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handles at Orlando Executive Airport on arrival day, June 4, and again on departure day, June 12. And February 28 is the date when organizers need to know how many aircraft they have to work with when working with state Special Olympics delegations to offer transportation.
Special Olympics provides year- round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic- type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to de- velop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and partici- pate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
All expenses – from facilities dur- ing training to meals and lodging during competition – are paid for by Special Olympics in hopes that no one is left on the sideline due to in- ability to pay. Travel is one of the largest expenses for state programs sending athletes to the USA Games, which take place every four years.
“Traveling to Orlando for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games may be the first time some of our athletes ever leave their hometown, let alone fly on an airplane. The travel experi- ence provided by Textron Aviation and its customers will be the ultimate bookends for one unforgettable week,” Tony Wyllie, regional president of Special Olympics North America, said in a March 2021 news release announcing the airlift.
Sperley said the pilots he’s talked to get as much out of participating in the event as they give.
“Everyone goes in thinking this is a nice way to help their community, and they leave feeling it meant more to them than the people they are fly- ing,” he said. “Nobody anticipates that it’s going to be such an emotional experience for them.”
Long-time Citation pilot Michael Herman agrees.
“Fly the Special Olympics Airlift once and you’ll understand,” said the owner of a 2006 Citation CJ3. “I fly many diverse philanthropic missions,
and this one is at the top of my list because of the athletes we transport.” Herman has participated in each airlift since 1999, the same year he began flying Citations. He said he went in not knowing what to expect and walked away impressed by how organized the airlift runs and how much he connected to his passengers. He’s had each airlift athlete sign a hat that he keeps in his office and he plans to do the same during his fifth
airlift in 2022.
Connecticut-based Whelen Engin-
eering was one of the first to register for the 2022 airlift and was Dove No. 1 in the last airlift, recognizing that they were the first to register for the airlift.
“Flying in the airlift is the most rewarding f lying I’ve ever done,” said Whelen chief pilot Dennis Piscitello, an 18,000-hour pilot. “It’s an abso- lutely amazing experience as a pilot, and I’m thankful to have a company and owners who support our involve- ment year after year.”
Whelen designs and manufactures visual warning equipment for the au- tomotive, aviation and mass notifica- tion industries, making it a customer and supplier for Textron Aviation. This will be the sixth time the
November 2021 / TWIN & TURBINE • 21
2022 Airlift Details
Who: Owners and pilots of Beechcraft King Air,
Premier and Beechjet models; Hawker aircraft; Cessna Citation business jets are being asked to donate the use of their aircraft, pilots and fuel.
What: Help transport a portion of the over 4,000 athletes
and coaches around the U.S., Caribbean and Puerto Rico invited to the USA Games in Orlando on June 4, 2022, and then return them to their home bases on June 12, 2022.
How: Register at txtav.com/airlift by Feb. 28.