She races jets: Tam Camilleri

Jet-race pilot, airshow jet formation pilot, commercial pilot, aviation business-owner, charter pilot, survey pilot, flight instructor, aviation safety and compliance manager, speaker, industry panellist, mother, wife, carer, inclusion advocate and mentor to many, Camilleri’s determination in life and share-the-love attitude is infectious.

When I rattle off this huge and impressive list, you can tell Camilleri’s not entirely comfortable. I ask what stands out as the one things that makes her smile the most, and why.

‘For me, it’s about sharing the passion for aviation, giving back and supporting others,’ she says. ‘I love being able to share my passion of aviation, to give back, support and mentor – and there’s no age or gender thing there. I’ve had amazing support throughout my journey and I love paying it forward. Helping someone else succeed, that’s when my cup is full. A mentor once told me, “Aviation’s been good to me. It’s good to give back” and that resonates deeply with me.’

Why are you a pilot?

‘Because I really love flying,’ Camilleri says. ‘I was probably only 4 but I remember it vividly – being in the back of a small Cessna 172, looking down at miniature houses and miniature cars and just thinking “wow”. Then that feeling was always there. And when I could afford flying lessons, it was like putting petrol on a flame. It just went “whoosh!”’

Challenge and growth

Since then, it’s since been continuous aviation growth for Camilleri who co-owns FastJet Adventure Flights and PanAir Flight Training with her husband, Charlie. After holding a private licence for a long time, she obtained her commercial licence with the help of a scholarship from Australian Women Pilots’ Association in 2010, with numerous upgrades since. Camilleri then sought to integrate her teaching and instructing experience from other roles into her flying. ‘As a 2,000-hour pilot, learning how to instruct flying was another challenge and that opened other avenues.’

Why are you a jet-race pilot?

‘It was purely the challenge, to see if I was good enough to get through and learn something new at an older age,’ Camilleri says. ‘I thought that I’m either going to get through and achieve, or I’m going to learn a hell of a lot and not get through, but I’ll still be a better pilot.’

Describing the training as more intense than the racing itself, Camilleri says, ‘I didn’t expect to get through!’ But get through she did, becoming one of only 5 women in the world certified to race high-performance jets at the Reno Air Race.

‘It was an awesome experience to fly with some of the best pilots in the world,’ Camilleri says. ‘And they trusted me to fly with them, alongside astronauts, F-4 and F-16 pilots. The day I landed the jet after that first race, that was definitely a bit of a punch-the-fist-in-the-air moment.’

Jet racing is inherently a very dangerous sport. What’s your biggest aviation safety takeaway from the racing and training? And does that translate to all aviation?

‘Don’t get white line fever. You don’t have to die for this. Be as safe as you possibly can and be predictable,’ she says.

‘I had a moment of all of that very early on in racing where I had a choice – push it or choose to make a decision that was safe. Another racer made a bad decision and created a bad situation, so I chose to back off and let them go. I still managed to beat them, but that didn’t matter. What matters is to have that mindset. In jet racing we all need to react the same way, be predictable and not force it if something happens, because we all want to come back to our families.’

Camilleri says this jet racing mindset translates into all aspects of aviation, right down to being a student pilot. ‘How many times as a pilot have we forced a landing? Don’t force it. If it feels bad, go around. And be predictable, follow the rules and the norms – take off and climb and turn the circuit direction and fly the standard procedure. That’s predictability and safety and it will carry forward your entire career.’

I am not better than anybody else, just someone who had an opportunity and ran with it and worked really, really hard to make it happen.

What is it that you hope to be to inspire women to be pilots?

‘I just really want them to see me as I am, authentic and approachable,’ Camilleri says. ‘I am not better than anybody else, just someone who had an opportunity and ran with it and worked really, really hard to make it happen. I’m just another woman exactly like everyone else. I’m a mother, I look after my Mum, I have a house, a husband, 2 fur-babies, the kids at the local school I love nurturing and mentoring, I can be all of that. I think in general, you can do anything, you can be anything. Nothing has ever come easy to me, it’s never been an easy journey, but that’s life.

‘Women bring valuable perspectives to aviation. It’s not about competing with the boys because there’s room for everyone at the table, and I believe that diversity strengthens the industry. As women, multitasking is our superpower and we need to showcase that.

‘But also, the need to be approachable and recognise the impact we have on people. I don’t want to be “that” person, the one you can’t come and talk to, I want to be approachable.’

Camilleri was recently introduced to a young woman who, as soon as they started talking, burst into tears. ‘At first, I was taken aback,’ Camilleri says. ‘Why such a strong emotional reaction from someone I had just met? But as she opened up. I realised just how powerful this moment was. She had been following my journey for some time and saw in me what she dreams of achieving. It was a profound reminder of the responsibility that we carry when we break barriers in our fields.

‘Our success isn’t just our own. It’s about being visible for those who are striving to follow in our footsteps. It made me really realise how much of an impact being seen and being authentic has, and how that really matters.’