Parks and Wildlife Service Senior Spotter Pilot Bronwen Prinsloo has the ‘world’s best office’

Despite being a women working in the traditionally male-dominated field, a senior spotter pilot believes she has the “world’s best office”. Brownwen Prinsloo has been flying commercial planes for more than seven years, learning to fly at the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia and Western Australian Aviation College before saving enough money to complete her Tailwheel Undercarriage Endorsement which led to her successful application as a fire spotter with the Department of Parks and Wildlife in 2017. The Perth-born pilot said the best parts of her job are getting to fly the plane all the time, the sights she sees and the people she works with. “It’s magical the moment that like your wheels lift off and you’re up in the air and it’s just you,” she said. “On days it’s bumpy, it’s not as fun, but it’s still just it’s magical. It’s wonderful.” “And you feel like you’re making a difference because especially when you find a fire early and even though it can be sort of anti-climactic because nothing happens, it’s good that nothing happened because you found it early and everyone got to deal with it.” Ms Prinsloo said even though aviation and fire are traditionally male-dominated industries, everyone that she works with is “absolutely wonderful”. “Everyone has been super welcoming and super accommodating,” she said. “I started when I was 19, so I was pretty young and I was a little bit worried about being a young female pilot coming into this, but I had nothing to worry about whatsoever.” Ms Prinsloo — who was made senior base pilot in Manjimup in 2021 where she lives during the summer season — said every day her job involves checking prescribed burns, aiding ground efforts to fight fires, and completing area checks for bushfires — more frequently when it is particularly hot or windy and after lighting strikes. “You show up every day, we check on prescribed burns, check that everything is where it’s meant to be. It’s all within the boundaries,” she said. “Will give feedback to the ground crews if they’re there,” she said, “How the fire’s progressing, flame height, rate of spread if that’s what’s required, just any information that they’re looking for. “And then once we get into the hot part of summer, we’ll be making sure that there’s no fires where there’s not meant to be.” Ms Prinsloo worked on the Stirling Range fire in 2019 and said watching the fire was fascinating and terrifying. “And kudos to the ground crews because I wouldn’t want to be where they are,” she said. “They’re super brave.”