Written by Clay Ross, AFW Area Leader for the Bay Area
What do Angel Flight West (AFW) missions and the Internet have in common? The Internet is built to move data extremely quickly from one city to another. But that short segment between the nearest router and your home or business is much slower. The networking industry refers to this challenging, less-efficient segment as, “The Last Mile.” For AFW missions, that Last Mile is the ground leg. We fly our Angel Flight passengers hundreds of miles at roughly three miles per minute. But after we land, it takes at least 15 minutes to carry the passengers those Last Miles, plus someone with a car. This is where the Earth Angels provide their essential service.
I started flying for AFW in early 2021. Like all the volunteer pilots in AFW, I wanted to help others while enjoying my passion for flying. My plane is based at KPAO, a frequent destination for missions due to its proximity to Stanford Medical and Stanford Children’s Hospital. When I signed up for one mission inbound to KPAO, I saw that the Earth Angel leg was still open, so I signed up for that as well. Driving to Stanford Medical after the mission would only be a short diversion on my drive home from the airport. My only concern was that the patient would have to wait about 10 minutes for me to secure my plane before we left, so I contacted her and asked if this would be OK. As we all know, our passengers are extremely grateful for the service we provide, so of course this minor delay was perfectly fine with her.
The experience of driving patients after their flight ended up being much more enjoyable for me, and it was more beneficial for the passengers than I anticipated. For me, it was a chance to get to know the passenger. When we fly, there is often very little time to talk. From the minute we are buckled in until sometime after departure, we maintain a sterile cockpit – only essential communication. By the time we are free to chat, the passenger is often asleep or engrossed in a book. Once we start the approach, we are back in a sterile cockpit until the engine is shut off. I have always enjoyed talking to my AFW passengers and learning as much of their story as they are willing to share. Their story is a gift to me, reminding me of how good my life is and showing me true courage. On many angel flights, particularly the shorter ones, I miss this opportunity. But when I add the ground mission after the flight, I am free to chat with the passengers while I’m putting away my plane and during the drive to their appointment. I have found every one of these ground missions to be extremely rewarding with minimal incremental effort on my part. And for the passengers, I imagine that being flown and driven by the same person makes them feel more like a chauffeured VIP, and less like a relay baton (particularly if it was an Uber ride rather than an Earth Angel ride).
Two months ago, AFW sent awards to the pilots and drivers who took the most missions in 2023. When I received one of the “Earth Angel” awards for Northern California, I was very proud, but confused — I was only driving missions that I flew into my home airport; certainly, there must be many Earth Angels who had driven more. But it turns out I was one of the more frequent drivers. When I spoke with our NorCal Wing Leader, Gil Takemori, at the summer BBQ several days later, he said that the main challenge for Earth Angels in metropolitan areas is that it can take an hour for them to drive from their home to the airport during rush hour. So even though we have many Earth Angels, they are less likely to drive at certain times of day. This is where the Command Pilots come in: we are already at the airport with the passenger, there is no overhead drive time, there is less environmental footprint, and less coordination for AFW and for us.
I would like to challenge my fellow Command Pilots who are based at the Mission destination airport to drive your passengers to the appointment after your flight. It makes a huge difference for your passengers and for your AFW Coordinators, and I guarantee you’ll get even more fulfillment from the experience.
By Clay Ross, AFW Area Leader for Bay Area
