| Hope Air is
celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Volunteer Pilot
Program. The inaugural VPP flight took place on October
25, 1999, and through the generosity of so many private
pilots, we have arranged over 1,636 flights enabling Canadians
to access needed healthcare in locations across the country.
We are very grateful for the important contribution our
VPP pilots have made to this great achievement.
Gerd Wengler, Hope Air Director and VPP Pilot, and Paul
Clark, VPP Pilot recently recognized as Distinguished Volunteer
Pilot of the Year reflecting his 93 missions over 10 years,
are co-Chairs of the VPP 10th Anniversary Celebration. They
have selected some brief stories that showcase the missions
our loyal pilots fly. Enjoy!
Story 1 - A Quiet Sunday Mission
Brightened by a Child’s Smile
Story 2 - Providing Hope While Sharing a Passion for Flying
Story 3 - B.C. Mission affords spectacular
mountain views for young “Co-pilot”
Story 4 - An opportunity to help a fellow human being
Story 5 - Rescheduled
Flight Leaves Warm, fuzzy feeling
Story 1
A Quiet Sunday Mission Brightened
by a Child’s Smile
One recent mission – Hope Air 501 – stands out
in my mind. It involved a return flight from Buttonville
Airport in Markham to Sault Ste. Marie on behalf of Cynthia
and Isabella. Young Isabella’s condition made the
potential eight-hour drive from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie
a very uncomfortable proposition which brought Hope Air
into the picture.
It was a mid-morning departure with good weather all the
way and my brother along to keep me company. It was a very
quiet flight as Cynthia and Isabella snoozed most of the
way. They remarked afterward that they were very impressed
by how smooth it was flying in a “small” plane.
(Somehow non-aviation people don’t realize a Skylane
is actually a BIG plane.)
Our arrival was quite spectacular as the ice was still breaking
up in the channels near the Sault and there were a couple
of freighters plying their way through the thin layer of
ice. It was a very quiet Sunday with just us and a single
Jazz flight in the pattern that morning.
All in all, it was a wonderful early spring day of flying
after a difficult winter. It was capped off that evening
back in Toronto when my girlfriend (who is in sports marketing)
arranged a quiet dinner at home with the Stanley Cup on
display on our dinning room table. All in all, it was quite
a day!
Cynthia expressed her appreciation for the flight with a
lovely card that read: “Thank you so much for the
beautiful sight-seeing ride in that beautiful plane. Thanks
for what you do! You are amazing and so much appreciated.”
(Signed) Cynthia and Isabella.
Andrew Knight
VPP Pilot
Cynthia (left) and daughter Isabella with Andrew Knight’s
Skylane
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Story 2
Providing Hope While Sharing
a Passion for Flying
My VPP flight on April 5, 2008 involved Luc, a Parkinson’s
patient, who was returning from Montreal to Rouyn-Noranda
after a medical appointment. The flight had been postponed
one day due to weather conditions. Luc was a veteran of
previous VPP flights and had been flown to Montreal in this
way a couple of days earlier.
Luc’s wheelchair was packed in the back seat of my
Cessna 172 and, after the usual pre-flight briefing, we
took off from Montreal at about 11:00 a.m. for the flight
to Rouyn-Noranda. It was a nice VFR flight with some slight
bumps as we approached our destination.
To provide some entertainment for the three-hour flight,
I brought a Discman which I connected to the intercom system.
Luc really enjoyed the choice of music I provided and, between
songs, we chatted about flying matters.
Upon arrival back home, Luc expressed his sincere gratitude
in email messages to me and to the pilot who had flown the
original Rouyn-Noranda to Montreal leg of the flight.
It’s always a great feeling when you’re able
to help someone and at the same time share your passion
for flying. This flight was a great example.
Daniel Morissette
VPP Pilot
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Story 3
B.C. Mission affords spectacular
mountain views for young “Co-pilot”
June 3rd 2009 was an ideal day (well at least most of it)
for a Hope Air mission from Castlegar to Vancouver. The
forecast was for mostly clear skies all day, but with turbulence
over the mountains in the afternoon (always a challenge
for light aircraft). I took the easy way out and departed
in the morning from my home base at Boundary Bay airport
near Vancouver International Airport. After a little over
two hours of mostly smooth flight conditions, I arrived
at Castlegar airport, in the Kootenays where I had learned
to fly.
