David started his career on a property in the Gulf Country of North West Queensland, mustering cattle – flying at high speeds only 10-50 feet off the ground with no help from technology.

His varied career in aviation has also seen him work as a Coast Watch Pilot on Thursday Island and later spend 20 years flying long haul for Qantas and also fly for Air Vanuatu.

He’s now the Senior Base Pilot in Mount Isa for the RFDS (Queensland Section), this is his story!

The RFDS is home to some of the most highly regarded pilots in the world. Their skill and expertise are second to none, but many of them didn’t start their careers in aviation. Many of them have had very successful careers in completely unrelated fields.

One of them is Brisbane Senior Base Pilot, Steve Wallace, who had a 10 year career in banking before deciding to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. He's now been with the Flying Doctor for just as long! Edwina Stott sat down with him to hear his route to the runway.

The Routes to the Runway Series from the Royal Flying Doctor (Queensland Section) podcast is giving you access to some of the most highly skilled & experienced pilots in the world.

In this episode, you’ll hear Victoria Harrison’s story.

Victoria was only the 10th female pilot to graduate into the Royal Australian Air Force. She spent 18 years flying VIPs out of Canberra, then went on to fly Caribou aircraft in Timor & Papua New Guinea, before becoming a flying instructor. She’s now a pilot for the RFDS Queensland Section in Townsville and this years marks her 10th with the organization. This is her story.

The RFDS Queensland Section’s 20 strong fleet is kept in the sky by our team of 70 highly skilled pilots.

They are all the best at what they do, but how their stories and how they came to their careers in aviation are often completely different.

In the Routes to the Runway series we’ll hear some of the stories and get to know some of the pilots who help keep the Doctor flying.

Charleville Senior Base pilot, Nick Tully grew up on a station between Quilpie and Windorah in Western Queensland.

As one of 10 children, the Flying Doctor was frequently called upon.

Nick now flies for the Service in Charleville, close to where he grew up and often flies people he’s known his whole life.

Listen to the podcast to hear more of his story and what it’s like to fly for the service.

The Flying Doctor in Queensland can be with a patient anywhere in the state within 2 hours by air. Sometimes though, even a couple of hours isn't quick enough.

That's when the RFDS medical chest becomes an essential tool for living remotely. The chest can provide lifesaving medication while patients wait for the Service to arrive and is also used in non urgent cases enabling doctors to prescribe medication from one of the 1,200 chemist like boxes dotted around the state.

In you'll hear Annette Saleta, the State Services Coordinator in Queensland as well as with Betty from Eromanga and Trevor from SeaSwift who use the service both on land and sea!

Read more about the service here: https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/qld/our-services/telehealth-medical-chests/

Greg King is the Royal Flying Doctor’s longest serving remote pilot in Queensland.

He’s flown over 1.6 million nautical miles – which is the equivalent of four return trips to the moon!

Now, though after close to 20 years in Mount Isa, he’s hanging up his wings and heading out of town.