Angel Flight the Mooney Way

[neilpilot]

Just now, Bob - S50 said:

All passengers are supposed to be ambilitory, some more than others. I carry a 2 step ladder. YOU do the matching passenger to plane by choosing which mission you want. I consider date, time, location, individual weight, total weight, number of people, and reason for travel.

Yes, but sometimes you can still be caught unaware. On my first angel flight back in the mid-90s the passenger boarded my E without hesitation.  However, she was unable to deplane on arrival at the destination.  I called the lineman over to assist.

She then removed her prosthetic right leg, handed it to the lineman, and deftly scooted out and onto the wing.  I don’t know who was more surprised, me or the lineman.  That detail wasn’t mentioned in the mission write up.

[Amelia]

Yes, they have to be able-bodied, but Ive been known to stretch that a little. I find that fbo line crew are generally more than willing to lend a hand or two. I’ve flown very elderly , barely ambulatory folk,  a portly woman with a broken leg in a cast, and a tiny 15-year-old who was headed home from her third set of bone grafts. She would, when all her many surgeries wer3 completed, be 4’9” she proudly told me. The lineman lifted her out of her child-size wheel chair, gently put her on the wing, carefully not bumping her stainless appliances freshly pinned through leg bones. They then folded the chair and stuffed it in the baggage hatch.All of these not very ambulatory people understood the complexities of entering and exiting a Mooney. Mostly, they ooched up the wing backward, and scooted their bottoms onto the right seat, swiveling around to face forward. Exiting was the reverse of that process. I found lowering full flaps made it much easier for them.The patients and I carefully reviewed the process beforehand, and arranged for help at both ends of the flights. 
The very old passengers, stiff with arthritis or the remnants of strokes, have been some of my favorites. My neighbor’s grandpa confided he had “flown a little in the war,” (WWII, in Europe) and wondered if he still had what it took. He certainly did. He spent the rest of his nursing home days bragging about his wonderful Mooney flight. And the old woman, snowy hair and twinkly eyes, who hadn’t flown in a little plane since she was a little girl, when all she wanted for her 7th birthday was a barnstormer ride around her town. It was all she wanted for her 87th birthday, too. She took the controls shortly after takeoff, flew us unerringly to Ocracoke for lunch, and all the way home, a rapt smile on her lined face. An elderly blind Angel Flight passenger going to a rehab facility, had no trouble climbing up on the wing. I had the line guy help put his foot on the step, and guide his other foot onto the wing. I reached over and led his hand inside to the strap, and he was fine after that, swinging himself in like a pro. He listened intently to the sound of the engine, confessed he was a mechanic in his early years, and asked penetrating questions about the power plant.  He couldn’t see, but there wasn’t a thing wrong with his ears or brain!
if we had encountered an (erm) unexpected landing, it might have complicated things, but these passengers and I were willing to take the small risk.

[Ross Taylor]

Thanks for the info and stories, all...

[Bob - S50]

1 hour ago, ArtVandelay said:

Unless you remove the copilot seat, kinda tough to be the last one to enter the plane.

I usually have them sit in the back seat unless they WANT to sit up front. Easier to get in and out. I can help them. They can sit with their companion if they have one. More room to spread out if they don't. Better CG for speed.

[gsxrpilot]

I love this stuff. I've been flying as command pilot for AF since I bought my first Mooney, N6XM. 

Last year before COVID I picked up a little girl and her mom for a flight from Colorado Springs to Salt Lake City. The little girl needed eye surgery. The weather over the mountains was terrible with winds at the peaks in excess of 80 knots. I was to fly her from CS to Rawlins, WY. Another pilot would pick her up there and take her to Salt Lake City. The second pilot called the day before and declined because of weather concerns. There was rain forecast for SLC and he said his "airplane couldn't fly in rain"??? It was a Cessna 206. Go figure. So I offered to take them the whole way. We took off out of Colorado Springs and headed for Wyoming, the long way around the mountains to avoid the wind and turbulence. By the time we got to Evanston, WY, the clouds and rain over SLC had changed to snow and ice. So we landed. I grabbed a rental car from the FBO and drove them the last hour to SLC. I drove back, got back in the Mooney and flew home. It was a long day, but rewarding none the less. 

