Our People in QLD
Matt Colquhoun - Indooroopilly
Christmas presents were a bit late for Indooroopilly’s Matt Colquhoun, 32, but he still had a grand time.
In East Timor the Army aviator was drenched with a fire-hose salute on Boxing Day on the completion of 1000 hours of flying Blackhawk helicopters. Two days later he was promoted to Major.
The post-Christmas festivities came as Matt pilot was completing his fourth tour of duty with the Timor Leste Aviation Group, the Army’s helicopter support flight for the International Stabilisation Force in East Timor.
“I have seen every inch of East Timor while flying on operations over the years,” Matt said.
“It is extremely diverse — rugged mountains, thick rainforest and fantastic coastlines.
“It’s a great place to fly, and a great place to train.”
Matt says the best part of flying is always the people you work with, but there have also been a few sights that will remain with him forever.
“Among my best experiences have been seeing a whale shark swimming past the coast, a mountain flight at dawn over the clouds, and flying up to the top of Mt Tatamailau, the highest mountain in all Timor,” he said.
With over 1200 flying hours in a range of aircraft, Matt has now headed home and looking forward to a bit of an alternate lifestyle.
“I am looking forward to taking a break from being away so often,” he said. “I am going to buy myself a house in the western suburbs of Brisbane and spend my weekends gardening!”