Page 22 - April 20 TNT

The Joy Behind Charitable Flying As told by volunteer pilots of Angel Flight West. by Steve Danz and Dr. Stuart Bloom Most “heavy metal” owners and pilots who, like us, read Twin & Turbine Magazine are well- aware of the business-related benefits and other advantages of general aviation. Tax benefits, f lying on our own schedules, the ability to transport colleagues or an entire team, are just some of them. As an attorney with a state-wide employment law practice, I’ve certainly taken advantage of all those items and more. However, until we started f lying medical charity missions, my co-author Stuart and I missed what can only be called "satisfying and joyful" flying. Dr. Stuart Bloom, an anesthesiolo- gist who is also my hangar neighbor at KVNY, and I recently sat down to compare notes on the incredible experiences we’ve both shared with f lying patients and family members to and from their vital medical ap- pointments – all arranged through Angel Flight West. Among our most 20 • TWIN & TURBINE / April 2020 Dr. Stuart Bloom flies a veteran and his service dog. satisfying missions are transporting kids with special needs such as burns or deafness to and from camp. Camp missions are just perfect for twin and turbine aircraft. Stuart and his wife, Barbara, are the proud owners of a JetPROP, while my wife Margie and I fly a Cessna 340 (it's no coincidence that one’s a twin, one’s a turbine, and you are reading this in Twin & Turbine!). We’ve found that transporting patients to and from their medical appointments or other specific verified needs, to be extremely gratifying. A typical accolade recently came from grateful passenger Susan K. in Durango, Colorado. She thanked AFW for making it possible to partici- pate in a clinical trial in Denver for Stage III ovarian cancer. “Your hard work and tireless efforts helped me get treatment in the midst of and throughout my fight to live, which continues to this day! Thank you from a very grateful survivor.” Angel Flight Mission For the patients and their families, utilizing a public benefit flying orga- nization such as Angel Flight West means they don’t have to exhaust their limited resources like energy, time and finances, on commercial air travel or long road trips. Charitable air travel saves that energy for the vital recu- peration times needed for many of them. Passengers never experience any costs related to a charitable flight as all the expenses are covered by the volunteer pilot or AFW. Since no money is ever exchanged in return for these flight services, the IRS and FAA consider these operations to be strictly charitable f lights under FAR Part 91 Another value-add to pilots who vol- unteer with is that Angel Flight West provides a pilot safety education pro- gram. The organization is also in the process of designing and instituting a safety management system to elevate their operations and volunteer pilots