We are delighted to introduce the aviation co-curricular program, which occurs in the Senior School iHub.
Through the Knox Aviation Club, started by ICT Learning Integrator (7-12) Mr Michael Beilharz, students have the opportunity to learn and practise aviation skills.
This is with thanks to the generosity of Wayne Daly, an A330 Flight Officer at Qantas, and trainers Ricky and Oscar from UNSW.
Our Knox boys, alongside girls from Abbotsleigh, receive hands-on flight lessons on Tuesdays. At one of these lessons, we spoke with Wayne and Year 10 student Harrison.
This program at Knox was initiated by Michael Beilharz who is the coordinating teacher. He had an idea to get the students involved in learning to fly using the Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The program has evolved over the last couple of years and now includes students from Abbotsleigh as well as Knox. It is designed to give the students a basic introduction to what flying is all about.
Pilot training is not an easy thing. The foundation skills that can be learned outside the airplane are going to be useful to help the students transfer into the airplane.
What stands out across all the students is the enthusiasm, and the looks on their faces when they get the landing right. Because the hardest thing to do is to land the airplane. But when they manage to master that skill, and land the flight simulator, they're beaming.
I didn't start my working life as a pilot, I started as a chef, and then when that didn't quite work out to be what I wanted, I went into law, and I had this epiphany that I just wanted to learn to fly for fun.
And when I started to do that, I realised that it was more fun than fun, and it’s what has worked out over the last 39 years to be the best career that I could have ever chosen.
I was talking to my friend who had just started the flying program, and I asked Mr Beilharz later that day if I could join. And since then, I've been doing it for two years and I've really enjoyed it.
Definitely the practising, the experience, like working with Mr Daly and instructors from UNSW, it's been just a great opportunity to experience firsthand from professionals on what it's like, and the tips I can get for flying in the future.
Give it a go. You might surprise yourself. It is really enjoyable.
12 August 2026
Staff and visiting guests gathered at Knox on 12 August for a Twilight Networking Event. Bringing leaders together for an evening of connection and conversation, attendees later heard from internationally bestselling author, former state champion boxer and business owner Luke Kennedy.
10 August 2026
Last Saturday’s final rounds in 2026 Winter Sport season marked the conclusion of another outstanding chapter in Knox Sport.
07 August 2026
“Visual Arts deepens our understanding of ourselves, our communities, and the world around us,” says Wendy Shearer (Visual Arts Teacher and Head of Department, Senior School). “Through creative practice, students explore ideas, communicate experiences, and develop personal ways of seeing and interpreting the world. Art becomes both a form of expression and a means of connecting across time, place, and culture.
