Rotorua graduate a step closer to dream job

Seven pilots including Rotorua's Daniel Walker (second from left) graduated from the air force.

Rotorua's Daniel Walker is flying high after graduating from the New Zealand Air Force.

The former Rotorua Boys' High School student was one of seven Royal New Zealand Air Force pilots recently presented with their brevets at a graduation parade at Air Force Base Ohakea.

The brevets signified the successful completion of flight training, something Mr Walker had spent more than four years working towards.

He said he was thrilled to have his hard work recognised.

"It was a pretty special moment to be honest. Over the years it [graduating] has been built up to be a massive achievement, and when I finally got there, I realised it really was," he said.

"Finally, I'm no longer training and it's my actual job. It's my dream job."

Mr Walker said he had always been interested in being a pilot, but was unsure whether he wanted to fly civilian aircrafts or fly in the Air Force.

He applied for the Air Force in 2011, believing it would have more opportunities than flying civilian planes and he hasn't looked back since.

After completing officer training in 2011 and basic flying training in 2012, he began advanced flying training, giving him the opportunity to do all kinds of aerobatic manoeuvres.

"Doing double barrell rolls was one of the highlights. It was lots of fun and surprisingly it wasn't scary at all."

Mr Walker now hopes to fly even bigger and better planes and travel to different places with his career.

Commanding Officer of Flying Training, Wing Commander Richard Beaton, said the award of the pilots' brevet represented a milestone in every military pilot's career, and was the culmination of a demanding but rewarding period of training.

The graduates started with initial officer training before completing aviation medical training and survival training. The next step was learning to fly a CT-4E Airtrainer, culminating in 130 hours' flying time.

The final step was learning the complex systems of the King Air aircraft and flying as single pilot captains accruing an extra 90 hours.

The new pilots will go on to fly A109, NH90 or Seasprite helicopters, C-130 Hercules, Boeing 757s or P-3K2 Orions, he said.