Bradley King is living proof that you really can live your dreams.

He was the scared little kid who stopped rides at Luna Park. Who would have thought that 30 years on, he would be soaring through the skies in a helicopter.

Bradley King, chief pilot and principal owner of Sky Safari, says he spent years trying to understand what he was scared of.

"It’s funny how your weaknesses can become your greatest strengths and I can now offer this empathy to others and make a business out of it," Bradley, now 41, says.

He says he became interested in helicopters in high school and pulled away from his surfing focus on day to hear a guy from the Airforce speak about a career in aviation. "He spoke of top grades in physics, maths and the sciences and I was pretty average at school and thought I may as well surf my way around the planet instead. I became an electrician and began skydiving at 19 on a dare," he says.

"That changed my life. My first terrifying jump, a pelican flew about 20 feet from me while I floated under canopy and I couldn’t believe how much room he had up there."

Surfing his way around Australia, Bradley learnt to hang glide at his home beach but first stepped into a helicopter in New Zealand with a Vietnam veteran on a heli-ski trip.

He was quickly addicted, going on four helicopter trips that holiday before later travelling to Canada working the lifts, then as a snowboarding instructor.

Bradley became involved in reforestation – a helicopter flying him into the middle of nowhere and leave him to plant 1000 trees or so at 30 cents a tree.

"It was the toughest work I’ve ever done. At the end of the day, a guy would come and pick me up again in a helicopter and take me back to base. I did this for weeks on end.

"Here I was doing the toughest job in the world and getting taken to work by a guy with the best job in the world. It took me a few more years to save up the $50,000 and the courage to sit for my exams."

Within three months he had his first flying job and has now been flying helicopters for seven years.

Skysafari Australia came about in Port Douglas in 2003 and was designed to reflect the true nature of a sky safari.

Since then, the company has flown celebrities including Kylie Minogue, John Farnham, Chris Noth (Mr Big in Sex and the City), Peter Andre, Katie Price (Jordon) plus a host of well-known TV personalities like Jennifer Hawkins.

The daily "grind" in the office can include following Migaloo, a huge white hump back whale as it passes the Port Douglas coast annually.

Funnily enough, nudity plays an interesting role on a few air tours.

"Some of our landing locations offer complete exclusivity and clothes are occasionally removed by those hoping to fully appreciate their environment and take advantage of the seclusion.

"Though our pilots remain professionally in uniform, this has created some very interesting scenarios.

"The most recent couple to remove their gear was at our secluded beach location with our female pilot – they were both in their 70s!"

Bradley has been involved with Skysafari in FNQ for five years and working as an adventure tour guide for nearly 15 years. Before Skysafari he moonlighted as an international ski guide for 10 years (high-end niche groups from Australia to North America).

He also has worked as a skydive cameraman for tourists and competed in many hang gliding and surfing competitions.

A normal day entails meetings with the rest of the team, preparing aircraft for their day and "flying people around the most diversely scenic place on the planet".

He often flies fly five days a week on a rotating roster and he says perks of the job are flying and doing things on a daily basis that others only dream about doing.

"It’s not really a job for me. If it is, it’s the perfect job for me."

Bradley says what he loves most is the achievement of flying the helicopter well and he never gets used to the amazing machines that they are.

"When the wildlife is going crazy out there, whether it be whales and sharks on the Reef or wild horses on a mountain and we have to leave, life isn’t fair, sometimes.

"Two beautiful French girls actually asked me if it was ok if they could spend their time naked on a sand cay. That was a hard one to answer.

"Mustering cattle, arguing with big cleanskin bulls to get them moving, that’s a challenge; watching dozens of crocodiles dive into the water while surveying a river for good fishing; watching a Tiger shark on the hunt get outwitted by two savvy turtles while we cheered from overhead; whales showing off; giant manta rays courting, waterfalls in full flow."

Bradley jokingly says he used to think being a helicopter pilot would be a good line to score girls.

"As a ‘line’ it doesn’t work well because they rarely believe you – electricians have more luck."

"I tell people I have the best job in the world in the most stunning setting in the world. Most people love a positive and exciting story and it often motivates them to achieve their own personal goals.

"Flying for me is three-dimensional surfing. It is now the best time in the planet’s history to safely get flying and share the experience. If you had told someone 100 years ago you could sit in a comfortable leather seat while hovering over whales playing on the Great Barrier Reef before landing on a waterfall for lunch, they would have locked you up."

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