ANGEL Flight is a charity that coordinates non-emergency flights to help country people trying to deal with the triple trouble of bad health, poor finances and daunting distance.
All flights are free, and volunteer pilots provide not only their time but the use of their private planes, to assist people in need. Glenorie pilot David Mackey has been volunteering with Angel Flight since 2011.
David owns and operates flightcharter.com.au, which provides an independent brokerage service for all private air charter needs.
“I have been a pilot for 34 years, and I love helping other people,” David said.
“I grew up on a farm in the North West of NSW and understand the challenges of the distance between rural communities and the services that are located in large centres or capital cities,” he said.
“By volunteering with Angel, I get to help others from regional, rural and remote areas and combine that with my aviation skills and passion.”
David is also a volunteer with the NSW Rural Fire Service, and he said he loves helping people in both roles. “You go out and help someone in need by using the skills, knowledge, training, and expertise you possess.”
David said the feeling is one of high satisfaction and pride, and he gets to meet people from a wide range of backgrounds.
“Whilst you never really know how they ended up sitting next to you on an Angel, what you do know is that the look of appreciation on their face is genuine. You know you have done a good deed and that is what I like the most about volunteering with Angel,” he said.
Angel Flight are always looking for more volunteer pilots in the regions or volunteer drivers in the capital cities.
“I would highly recommend volunteering for Angel Flight. It is a wonderful service, and everybody wins.
“Angel Flight provides services to rural communities that cannot be sourced in any other way, and to be a part of that is a privilege,” David said.
Angel Flight services are free to patients of all ages needing medical treatment at destinations where other forms of transport are physically and emotionally taxing or unaffordable, and can be accessed through their GP’s or medical health practitioners.
For further information on how Angel Flight works go to Page 20, or visit www.angelflight.org.au.
