Try before you fly at Mareeba Flight Training open day

If you’re dreaming of a career as a pilot, a Far North Queensland open day will provide plenty of inspiration – and even the possibility of taking to the skies. Read when its on.

Pilot Ed Hawthorn with instructor David Pett on a flight from the MAF Flight Training Centre in Mareeba. Picture: Supplied

If you’re dreaming of a career as a pilot, a Far North Queensland open day will provide plenty of inspiration – and even the possibility of taking to the skies.

Since 2021, CQUniversity in Cairns has partnered with Mission Aviation Fellowship’s Flight Training Centre at Mareeba to offer a three-year Bachelor of Aviation degree course.

The partnership mixes theory and lectures from CQU with practical training by MAF’s experienced instructors at Mareeba Airport.

The pilot training open day is an opportunity to check out the planes that students fly, try the flight simulator, meet staff and students, and to ask questions about the course.

MAF’s Australian head of flight operations Tim Vallance-Webb shows Joshua Baertschi the controls of a MAF plane. Picture: Supplied

CQU and MAF will host the open day at MAF’s Training Centre at Mareeba Airport on Saturday February 11 from 9am to 1pm.

The centre’s head of delivery René Don said interested students can book a trial flight for a discounted cost.

“The open day is for anyone who has a dream of becoming a pilot one day, but this will especially interest someone who wants to do the degree course,” Mr Don said.

“This course focuses on commercial pilot training for people who want to fly planes as a career – they could be school leavers, young adults or people at a later phase in life who are looking for a career change.

Mission Aviation Fellowship and Aviation Australia opened a new global pilot aviation training centre at Mareeba Airport, with a state of the art flight simulator being operated by flight instructor Volkher Jacobsen. Picture: Marc McCormack

“It’s really good for a regional area like Mareeba to have this level of training, right here on the Tablelands, and I think people will really enjoy their morning here.”

Mr Don said young aviation fans would have fun checking out the planes and the simulator, while getting the opportunity to find out more about flying.

“Even if you’ve got kids that are too young for our degree course, I think they’ll have a great time at the open day and it will encourage their ambitions of flying in the future,” Mr Don said.

Originally published as Try before you fly at Mareeba Flight Training open day