Help Us Help You March 31, 2021 By Rich Pickett, AFW Safety Officer As always, thanks for spending your time and resources flying AFW missions. One of the ways that AFW matches pilots with missions is by using your pilot credential information in your profile. In looking at our data, I’ve noticed that in a number of cases we may not have current pilot credential information, in particular instrument flight capabilities. In so… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Two Patients, One Couple, Fly to Treatment March 12, 2021 Your support helps people like Jack and Carol get the specialty care they need when living in remote towns where access to health care is limited. Jack and Carol B. on one of their missions from Monticello, Utah to Salt Lake City for cancer treatment they both were receiving at Huntsman Cancer Institute. Jack also flies to Provo where he is receiving care after a heart attack. Carol and Jack are a husband-and-wife team w… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
AFW Transports Patient to Unconventional Treatment March 12, 2021 Thanks to you, stress from long car trips is reduced – another barrier to receiving health care. Command Pilot Frederick Klarmeyer taking a selfie with Ronald L., Ron’s wife Janelle, and their fluffy companion flying from Boise, ID to Seattle, WA for care of Ronald’s liver cancer. Ron L. had gone to his doctor for a routine check-up. When his doctor asked if there were any issues, Ron mentioned that he felt a little unco… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
A Special Child and a First-Mission Pilot Fly to Treatment March 12, 2021 Thanks to you, many families like Liliana’s are able to get the critical care they need. Command Pilot Brock Boscovich flying baby Liliana in stroller and her mother home to Lovelock, NV from treatment at UCSF in San Francisco for serious congenital health challenges. Her five other children and husband are there for the send off. The doctors told Jerri that her baby, Liliana, showed multiple problems in utero. They… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
AFW Safety News December 10, 2020 Winter is coming! By Rich Pickett, AFW Safety Officer While it is difficult to realize that winter is coming here in San Diego, I sometimes encounter actual snow or ice on a runway! I thought it might be nice to share some pointers, especially for those pilots who don’t normally operate under these conditions. Having lived and flown in the Rockies, Cascades, and back East, winter flying can be an adventur… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
WINGSPAN December 10, 2020 Joining the Search: National Disaster Search Dog Foundation & Angel Flight West by Ivan Martinez, Director of Outreach & Wing Operations From Left to Right, AFW Command Pilot Michael W. and his mission assistant, Director of Canine Operations Tracy Darling, Director of Canine Recruitment Sylvia Stoney, search dog Harley and SDF Founder Wilma Melville. So Cal Wing Leader Jeff Moorhouse knows a great out… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
In the Hangar December 10, 2020 Dana Tankenbaum, AFW Volunteer Intern Angel Flight West welcomes our newest intern Dana Tankenbaum. Dana works in the office as a volunteer scheduling social media posts, reviewing mission photos submitted to us from our volunteer pilots, entering various data, and occasionally answering calls if the Mission Ops team are on the phone with other callers. Dana heard about AFW through the UCLA version of the career… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Inside Mission Coordination December 10, 2020 Powered with Gratitude by Alexandro Ramirez, Mission Operations Coordinator Gratitude is the avgas that fuels Mission Operations at Angel Flight West. We are the fortunate few who spend a significant portion of our workday receiving gratitude from the people we most frequently connect with—medical professionals, passengers, and our beloved volunteers. In turn, we harness this positive energy and spread it a… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
From Cheri’s Desk December 10, 2020 Ending the Year on a High Note As we roll into 2021, I can’t help but reflect on the crazy year behind us. The impact of COVID-19 will be with us for years. While things are different, our focus has been on continuing to carry out our mission – helping those in need of essential medical treatment, one by one! Except for a brief pause early on, we continue flying passenger missions, while also flying family comf… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Spotlight on an Angel December 10, 2020 The Final Mile By Isabel Sotomayor, Mission Operations Coordinator It’s a special feeling getting to come to a job knowing that the people you work with share your same passion and care just as deeply about helping others. In a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming, disappointing, and sometimes downright unfair, I’ve found it so important to pay less attention to the bad and more to the good. How lucky I am to see s… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
“This is Our Last Hope” November 12, 2020 Thanks to you, many families can participate in the latest medical studies that may save their life. Eleven-year-old Mason and mom Stacey on their way for Mason to participate in a study that may save his life from an aggressive form of leukemia. (Masks were off for photo.) “My family has a mantra, it’s ‘Not cancer today!’” explained Jenn, the mother of 11-year-old Mason who is battling the most aggressive f… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
AFW Flies Brothers with the Same Disorder November 12, 2020 Thanks to you, families dealing with long-term illness can continue receiving medical care far from home for as long as needed. Having a child born with a serious disease would challenge whatever emotional, physical, financial and spiritual allotment any parent has. But, when you have two such children, it would seem like a Herculean task just to get through a day. Mom May with son and passenger Zaid who has been flyi… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
West Coast Firefighters Receive AFW Deliveries November 12, 2020 Without your support, crisis like these would be even more devastating. L: Command Pilot Levi Maaia unloading N95 masks to be delivered to Oregon firefighters. Center: Thank you to Command Pilot Louise Mateos for flying N95 masks to those fighting wildfires in Oregon. R: More N95 masks flown by Command Pilot Johannes Weis. As always when an emergency needs fast responders, you will hear the engines of many AFW airpl… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Spotlight on an Angel August 20, 2020 Passenger Bernie R. and Command Pilot Merilee Riely AFW passenger Bernie R. was taking his gloves off when he felt pain in his shoulder. He went to the emergency care in Oron, UT where he lived, and was told he had a fractured clavicle. They put his arm in a sling and sent him home. Three months later, he stepped off of a curb and heard a snap followed by intense pain in his leg. An ambulance rushed him to Huntsman Hospital thre… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
The Positive Power of General Aviation August 20, 2020 by Cheri Cimmarrusti, Associate Executive Director Over the span of nearly 23 years, I have come to be in awe of the daily power and importance of general aviation. Starting out as a part-time coordinator in 1997, my only knowledge of GA was a small plane that sometimes would fly over my house heading for the Santa Monica Airport. Not a nuisance, as some might think, but just a buzzing overhead that now and t… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
