Soph Lazarou

I am 22 years old and reside in Melbourne. I attended Methodist Ladies College in Kew and enjoyed many hours in the music school playing bass and drums in orchestras and bands. In 2003 I was awarded the Mobil Aviation Scholarship and gained the GFPT.  I finished year 12 in 2004 with the International Baccalaureate Diploma and subsequently completed a Bachelor of Technology(Aviation) with a Commercial Pilots Licence at Swinburne University in Hawthorn. I hold a Multi-Engine Command Instrument Rating and ATPL subjects which will help me achieve my dream of flying Gulfstream bizjets.

Recently I have been living in a WWII pilot training hut in Benalla, NE Vic, towing gliders in an old taildragger. Here one of my achievements was going solo in a glider...yes, no engine...!  As there is a downturn in the aviation industry associated with the current economic climate we have decided to create our own adventure.

Heather Ford

I am 23 years old, originally from Canada and I live in Springhill Victoria. I got bitten by the flying bug at a very early age when my family dragged my sister and myself most of the way around the known and unknown world. I started school in Africa, continued it in Canada and then finished off my schooling in Australia at Ballarat Grammar. From school I thought about going to uni and decided that flying was more important. I worked 6 -7 days a week at a racing stable to fund my flying and received a scholarship from the Australian Women Pilots' Association and Airservices Australia in 2007 which enabled me to complete my Commercial Pilot License including a Night VFR rating and an Instructor rating. I currently teach at Bendigo Aviation as a Grade 2 Instructor and I have started my Command Instrument rating, which is getting me well on the way to achieving my goal of becoming a senior Airline Pilot.

I have decided that I need another challenge in my life so suggested to Soph that we have a go at the Air Race and the rest is (as they say) history...