My plan was to spend a nostalgic afternoon visiting the
airport and school where I got my start in aviation almost
40 years ago. I had arranged to meet my clients, Kamen and
his mother Roxsane, at 6 pm for the flight to Vancouver.
By then the conditions on the return leg should have smoothed
out, with the prospect of a pleasant flight. Kamen’s
father Zale arrived right on time with Kamen and Roxsane.
We departed soon after the introductions and had a glassy
smooth flight all the way.
In the rear seat, mom compared the smooth fight to sitting
in a living room couch. I was kind of busy with radio work
and paperwork during the flight. Fortunately, Kamen, my
“co-pilot”, helped out with keeping us on course,
though he did make some turns around some imaginary traffic,
and also to give mom a better view of some of the terrain
en-route.
Upon arrival at Boundary Bay airport, I drove the Kamen
and Roxsane to their destination – Easter Seal House.
I joined as a volunteer pilot for Hope Air a couple of years
earlier, but this was the first occasion where the timing
of the mission coincided with suitable weather, the availability
of my aircraft, and time off from my work. Pilots don’t
often need a reason to go flying. My first Hope Air mission
was an excellent one! It was made even better by the sincere
gratitude of Kamen and Roxsane. Roxsane expressed appreciation
to us for “making Kamen’s medical appointments
so much easier and for enabling us to avoid an eight-hour
drive both ways.” Needless to say, my young co-pilot
enjoyed the flight immensely.
Henry Ilg
VPP Pilot
photo caption: 15-year-old Kamen and his mother Roxsane
enjoy their flight
photo caption: Zale, Kamen and Roxsane together before the
flight
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Story 4
An opportunity to help a fellow
human being
All of my Hope Air flights have been a pleasure. Some were
very challenging and nearly all the clients were excellent
passengers.
The thing that has made the greatest impression on me is
not a flight or having a passenger have a heart attack on
board, but the dedication of my fellow pilots and support
volunteers. They are totally dedicated to helping others
at their own expense.
I’d like to acknowledge a few friends at Hope Air
that I have admired over the past 10 years – Ian Campbell
and Sandrine Levrier at the office and Paul Clark, Gerd
Wengler and Mike Sherwood in the air.
My situation is fortunate in that I am often able to combine
my flights with my work designing aircraft hangers (Muskoka
and Gore Bay) and certifying engineering structures (Mackinac
Bridge Scaffolding between the Soo in Ontario and Michigan)
Who gets such an opportunity to see and help a fellow human
being improve? We do!
Mike Hogan
VPP Pilot
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Story 5
Rescheduled Flight Leaves Warm, fuzzy feeling
My story involves a round trip flight from Sault
Ste. Marie to London and back involving Gerald and Annabelle
J.
I watched the weather closely for days before this flight
and it became evident that it was not going to be possible
on the scheduled day. I called the clients two days beforehand
and told them that we could do the flight, providing they
could go a day early. They were fine with this and I picked
them up a day early in Sault Saint Marie, thereby avoiding
any weather issues.
Normally I don’t ask what the client is going to the
hospital for but Gerald, being a very outgoing person, explained
that he was going to have surgery for prostate cancer and
told me how scared he was. I told him that I had also had
prostate cancer and, though it was rough for a while, everything
was pretty good now. He seemed to be in a much better frame
of mind after the first leg of our flight and I was glad
that I could help lessen some of his concerns. I left him
and his wife at the FBO with the understanding that they
would keep in touch for the return flight.
Annabelle called me the day before the scheduled return
flight to inform me that the doctor wanted Gerald to stay
in London for an extra day. I explained that, due to weather
conditions, we might need to postpone the flight one additional
day and she thought that would be fine and probable better
for Gerald. Two days later I picked them up in London for
the return flight. Gerald was sore but doing well. With
considerable assistance we got him into the front seat of
the plane. The operation hadn’t slowed Gerald down
and he was still very chatty.
Part way through the flight Gerald discovered his catheter
was leaking. Thinking quickly I had Annabelle grab the towels
that I had in my flight bag which we put under him and this
worked pretty well since we got to Sault Ste. Marie without
further incident.
Soon after the landing I made arrangements for fuel and
went to say my goodbyes. Annabelle gave me a big hug an
expressed her appreciation and Gerald thanked me for my
help and said that my own experience had made his that much
easier. I left with that warm fuzzy feeling.
Gordon Roberts
VPP Pilot
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