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Assured Partners
https://assuredpartners.com/
non-ambulatory flights and serves as PIC on many of them.
“The most stressful part of the trip is loading. If the animal has never been on a flight, they may not want to go in the plane so easily. If it’s your first time flying with a dog, I don’t recommend doing it single pilot. Even if it’s just a short flight, you don’t know how they are going to react.”
Predominantly, the group trans- ports animals in its Piper Turbo Sara- toga based at Essex County Airport (KCDW) in Caldwell, New Jersey. But they also lean on the support of its 1,000-plus volunteers to com- plete missions in their own aircraft, with frequent destinations being the Carolinas and Tennessee. These are common places where sponsoring agencies have driven (often through the night) so that the dogs can be further brought across the country for rescue. On top of saving these ani- mals, a goal of Pilots To The Rescue is to ease the burden on these gra- cious “Road Warriors” and the amount of driving that they have to do, as well as the dogs.
This year, the group is to fly more than 1,000 animals – an ambitious goal roughly double the number flown last year. At present, depend- ing on the animal and the size of their crate, roughly 10 dogs can be carried each flight. While Schneider notes that the group is currently in the process of getting a second Turbo Saratoga that will be based in Atlanta or another area in the South, the long-term goal is acquiring a Cessna Caravan. The single-engine turboprop would be a considerable improvement toward the organiza- tion’s expanding mission.
Grant Boyd is a private pilot and general aviation professional. He has written more than 170 articles for aviation magazines and en- joys learning about unique aircraft missions. Grant was selected as an NBAA “Top 40 Under 40” recipient in 2020 and holds an MBA from Wichita State University. He can be reached at grantboyd2015@ gmail.com.
September 2022 / TWIN & TURBINE • 7