SouthWings

SouthWings Volunteers- Image courtesy of SouthWings

It only takes one flight to discover a simple but powerful truth. There is no better way to see the effect of the hand of man upon nature than to view it from above.  For good or bad, the big picture is easily revealed, and the knowledge gained from that perspective provides insight that can lead to affirmation on what works, or to better choices to fix what doesn’t. Continue reading “SouthWings”

Air Care Alliance

Public benefit flying award presentation
(L-R) Rol Murrow of ACA, Gene Schmidt-Bahamas Habitat Volunteer Pilot and Jonathan Gaffney of NAA as Schmidt receives the 2010 Distinguished Volunteer Pilot Award

“The voice of public benefit flying.”

The Air Care Alliance  (ACA) is now 21 years old, but you’d be hard pressed to find another 21-year-old with such an impact on so many lives. Like other organizations that truly fulfill their missions, ACA was the product of visionaries; people who understood that charitable aviation groups would be more effective if they became allies. So, in 1990, Continue reading “Air Care Alliance”

Pilots N Paws

Pumpkin and Pilot Brad

“We need to do something!”  With that simple statement, a great idea came to life and Pilots N Paws was born.  The online  program that unites volunteer pilots with animal rescue organizations grew out of one woman’s need to make a home for a Doberman that had been rescued in Florida.

Debi Boies had recently lost her own 12-year-old Doberman, and it wasn’t long before Continue reading “Pilots N Paws”

JAARS

JAARS Quest Kodiak Image courtesy of JAARS

One of the first things people ask about JAARS is “where does the name come from?”, and for that, you have to go back more than 60 years to the beginning of what was then called “Jungle Aviation and Radio Service”.  In fact, the organization had its roots much earlier in William Townsend’s first trip to Guatemala in 1917. Continue reading “JAARS”

LightHawk

Aerial patrol  to monitor a quarry on the Hudson River
Image by Giles Ashford with aerial support by LightHawk

A mission to “champion environmental protection through the unique perspective of flight”.

LightHawk grew from a seed planted in 1974 with a simple suggestion to use aircraft to educate legislators and reporters on the potential environmental damage of a proposed coal-fired power plant near the Grand Canyon. Continue reading “LightHawk”

Able Flight

(L-R) Able Flight pilots Jorge Urrea, Jake Jeter, Jessica Scharle, Brad Jones and Sean O’Donnell

By Charles Stites-Executive Director of Able Flight

Able Flight has been called a lot of things since I founded it in 2006, but perhaps my favorite came from one of our pilots when he anointed this unique aviation nonprofit as the “little engine that could”. In its first five years Able Flight has kept its focus on its mission with dogged determination and single-mindedness. We set out to use aviation to change the lives of people with physical disabilities, and through them, to change the lives and perceptions of others. And that we have done. Continue reading “Able Flight”

Bahamas Habitat

(L-R) Dave Spangler, Steve Merritt, Dave Robertson, Matt Hansen, Ken DeYoung and Cameron King

Bahamas Habitat began a few years ago as a small group of U.S.-based pilots with a desire to volunteer their planes and skills to help the people of the islands of the Bahamas recover from the damage visited upon them by tropical storms. They organized “Fly In & Help Out” weekends, encouraging pilots of small airplanes to transport supplies and good will to the least fortunate of those who live on a chain of islands many see as paradise. Continue reading “Bahamas Habitat”