whatever I could to keep getting up in the air and he could see my determination. When he decided to expand, the pilot role was mine.
“The very first show I performed in was at Raglan, the same show where I first met him, and he was flying on my wing. It was full circle and so special.
“I’m hoping there will be a whole new generation of future pilots, especially girls, watching from the beach next month who we can inspire in the same way.”
While flying is now Ms McDonald’s home turf, so to speak, it wasn’t long ago she was setting records on land as a diesel fitter.
Despite coming from a long line of pilots, including her father, uncles, aunts and grandparents, she said she was first fascinated by engines.
“When I left school I went in a completely different direction. I loved knowing how things worked so I decided to become a diesel fitter,” she said.
“I was the first female apprentice at (major mining services company) Hastings Deering and I ended up becoming the apprentice of the year for the branch and runner-up apprentice of the year for the Asia Pacific region.
“I was there for eight years and I learned some very important lessons, like how to keep your focus no matter what people say.
“When I started I was the only woman and there were a lot of naysayers — my very first day I was told that I didn’t belong there. But I just thought, you can have your opinion … I’ll show you what I’m made of.
“When the statistics aren’t in your favour, you can get down or you can show up.
“Don’t believe people when they say you’ll never get there.”
It’s a motto that holds true for the Gold Coast itself, with the city picked as the sister site for the world famous Pacific Airshow at California’s Huntington Beach.
Last year the event became the first airshow to be streamed live on Hulu, the most popular streaming service in the US, which reached millions of viewers.
Event organiser Kevin Elliott said Pacific Airshow Gold Coast would be the greatest airshow ever seen in Australia, with some of the world’s most powerful military aircraft soaring through the sky above Surfers Paradise.
High-powered combat aircraft including the F-18 Super Hornet and the F-16 Fighting Falcon will switch on the afterburners and perform aerial manoeuvres for crowds after the Royal Australian Air Force and US Air Force both signed on for the August 18-20 event.
More than 40 performers from 20 different aerial acts will take part on the Gold Coast. Planes will launch from both Amberley air base in Brisbane and Coolangatta airport.
While the event will be free to watch from the beach, tickets will be needed for the grandstands and hospitality areas which will be built on the sand overlooking the water.
Ms McDonald said she was thrilled to be a part of the show, and had also been invited to take part in the Huntington Beach event.
“Flying along the Surfers skyline is possibly one of the best routes you can fly as a pilot,” she said.
“Honestly, the views will be epic whether you’re in the air or on the sand. It’s going to be an incredible event.
“This will be unlike anything any Australian audience has seen before, and it’s going to be fantastic for the industry as well, we’ve never had so much attention on the skies like this.
“Matt took part in the Huntington Beach show last year and he was blown away. The fact that I get to do this here is unbelievable.
“It’s going to be non-stop.”
As to just what she’ll be doing, Ms McDonald said she had plenty of tricks lined up.
In fact, the sky truly is the limit.
“I’ll have Matt on my wing in a two-ship formation … you’ll see him about two metres away from me, and we’ll be doing loops and barrel rolls.
“We’ll be doing solo performances as well as formations, we’ll be flying along inverted opposite each other, rolling in position while in formation. We’ll be doing unique position changes you won’t see anywhere else … and we’re still working on a few other things.
“It is intense up there and you have to be very focused and rehearsed. But there is no fear. If you can see my face, you’ll see me smiling and having fun, unless I’m really concentrating and have my serious face on.
“This is what I live for and I’m so lucky to do it for a living.”
And the Gold Coast is just lucky to watch … safely from the sand.
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