Hello, my name is Natalie Pietrobon, but I would much prefer to be called ‘Nat’. Generally when I tell somebody what my full name is the first question I get asked is ‘Where does that name come from?’ And I suppose that is a good place to start. I am from Italian heritage and grew up on a sugar cane farm in Ingham, North QLD (and no, there are no chicken farms in Ingham!). I have a rather large family and we are quite close, infact my cousin is my best friend.

Growing up in an extended Italian family taught me many things. In particular, having 2 brothers and a ‘tom-girl’ for a sister taught me how to stand up for myself and the importance of expressing what you believe in. I love my family dearly and have become the person I am today because of them. Without my upbringing I would never have had the courage to be where I am at this moment.

When I was about 11yrs old, I developed an obsession for wanting to be a pilot. Still to this day I am not sure what started it, but my passion for this dream fuelled my motivation for the next 12 yrs. I have spent all of my working life in the Australian Defence Force - 2 years in the Army and 8 yrs in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). I have a Science degree majoring in Chemistry, worked as an Air Traffic Controller for 2yrs and finally as a pilot for the last 4 1/2 yrs. I can say with full integrity that becoming a military pilot is the hardest thing I have ever done. It is mentally and emotionally challenging and yet draining. I have never had to challenge my self belief to the degree that I have during my 2 years of training and even now as a captain on the DHC-4 Caribou. (pictured below). I love flying the Caribou – it pushes me to my limits every time I fly it. I have been in many situations when flying, with my heart in my mouth, thinking “Oh my god, I don’t know how I am going to do this”. And yet, I have always come through, shining even. Being the only girl on my pilots course, and one of two female pilots (amongst 20 male pilots) at my Squadron, I feel as though it is my duty to help other women realise that their dreams are achievable - and that fear should not be limiting

Work tends to take over your life when you are in the military, even more so when you are a pilot. But outside of work, I love to travel. I have been to most of Europe, gone trekking in Nepal, diving in Vanuatu, done some fantastic flying in PNG, NZ and through out most of Australia. I also really love keeping fit, I enjoy running, cycling, playing touch football, netball, out rigging and triathlons.

I spend as much time with my friends as I can, and really take pleasure in being a ‘girl’ when I have the opportunity. Shopping, getting dressed up, going out and being feminie is something that I believe is very important.

I guess in a nutshell who I am is Nat, and that’s that.