Larissa flying high after Pilot of the Year nomination

Warnervale’s Larissa Wilbow is flying high after being nominated as Young Pilot of the Year in the upcoming Australian Aviation Awards, an exciting awards program that recognises excellence across Australia’s aviation industry.  

As a Doyalson Air League Cadet, Wilbow was consistently recognised as the NSW Australian Air League of the Year from Junior, Cadet and Senior years and was also Overall NSW Cadet of the Year in 2022.

Her passion for flying started at around eight years of age and now she’s just weeks off completing her Double Diploma in Aviation with Sydney Flight College in Bankstown where she has been offered a scholarship to complete Instructor Rating working towards her dream of becoming a commercial pilot.

“I had always been around aviation, my father had a plane and we did lots of joy flights,” the 19-year-old said.

“But it wasn’t until around Year 11 that I thought I could make a career out of it.”

An outstanding student, she was named Year 12 Student of the Year at Wadalba Community School where she was acknowledged for inspiring teachers, staff and students throughout her studies and applauded for her work ethic and her desire to always go above and beyond in all areas.

She achieved her recreational pilot’s licence in July last year.

Her sights are set firmly on becoming a commercial pilot once she has the required number of hours under her belt.

As part of her nomination in the Young Pilot of the Year award, Wilbow’s 25-word submission was impressive.

“The award doesn’t mean much to me in title alone, it’s a dare to dream, a will to achieve it, a means to inspire the world,” she wrote.

The Aviation Awards ceremony will be held in Sydney on Thursday, August 14.