Sue started her flying career in 1984, training at Paraparaumu Flight Training. She progressed to her CPL and flight instructing in Kapiti then from Wanaka Airport with Aspiring Air operating flights to Milford Sound and scenic flights to Mount Cook and Mount Aspiring. Sue continued to renew her Flight Instructor rating which was beneficial to the areas she was based at. Aircraft types flown were Britten Norman Islanders, C207, C206, C172 and C177. Her general aviation opportunities expanded to Queenstown with Queenstown Flight Seeing (now RealNZ) flying Twin Otters and Nomads to Milford Sound and charters to Manapouri, Franz Josef, Christchurch and Mount Cook airports.

Family commitments and the sale of the turbine aircraft changed Sue’s flying direction toward aircraft ownership, flight instruction, and guided pilot tours. Sue has flown for several tourist operators, she has management experience in the 135, 141 and 115 AOC operations, she is a strong advocate for General Aviation and Sue now looks forward to greeting members of the Marlborough Aero Club as CFI.

I was born in Auckland but spent most of my childhood living in the USA where I picked up my funny accent. I finished off my schooling at Massey High School in Auckland before moving down to Hawkes Bay to Start my flight training. I graduated from Air Hawkes Bay with a diploma in aviation at the end of 2016. With no flying jobs for me at the time I graduated, I worked at Western ITM in hardware and timber Sales for a year and a half. In 2019 I was hired by Air New Zealand as a Flight Data Analyst where my career in aviation safety started. My job was to collect and analyse the flight data that come off the aircraft from all of the Air New Zealand fleets as well as assist in investigations of aircraft incidents. Unfortunately Covid-19 rendered me redundant and so I ended up moving to Blenheim where I started work as ground crew for Sounds Air. While working at Sounds Air I decided to do my C-CAT instructors rating. After passing the flight test, I instructed casually at the aeroclub from time to time. Earlier this year I left my job at Sounds Air and moved back up to Auckland where I got a job at a company called Salus Aviation as a Safety Management Systems Specialist. I worked at Salus for 2 months before being offered the job instructing at the aeroclub. I am happy to be moving out of Auckland and back down to quiet little Blenheim where I will now be instructing full time and working part time for Salus remotely.

I was born and bred in beautiful Blenheim.  My work history involves working full-time within an accountancy firm for 12 years, and then various part-time roles as sole office administrator in-between having 3 boys.