Since COVID I've been flying PPE's around Colorado. It's easy to load the Mooney with boxes of masks, gloves, gowns, ventilator parts, etc. and fly them out to rural Colorado airports. I can always fill the cabin to the roof as I never need full tanks to get anywhere in Colorado.

I'll be flying PPE this Saturday as part of a huge airlift here in Colorado. I'm not sure of my route yet, but was told to expect 5 or 6 airports all before lunch on Saturday. 

We are all privileged to own and fly these wonderful airplanes. Angel Flight is a really convenient way to use some of this privilege to give back. 

[toto]

A suggestion for anyone considering their first Angel Flight..  Your chapter will very likely have one or more "frequent flyers" - individuals whose circumstances cause them to seek help from Angel Flight pilots on a regular basis.  These passengers tend to be *very* familiar with small planes, and very familiar with the process.  They can be great passengers for first-timers.  Sometimes these passengers will be obvious from AFIDS, but sometimes not - it's worth reaching out to a mission coordinator for suggestions if you aren't seeing any.

[toto]

11 hours ago, jlunseth said:

I should say one other thing. Everywhere I go on Angel Flights I am treated gracefully. Phillips 66 will issue a credit card application and they give a discount on fuel for Angel Flights. KFAR and many other FBO’s give discounts. I have never been charged ground fees at a Signature.

Yep.  Even if an FBO doesn't have an "official" discount, they almost uniformly offer one when asked:  "Hi, I just completed an Angel Flight / I'm just about to depart on an Angel Flight, and wanted to see if you offer a discount for charity flights?"  Keep a business card or brochure in your flight bag to share with the FBO, and you may end up helping future volunteer pilots who didn't think to ask.

[tmo]

Makes me wish we had an equivalent over here... I'd even settle for Pilot's and Paws... I think there were attempts made, but I don't think it ever got going. If anyone knows better, please correct me.

[Yooper Rocketman]

I've been doing them for over 25 years.  Provided 31 flights last year (yes, you read that correct, 31 trips).  You will find nothing more rewarding in flying than helping medically challenged people, some who won't see their next birthday.

This one didn't.  But those trips to the Mayo Clinic from the U.P. of Michigan, in under an hour in my prop jet, took her mind off the serious stuff for a little while anyway.

Tom

[xcrmckenna]

Last year I became a command pilot for Angel Flight West. Like everyone said it’s super rewarding. When they stopped providing flights due to the covid scare I still provided a few medical flights for the locals in my community.

There are a few pilots I know that would like to provide this service but can’t justify the expense. I would like to see Angel Flights to use their vast power and some of their donations help AOPA to allow pilots to be reimbursed for at least their fuel and still have a tax write off.


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[toto]

2 hours ago, xcrmckenna said:

allow pilots to be reimbursed for at least their fuel

Do you mean that Angel Flight would reimburse pilots for their fuel?

Typically Angel Flight passengers must have a financial need, so they wouldn't have the resources to pay for fuel even if reimbursement was allowed.

The AF organizations themselves would only be able to provide a tiny fraction of the number of missions they provide if they were paying for fuel -- the amazing AF value proposition for donors is that they can see their donation *magnified* in services (i.e., AF can provide more value in services than the total amount donated). But this depends on volunteer pilots covering their own costs. 

It really is an amazing model for efficient use of donor cash, where you can say that for every $1 donated you get $3 in services provided. Compare with most charities, where overhead competes with services for fractions of that dollar. 

 

[xcrmckenna]

3 hours ago, toto said:

Do you mean that Angel Flight would reimburse pilots for their fuel?
Typically Angel Flight passengers must have a financial need, so they wouldn't have the resources to pay for fuel even if reimbursement was allowed.
The AF organizations themselves would only be able to provide a tiny fraction of the number of missions they provide if they were paying for fuel -- the amazing AF value proposition for donors is that they can see their donation *magnified* in services (i.e., AF can provide more value in services than the total amount donated). But this depends on volunteer pilots covering their own costs. 
It really is an amazing model for efficient use of donor cash, where you can say that for every $1 donated you get $3 in services provided. Compare with most charities, where overhead competes with services for fractions of that dollar. 
 

