Hand in the Cookie Jar

[jlunseth]

I have flown quite a few Angel Flights in the last couple of years. I do it for the same reasons I fly - I really enjoy it - and Angel Flight is a way to help others. But someone told mom and today I feel like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, vaguely embarrassed.

A few weeks ago I was informed that I need to make my way to Angel Flight Central’s gala on Nov. 18 in Kansas City, there to receive AFC’s 2022 Pilot of the Year Award. Then today I was surprised to receive a call from the CEO of the National Aeronautics Association. At a ceremony that will likely be held at Oshkosh next year, I am to receive the NAAs Distinguished Volunteer Pilot Award. 

It’s a good thing I was not flying when I got either piece of news, I probably would have put it in the ground.

My aircraft, as many of you know, is nothing special. A 231 with an engine now well over TBO, oil leakage from the rocker covers has reached the incurable stage, we are waiting for a new Conti to show up. It is Mooney’s most manual version of a turbocharged piston. And yet I have safely carried well over a hundred patients and their companions, all shapes, types, and sizes, even found a way to cram a collapsible wheelchair, the patient, and patient’s mom into the plane (definitely within W&B), and on occasion, cargo to the weight limit of the aircraft.

We need more folks. If I can do it in my lowly 231, you can do it!

Edited October 31, 2022 by jlunseth

[tmo]

Congratulations. Wish we had something similar over here.

[KSMooniac]

Congrats John!  I've sadly lapsed from helping with AFC after completing ~20 or so flights many years ago.  Life is in the way presently, but someday I'll come back to it.  AFC (and likely all AF groups) are wonderful people filling a great need.

And I agree completely, a Mooney does just fine for most of these flights!  

[jlunseth]

Scott, I have belonged to AFC for more than ten years but there were several years in there where I did not have the time to fly even the required one flight a year to stay current with them. It was never a problem, I was always welcomed back, just had to walk through the preliminary course they provide. It’s now a webinar or video and I believe you can get Wings credit. Get ahold of your organization and go back whenever you can.

Tmo - start one up, or perhaps Angel Flight Central here could coach someone there on what needs to be done. There needs to be a small professional staff that handles the flight requests and administrative work. They post the available flight to an Internet board, pilots can log on and request a flight. Once approved, the pilot contacts the patient, organizes the flight, and flies it. AFC only has four employees but 350 pilots. Here in the US there needs to be a charitable organization (a 501(c)(3)), so the pilots are donating the flights for the benefit of the 501(c)(3). There need to be liability waivers signed by the patients and a basic set of rules. In the US, we have multiple Angel Flight organizations, each of which covers a region of the US. AFC covers the Midwest, about 11 states. There is an umbrella organization called the Air Charity Network through which flights can be shared. A patient may start out on the East Coast, be flown by an AF East pilot into Indiana or Illinois, and is picked up there by an AF Central pilot, who may then take the patient out west somewhere and hand the patient off to a pilot from AF West, just as an example. Something like that might work well in the E.U. Very often, the flights are to or from small, rural airports that do not have good commercial service.

If anyone there has an interest, they can PM me and I can at least put them in touch with someone from Angel Flight Central who knows the ropes and might be able to advise. Sort of like creating an EMPOA modeled on what is done here. That would be great work.

[slowflyin]

Congrats!  Well-deserved recognition!

[redrider54]

congratulations! Huge accomplishment!!!!

[hammdo]

Congratulations!

[tmo]

18 hours ago, jlunseth said:

Tmo - start one up

I think that the differences between the US and the EU are significant enough that this isn't feasible, but I'll reach out with some questions directly, if for no other reason than to learn how it's done. I don't think there are enough places in continental Europe that are far enough from a good hospital that aren't covered by some form of decent public transportation AND have a reliable airport / airfield. Perhaps up north, where the population densities are smaller.

[carusoam]

Amazing, great job JL!

We have seen many things carried around here…

1) Dogs…

2) Veterans…

3) Turtles…

4) Patients!!!!

Its an amazing service!

Best regards,

-a-

[bcg]

I think these programs are fantastic and it's something I'm planning to look into when I get my instrument rating. I'm curious, who pays for fuel on these? Is that part of the pilot's contribution or does the organization kick in some to help cover expenses?

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[jaylw314]

45 minutes ago, bcg said:

I think these programs are fantastic and it's something I'm planning to look into when I get my instrument rating. I'm curious, who pays for fuel on these? Is that part of the pilot's contribution or does the organization kick in some to help cover expenses?

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk
 

The pilot pays for all the flight expenses, but you can claim those expenses as a charitable donation on your taxes (consult your tax professional!).

A lot of AF legs end at bigger Class C or even B airports.  Call the FBO's ahead of time, the one's I've spoken to waive any ramp/facility fees for AF's

Oh, and you get to use the "Angel Flight" call sign for your flights, which is cool  

[jlunseth]

The regs do not allow the organization to reimburse the pilot. The pilot donates everything about the flight including the aircraft and him/herself. At one time it was possible for the organization to obtain a waiver letter and reimburse pilots. There are multiple regional Angel Flight organizations, allied under the umbrella of the Air Charity Alliance. I read a waiver letter for, I believe, Angel Flight East at one time. However, the organizations are generally small with a very small staff and budget. I do not know if Angel Flight East still reimburses, I doubt it. I don’t think any of the rest of the organizations do and I know that the one I belong to, Angel Flight Central, has nowhere near the budget that would require. If one of our posters would donate, say, $20 or 30 million to AFC, I will personally come pick it up for them and perhaps reimb could be done for awhile. 

