Aviation Services in having Proximity to Airports
Caution Urged On Development Plans Near Airports - Despite an abundance of pushback and risk, local governments that sponsor airports continue to make zoning and development plans that prioritize revenue over pilots and community members.
The impact — and importance — of general aviation - A new economic impact study finds general aviation supports more than 1.1 million jobs and has a more than $246 billion economic impact every year. The report was released by the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), the Alliance for Aviation Across America (AAAA), and the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) just as elected officials are considering FAA reauthorization.
Pilots Helping communities:
Hawaii Pilots Organize Airlift To Fire-Ravaged Lahaina - Firefighters still worked to douse the vestiges of the firestorm that devastated the Hawaiian port town of Lahaina, leaving dozens of people dead or missing from the close-knit community on the west side of Maui, as general aviation pilots organized an airlift that provided some of the first relief to survivors in desperate need of food, water, and medicine.
Pilots for Paws:
Pilots N Paws is a 501c3 non-profit organization. This site is intended to be a meeting place for those who rescue, shelter or foster animals, and volunteer pilots and plane owners willing to assist with the transportation of animals. It is not the intent of Pilots N Paws to coordinate or arrange those providing these valuable services but to provide the environment in which those involved can come together in a common place and arrange or schedule rescue flights, overnight foster care or shelter and all other related activities.
Denver7 Everyday Hero: Retired pilot now flies to give underdogs a better life - Aug 26, 2020
This Pilot Has Flown Some 100,000 Miles to Save Shelter Pets - October 2, 2023
LightHawk - Conservation Flying:
Why LightHawk Exists
We know that aviation can greatly enhance conservation work, often in ways that are not immediately obvious. We also know that aviation resources are often too costly for conservation efforts, even if their value and contribution is understood.
What We Do
LightHawk conservation staff seek out projects and partners where we know we can make a significant contribution. We then serve as consultants, co-designing flight campaigns to achieve relevant and important conservation outcomes, educational objectives and outreach strategies.
How We Do It
Once we have a project planned, we tap into our network of 300 volunteer pilots who donate expertise, time, aircraft, and fuel to support the project, making flight support free of direct cost to our partners.
To Learn more about LightHawk, please visit: https://www.lighthawk.org
Angel Flight:
Angel Flight West delivers health and hope using donated flights to serve those with healthcare or other compelling human needs. In the air, Angel Flight West links volunteer pilots and commercial airlines with people whose non-emergency health needs require long-distance travel to access care. On the ground, volunteer drivers ferry passengers to and from their departure and destination airports.
Angel Flight West is celebrating 100,000 missions and 40 years of service this year. Since our onset, we've served more than 20,000 passengers. Across our entire region, we complete around 5,000 missions a year. We currently have 184 active command pilots in Colorado.
Also, the power of storytelling has been best for us. Please meet our passenger Albert from Durango, CO. He often flies from DRO to APA for his far-off medical care at UCHealth. And to date, he has had 54 life-changing missions. We are often touched, always humbled, and many times left speechless by the impact made through the gift of flight.
A six-hour drive, one-way, from Durango to Denver is not just difficult - it's a barrier to healthcare access. Albert recently left us a very touching voicemail saying, “I’m calling just to say thank you. You’ve really changed my life, and it’s been unbelievably helpful. I am eternally thankful… I just wanted to tell you all what you have meant to me. Thank you, very, very, much.”
See each of these airports below for the missions flown per airport to help people in need. - Angel Flight Stats for the Western Region
The impact of aviation in our lives.
It takes a lot to become a pilot. What if there were no airplanes or pilots to fly them? Check out this documentary to see how much aviation impacts our lives - even if we aren't aware of it.
Why is training so popular right now?
Despite the short-term decline in the number of active pilots, analysis shows that the civil aviation industry will require more than 260,000 new pilots over the next decade. As air travel resumes progressively over the next several years, the industry will experience upward mandatory retirement and attrition rates. - source
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General Aviation an Emergency Preparedness
The following are several articles as to how General Aviation has been essential to provide needed emergency assistance to local communities:
Pitching In On The Airlift: A First Timer’s Account - “It just keeps going,” the lady said as she reached into the baggage area of the Mooney. “How did you get this all to fit?” I smiled and started to brag about being part of the Tetris generation, but then I realized she probably said that to every pilot who flew supplies in. - October 4, 2024
General Aviation Groups Step Up For Hurricane Victims - Much of the general aviation community has jumped in to offer assistance to victims of Hurricane Helene. Among the organized efforts, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has activated its Humanitarian Emergency Response Operator (HERO) database to reach out to business aviation operators. The HERO program enables NBAA member aircraft operators to supply information on aircraft availability, personnel and other assets that could be of use in an emergency such as the devastating damage caused by this storm. - October 3, 2024
Indiana non-profit flying supplies to North Carolina with volunteer pilots - COLUMBUS — Volunteers with the Civilian Crisis Response Team loaded up an aircraft to fly supplies to North Carolina. According to the Associated Press, Hurricane Helene is responsible for at least 121 deaths across Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. It is the first time the non-profit has asked for a volunteer pilot. They put a call on social media and had 75 pilots respond. - September 30, 2024