Yes I would like to see AF to be able to reimburse pilots and drivers. If you look through their tax reports they could afford it. Specially when they ask me to “donate” just over $400 to play a round of golf.

If pilots are the back bone of the organization then I imagine they could have a few people updating the schedule app and website to process new and current volunteers. I guess I just don’t see the constant need for the organization having so much cash income when volunteers are the strength of 501c.

 

Dont get me wrong I think it’s a great organization for those who need it. And I enjoy helping out. I love having a mission for my flights. I just think they would get even more pilots helping out if they could reimburse pilots for their fuel. And isn’t that the point of their charity goal? More pilots mean more patients transported. 


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Edited August 4, 2020 by xcrmckenna

[carusoam]

TMO,

Sounds like an interesting opportunity...

Visit the States... Learn a few things about AF... including a few flights... and translate that back into the EU...

We have a few organizations that are similar...

Flying veterans...

Flying animals...

Flying patients...

Flying hurricane relief...

Flying bits and pieces...
 

Sounds like a lot of rewarding work...   

Best regards,

-a-

 

[toto]

1 hour ago, xcrmckenna said:

Yes I would like to see AF to be able to reimburse pilots and drivers. If you look through their tax reports they could afford it. Specially when they ask me to “donate” just over $400 to play a round of golf.

If pilots are the back bone of the organization then I imagine they could have a few people updating the schedule app and website to process new and current volunteers. I guess I just don’t see the constant need for the organization having so much cash income when volunteers are the strength of 501c.

 

Dont get me wrong I think it’s a great organization for those who need it. And I enjoy helping out. I love having a mission for my flights. I just think they would get even more pilots helping out if they could reimburse pilots for their fuel. And isn’t that the point of their charity goal? More pilots mean more patients transported. 


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Without a doubt, serving more passengers in need is a key goal for charitable aviation, and finding new and different ways to accomplish that goal is a continuous challenge.

For what it's worth, I served on an AF board for many years, and aside from a very small number of paid staff, it's an all-volunteer organization.  Some of those volunteers come from an aviation background, some from a healthcare background, some from business or nonprofit backgrounds, and a humbling number of them are even former passengers.  To a one, those volunteers believe in the mission of the organization, and they try very hard to be good stewards of donated funds.  

Many of the best ideas for fundraising or organizational improvement come from volunteers, and I would encourage you to reach out to your local chapter and share your thoughts.

[jlunseth]

 It is Angel Flight season for me again. The plane came out of annual, the rusty pilot got trained up, and there are AF patients in need. I flew my first flight of the year last week, a young (to me) woman who has been in a fight with cancer for several years and, thankfully, is winning. She lives in a rural area, and so is her clinic, where there is no commercial service, the treatments are painful and draining, and weekly four or five hour drives would be very hard on her. Get your IFR/IMC skills up, I have flown 5 live approaches in the last couple of days and lots of IMC time. I continue to be amazed at the durability and tenacity of the Mooney, it can handle everything within reason, including approaches to minimums in turbulence, with aplomb. Angel Flights are treated well by ATC. My passenger and I taxied out to the end of a long runway to fly her to her appointment, called ATC to get a clearance and was told to call back in a half hour. So I told ATC that we were an Angel Flight and the patient really needed to get to her appointment for treatment, could they expedite. They had us off the ground in under a minute, holding a cargo plane out a few miles. I appreciate their courtesy and the effort of the cargo crew. The summer camps look like they will be opening this year, there is one in northern Minnesota that takes kids from all over the country who have HIV. When the camping season starts, usually in July, AF needs a lot of volunteers with good planes. Sign up if you haven't.

[Ethan]

Angel Flights are great! I have flown more than 100 in my 231. I am based in Hillsboro, Oregon. The farthest I have gone is to El Monte, California. I have also gone as far East as Montana. Most flights are from Portland to Seattle. Last week I flew a passenger from Palo Alto to Ashland, Oregon.

I meet interesting people and have great excuses to fly to places I’ve never been.

