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What happens when your “office” is a helicopter and your job is to bring an emergency room to the streets of London in under seven minutes? In this episode I sit down with Adele Dobler, a helicopter air ambulance pilot with London’s Air Ambulance, to unpack what it really takes to fly lifesaving missions over one of the world’s busiest cities.
We get into how Adele went from dreaming about helicopters to strapping into the left‑hand seat, what it’s like to land on tower blocks and motorways, and how the aircraft becomes a mobile resus room when someone is having the worst day of their life. We talk decision‑making under pressure, managing fear, and the reality of carrying a team and a patient’s chances on your shoulders at 1,000 feet.
Adele also shares lessons from her book “Free to Fly: Lessons in Managing Workplace Fear From an Air Ambulance Pilot” – how to lead when everyone’s looking at you, why “imposter syndrome” can become an unhelpful identity, and practical ways to show up as yourself in high‑consequence environments.
If you enjoy this conversation and want to support H‑Hour and help me keep these episodes coming, you can back the show on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/hkpodcasts. Patrons get access to bonus Q&As (including the Adele icebreaker episode), early releases, and the chance to submit questions for future guests.
Follow and support Adele:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adele_the_heli_pilot/
Book – “Free to Fly: Lessons in Managing Workplace Fear From an Air Ambulance Pilot”: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Free-Fly-Managing-Workplace-Ambulance/dp/B0B5PYSWLN/
Join the H-Hour Patron Community at patreon.com/hkpodcasts
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