✈️ From Tonga to the skies

When Silva McLeod was a girl, she spent her days in awe of the airplanes flying over her remote Tongan village on the island of Vava’u.

With no electricity or running water, Silva's childhood consisted of spending time outdoors and playing in the tropics of Tonga, a Polynesian kingdom in the South Pacific (pop. 106,000). "Wow, what clever people are operating these machines," she remembers thinking of airplane pilots as they passed over her village. 

• “It was a fantasy as a child," Silva shared with CNN. "As for every time [I saw] an aircraft or the sign of an aircraft flying over, I’m always racing outside, pointing to the sky."

Fast forward a few decades, and that same little island girl is now Tonga's first ever female airline pilot – soaring to heights she never thought possible. 

✈️ So how did it happen? ... It all started when Silva met her late husband Ken, an Australian who happened to be visiting Tonga long-term for a work project. The pair fell head over heels, and after three proposals (we love a bit of consistency), Silva was on her way to Australia with her new husband.

• When she told Ken of her dream of flying a plane someday, he looked her in the eyes and said with certainty: "It can be done."

Life got in the way, however, and after a decade of marriage and two kids, Ken continued to encourage his wife to chase her dreams. He gifted her a preliminary flight course.

Over the next five years, Silva trained and studied, achieving all the licenses needed to fly on her own. When Ken was diagnosed with cancer and got sick, he pushed her to keep going. 

At age 37, she became a full-time pilot.

• “In my mind, I went back to Tonga," she said, remembering her first solo flight. "And I remember thinking, ‘Mum, Dad, Nan, Pa, I wish you could see me now!’"

✅ Dream, achieved: Silva went on to fly for Royal Tongan Airlines, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and Virgin Australia.

• When Ken passed away in 2020, she began writing a memoir of their story and her journey to the skies. 
• “Never look to the top of the mountain,” she shared by way of advice. “Because that’s when you quit. It’s too high, too hard. But if you just focus on that step in front, chip away bit by bit, before you know it you have advanced right up halfway to the mountain.”