In 2005, Angel Flight American fly 25,000 missions (that's one every 30 minutes) with over 7,000 volunteer pilots. Non-pilot volunteers are known as Earth Angels and answer phones, coordinate missions and do other office work. The organization has seven regional offices and are always looking for projects for their pilots, who stand ready to help out in all kinds of critical situtations. There is no cost for the service. The pilots pick up the cost for use of their plane, the gas, and their time.
Huntsville is in Angel Flight Southeast, which serves the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Currently, the Chairman of Angel Flight SE, David Knies, lives in Huntsville. During the Hurricane Katrina crisis, Angel Flight Southeast flow over 800 missions taking in supplies and transporting people out of the flooded areas.
Besides scheduled medical appointments and surgeries, Angel Flight helps with organ recipients and donors and some compassion requests. Recently, Blake Mathis, Secretary for Angel Flight Southeast, and an employee of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, invited me out to the airport to see an Angel Flight mission in action.
Marlin Hossler, 9, of Port St. Lucie, FL has a rare blood disease and had been on many Angel Flights for medical treatments. Now in remission, she dreamed of being an astronaut and wanted to experience Space Camp. Through a volunteer organization in Florida, most of the expenses of Space Camp were paid for, but Marlin's parents couldn't afford the flight to Huntsville. When Tom Powers, Chairman of Angel Flight America, he volunteered for the 3 1/2 hour trip to fly Marlin to Huntsville. He'd been on many of her medical appointments and knew her well. She was the child who became famous in Florida for organizing and collecting 3,000 toys in a Christmas drive for others in a Children's Hospital in Tampa. Five TV stations and three newspapers showed up in Florida to wish Marlin well on fulfilling her dream of Space Camp. Photos of Marlin's arrival in Huntsville
If you or someone you know has a need for transportation, you can go to the Angel Flight America site and plug in your zip code (where the flight would orginate from) for more information. You will need a doctor or other medical professional make the actual request. Pilots are always welcome to join in this fulfilling work.
