Volunteer Pilots Give Hope and Air Support to Jose August 11, 2022 As his eyesight gradually diminishes, Jose Reyes Del Valle has naturally found himself turning to various friends in his time of need — especially as reliable medical transportation can now be a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, two of Jose’s newest friendships happen to be Angel Flight West volunteer pilots Trevor Moody and Yuriy Chanba. Together, Trevor and Yuriy have flown Jose on two… Jessica Hayes Read More »
Flying with Angels: Chance’s Story of Love and Family August 5, 2022 It is with a heavy heart we share that Angel Flight West passenger Chance Johnson passed away on June 24, 2022. Chance traveled with 24 Angel Flight West volunteer pilots over the course of 30 missions and touched countless other lives during his 16 years on Earth. Our hearts are with his family, friends, medical team, and volunteers mourning his loss. Chance’s medical journey started when he was born with VA… Jessica Hayes Read More »
Child Burn Survivors: Finding Hope and Happiness at Summer Camp July 28, 2022 Angel Flight West provides hundreds of flights for children to reach speciality summer camps each year. We are honored to partner with Camp Courage to help child burn survivors reach camp with the help of dedicated volunteer pilots. At first, Rudy was a bit nervous about sending his teenage boys, Diego and Rodolfo, on a flight to their summer camp. With Diego on the autism spectrum and Rodolfo known to experience anxi… Jessica Hayes Read More »
Fighting Cancer from the Air: Volunteer Pilots Make a Difference July 12, 2022 Volunteer Pilots with Angel Flight West make a difference each day. Because of their generosity of time and resources, more patients with critical illnesses, like cancer, are able to access medical treatment. As a retired United Airlines captain, and as the personal owner of two Cirrus aircraft, Tom is quick to recognize he’s lived something of a charmed life. “I’ve been gifted with many advantages,” he said. “[… Jessica Hayes Read More »
Providing Flights to Veteran Support Programs: Michael’s Story of Hope July 8, 2022 Angel Flight West is honored to provide flights to help service members reach veteran transition assistance programs. Michael’s story is one that resonates as we strive to connect more passengers with flights to needed medical treatment and support programs throughout the Western United States. Coming home from the Iraq War, Army veteran Michael struggled to find his place back in so… Jessica Hayes Read More »
Medical Transportation for Kaylie: Soaring Since Age 2 June 29, 2022 Four years ago, Kaylie was born with Type 1 Citrullinemia, a rare genetic malformation that causes ammonia and toxic substances to build up in her bloodstream. If left unchecked, Kaylie’s condition could leave her comatose and permanently brain damaged. Before her second birthday, Kaylie had already received a liver transplant — just one of numerous healthcare procedures needed to manage her condition and requ… Jessica Hayes Read More »
The Gift of Flight and Time June 16, 2022 A volunteer pilot since April 2020, Kosta Constantine has logged more than 27,000 flight hours in his trusty Beechcraft Baron. Lately, some of his most treasured time in the air has been spent with Nicole H. — including during her fourth birthday. At a time when other kids might solely be focused on games and toys, Nicole and her mom, Mirna, have had other important things on their wis… Jessica Hayes Read More »
A Mother’s Reflection: Angels in Hawaii February 17, 2022 January 28, 2021 was a day our family will never forget—our lives were forever transformed with our six-year-old son’s diagnosis of a brain cancer called Medulloblastoma. At the very start of this journey, we were transferred by air ambulance from our island, Maui, to Oahu, because our community did not have the resources needed to treat our son. We knew this would be a challenge we would have to face on our son’s road t… Kaitlyn McQuown Read More »
Angel Flight West Ascends Past 90,000 Missions November 18, 2021 In a quiet moment, pilot Jon Lange looks back from the cockpit of his Socata/TBM 700. Jon is one of 1,800 volunteer pilots who fly for Angel Flight West, and today he’s setting a milestone: this flight is the charitable aviation organization’s 90,000th mission. His passenger, Jenny, is gazing out the window at the clouds in wonder alongside her sister-in-law Alejandra. It’s Jenny’s first time i… Kaitlyn McQuown Read More »
From Cheri’s Desk: Kicking off Camp Season July 9, 2021 Camp season started this year with a bang as Champ Camp returned! And what a joyous event it was for campers, counselors, pilots, and the Mission Ops staff. While those watching from the outside may have thought the staff was buried in craziness and chaos (and they would have been right!), the truth is we were so energized to be back making sure that 35 campers and two counselors-in-training made it to Wonder Valley near… Cheri Cimmarrusti Read More »
Spotlight on an Angel July 9, 2021 Ramiro O. Passenger Ramiro with AFW Pilot Ajay Kishinchandani Sandra and Ramiro’s first flight anywhere was on a commercial airline to Florida for a vacation. Sandra has claustrophobia. Her only thought as they waited on the tarmac in a plane that was delayed for a reason she can’t remember was that she “was going to die.” She didn’t really ever want to fly again. Fast forward to her first flight with AFW to Seattle for… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Please meet Zoe March 12, 2020 We’d like you to meet Zoe. Zoe was born with just 10 percent of a normal small intestine, which means her body can’t get enough nutrients from solid food, and she has to be fed through a central line in her chest. She spent the first six months of her life at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto where she nearly died. Now 13 months old, Zoe is back at home in Southern California with her parents and older sister. But… afw_web_admin Read More »
Wingspan August 29, 2019 by Ivan Martinez, Director of Outreach and Wing Operations Since the start of our “Ascent to 8,000” campaign, outreach has been an increasing focus necessary to fuel our journey and one we are very much still learning to navigate better. We continue our efforts exhibiting at conferences, reaching out to new requester and patient leads, and arranging in-service presentations–all in hopes that our name reaches the… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
A Mission Moment by No. CA Command Pilot Dave Lombard October 24, 2018 Worthy of the Trust I have been flying Angels for about 14 years. I think over that time, I have pretty much seen it all. My first mission was a woman from northeastern California who was suffering from colon cancer. I also flew one of her neighbors who had breast cancer. They have both passed on. I live in the central California foothills, adjacent to the great San Joaquin Valley where we feed the world. There are a lot of ki… afw_web_admin Read More »
A Mission Moment – Passenger Larry G. June 13, 2018 The following article written by volunteer So. CA Command Pilot Tom Close in 2014 after flying passenger Larry G. on Larry’s first AFW flight is an example of the hidden benefits of being&… afw_web_admin Read More »