Angel Flight is a well-run, professional organization, it’s great at communicating with pilots and passengers, and has a cool app to use to review upcoming flights and sign up for them.

The 231 is a bit tight. I tell my passengers that getting in is like playing gymnastic Tetris but that once you’re in, it’s comfortable!

 

 

 

[jlunseth]

I am unashamedly patting myself on the back. I did my 50th Angel Flight on Wednesday (that's total, not just this year). No doubt Yooper Rocketman has me beat with his 31 last year alone, if he is still around.

My lucky 50th passenger was a woman with a family who has been fighting cancer for three years. She is just delightful, smart, knows when to keep a sterile cockpit and when to talk. She was my hard IMC patient for awhile. Every time we flew together there was something going on, convection, icing, smoke, it was almost always a four-approach day, once to pick her up, once to deliver her to the clinic, once to fly her home, once to go home myself. She was how I avoided having to fly approaches under the hood. We even survived a flat nose tire on landing last year, first time for that one. This time the weather was uncharacteristically perfect, so we went VFR flight following and I let her fly. She lit up, really enjoyed it, asked what is involved in getting a license. She has a future.

Need is up. The organization I belong to, Angel Flight Central, flies in the midwest. There is good coverage up here in Minnesota but it appears to me we have unsatisfied demand in the middle of the country. KS, MO, TX, IA, etc. 

Everyone needs to do this even if just once.

PS she has flown with three pilots other than me over that three years. She said, in all sincerity, that mine is the only jet though. Regrettably, and to remain honest, I had to explain the difference between a turbine and a Mooney.

[carusoam]

Heart warming post award!  

If anyone needs info for flying Angel Flights….  See @jlunseth and @Yooper Rocketman… and @201er

And many more MSers around here…

Best regards,

-a-

 

[Will.iam]

For the pilots doing angel flights what are the COVID requirements? I.e. do you wear a mask in the plane? Does the pilot have to show proof of vaccination of COVID?

 

[carusoam]

55 minutes ago, Will.iam said:

For the pilots doing angel flights what are the COVID requirements? I.e. do you wear a mask in the plane? Does the pilot have to show proof of vaccination of COVID?

 

include some CFIs with your question…. and the known AF pilots above…
 

The basis is… you have multiple people in a small volume…. You want to take as many precautions as you can…

Once flying, there is a whole lot more airflow moving any exhaled air towards the exits…

 

I’m sure the angel flight organizations have a procedure to follow…

PP thoughts only, not an Angel Flight guy yet…

Best regards,

-a-

[jlunseth]

Rebooting this thread from a year or so ago. Angel Flight still needs good pilots. Last year it was COVID, this year its inflation and high fuel prices. But patients still need help.

I have had some of my best and most enjoyable flights this year. On the subject of this thread, which was the 231’s flexibilty to meet the mission, I flew a transplant patient and his wife this year and the fellow weighed in at 295. I warned him ahead of time that Mooney’s have a reputation for being a little tight in the cockpit. We put him in the back seat and rolled the wife’s seat (co-pilot side) full forward. I flew the fella twice and he said it was really comfortable, he loved it back there. Then there was the flight where I met a pilot in Aberdeen who had flown a patient and her mom from MT. She was destined for the Mayo at Rochester. It turned out she had a collapsible wheelchair with her that AF West had not put on the passenger manifest. The incoming pilot flew a Citation so he just stuck it in the aisle. It didn’t fit in the aisle I don’t have in my Mooney. What to do? Well, with the help of the Citation pilot we collapsed the chair, got it through the passenger door, back into the hat rack and over the baggage compartment. It was too big to drop down into the baggage, just as well, I don’t think I would ever have gotten it out of there. I told the Citation pilot my stories about ATC asking me to slow a couple of times for the Citation on final ahead, he go a chuckle out of that. Got the passenger and her mom to Rochester without further issues, and the line guys at Rochester helped me get the wheel chair out. So if the question ever comes up whether your Mooney can handle a wheel chair there is your answer.

I am going to go to AFC’s gala in November called Wine Flight, will anyone be there? I might have some family with me, would be good to meet up.

Edited September 29, 2022 by jlunseth