Founder: Dr. Rob Massera MBBS, BMSc | DAME

I’m Dr. Rob Massera, a private pilot & CASA Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME), who loves flying, aviation medicine & Keeping Pilots in the Air!

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The dream begins

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Aviation has always been a passion, for as long as I can remember. As an eight-year-old boy on a flight to Brisbane, the hostess invited me to the cockpit (it was the 1980s). That was amazing enough...so I could hardly believe it when the German flight captain asked if I’d like to stay for the landing. Then, as we taxied to the gate, he turned to me and said, “How would you like to lean out the window and wave to your family?” I was ecstatic! As I waved from the cockpit, I knew I wanted to be a pilot.

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Life forces an unplanned diversion

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But life had other plans. At ten, I was diagnosed as red-green colourblind - a career-ending discovery at the time. While the dream of being a commercial pilot slipped away, my love for aviation never faded.

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Instead, I channelled my ambition into another high-performance profession - medicine. The road to become a doctor was long and demanding, taking me from the grand libraries of Sydney University to the intense corridors of St. Vincent’s Emergency Department & Intensive Care Unit. Yet, despite the adrenaline and challenge, something never quite felt authentic - the passion I had for flying never quite translated into hospital medicine.

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Rediscovering a passion & a new purpose

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Then the pandemic slowed life to a standstill. With time to reflect, I contemplated: What do I really love doing? Finally, out of lockdowns, the answer came to me...in the sky...a few hundred feet above the picturesque vineyards of the McLaren Vale in the noisy, open cockpit of a bright yellow Tiger Moth. That flight reignited my long-held dream!

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I set out to earn my pilot’s license - and, in doing so, met many inspiring pilots - including Dr. Jeremy Robertson, a Qantas pilot turned doctor and Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME). He showed me that I could combine both my passion & profession. I discovered a new purpose, became a DAME and founded AeroKare.

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AeroKare's Mission & Vision

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AeroKare is designed for pilots & people in aviation, by a doctor and pilot who understands what it means to love flying - and the fear of losing it to a shock medical diagnosis. Our Mission is to Keep Pilots Flying and our Vision is to Provide the Best aviation health service in Australia for: pilots, crew & people in aviation - Because flying isn’t just a job or a hobby, it’s part of who we are.