I am sure many of us give to charitable organizations knowing that every year, say, 30 or 40% of what we donate goes to pay the salaries of the people who will come back next year and ask us to donate again, not that that is bad by any stretch, they are wonderful organizations. But at Angel Flight the pilot’s entire gift goes to the person sitting in the right seat, and better than that, the pilot has the opportunity to help someone first hand. At AFC, for every dollar of salary and operating costs, $4.73 is contributed by pilots on flights.

My last flight, I picked up a fellow at Rochester, where the Mayo is, a cancer patient. When I sat down next to him at the FBO he looked a little down, so I asked him how he was feeling? His lips quivered a little and he said “Fighting for my life.” My response was, “Well, I am here to help, I am going to see to it that you get home.” So we went to Omaha. That about sums up what it is an Angel Flight Command Pilot does.

In the Midwest where I fly not many of the flights end in Bs or Cs. Maybe more do out on the east coast. I have never landed at a Bravo for Angel Flight, this year I had two out of some 23 flights terminate at Charlies and one of those was a diversion because of a gear up on the runway at the intended airport. It is true that many of the FBOs do not charge ground fees to AF pilots, and many also give fuel discounts. Signature is principal among them and very generous, there are a small number of Signatures that do not give a fuel discount but the vast majority do, it is company policy.

Edited November 2, 2022 by jlunseth

[bcg]

I appreciate the responses to my question. It was really just a question to satisfy my curiosity, we typically donate in the mid 5 figures to charity every year so the expense isn't a deterrent, it just changes where charitable contributions get allocated when I'm ready to get involved in this kind of thing. I like the animal flights as well, all good stuff.

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[Hank]

38 minutes ago, jlunseth said:

I am sure many of us give to charitable organizations knowing that every year, say, 30 or 40% of what we donate goes to pay the salaries of the people who will come back next year and ask us to donate again, not that that is bad by any stretch, they are wonderful organizations.

Many professional fundraisers keep a minimum of 50%, some up to 67%, so the charity receives 33-50 cents of every dollar "donated." Ask that voice on the phone how much they keep. That's why I don't donate to fundraising organizations, but direct to the charity itself, so that it receives my full donation. 

41 minutes ago, jlunseth said:

But at Angel Flight the pilot’s entire gift goes to the person sitting in the right seat, and better than that, the pilot has the opportunity to help someone first hand. At AFC, for every dollar of salary and operating costs, $4.73 is contributed by pilots on flights.

Those are great stats! Be smart when you give. 

[jlunseth]

I also give only directly and to the charitable organizations that I choose, so I know where my money goes and how it is spent.

It is worth saying that when an AF Pilot requests a flight, he/she knows very little about the patient. We know their first name, age, sex, usually their disease or condition, and the date and route of the flight. We know their weight for W&B, which probably their mom does not even know any longer. We do not know, nor do we care, what color, race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion the patient is, or whether they worked in the Obama administration or are the Republican Party chairwoman of a county in West Virginia (I have carried one of each). The organization does a very good job of vetting for medical and financial need, so what we know about the patient that matters to us is that they need help, they have asked, and we can give it. 

[jlunseth]

Well, I was interviewed by FLYING Magazine about an hour ago concerning the NAA Award. They wanted to know the useful load, and I gave them the fuel flow for my lowly 231. I guess there will be an article on the website shortly with my very old face and a venerable old Mooney, still in service. They wanted to know how I got the wheelchair in the aircraft.

[Pinecone]

On 11/2/2022 at 1:45 PM, jaylw314 said:

Oh, and you get to use the "Angel Flight" call sign for your flights, which is cool  

I think you now get a Compassion call sign.

But you have to be able to and remember to change your ADSB ID to match.

[jlunseth]

An old Mooney gets its picture in the news:

https://www.flyingmag.com/naa-and-aca-to-honor-pilots-and-aviation-volunteers-for-helping-those-in-need/

[EricJ]

46 minutes ago, jlunseth said:

An old Mooney gets its picture in the news:

https://www.flyingmag.com/naa-and-aca-to-honor-pilots-and-aviation-volunteers-for-helping-those-in-need/

Nice!   That is awesome to see.

[jlunseth]

8 hours ago, Pinecone said:

I think you now get a Compassion call sign.

But you have to be able to and remember to change your ADSB ID to match.

It is determined by the regional organization you fly for. At AFC, up until last year, each pilot had his/her own AF Flight number, e.g. NGF1234. However, you are correct that using a specific flight number required the pilot to put that tail number into his/her transponder so the transponder was squawking the same flight number that was in the flight plan (NGF1234). Some forgot. The FAA got on the regional organizations about it, and rather than risk a formal enforcement of some kind AFC switched back to the old system were we use our normal tail number, but with “Angel Flight” ahead of it rather than “Mooney.” So I am “Angel Flight 381 Sierra Papa” when I contact clearance, ground, tower, and en route. We put “Angel Flight passengers on board” in the remarks, so ATC knows. ATC is virtually always good to us. For example, on one occasion they put an incoming aircraft in an instrument hold before their approach so we did not have to wait for them to fly a whole approach before we could takeoff. I skedaddled out of there and the patient made her chemo appointment.