Become a Volunteer Pilot

Looking to use your aviation skills
to help others in need?

Read the information below about volunteer pilot requirements. When you’re ready, fill out the application to get started.
Want to become a volunteer Earth Angel driver? Visit our Earth Angel page to get started.

When you join forces with Angel Flight West, you’ll change lives by aiding passengers with transportation to medical care, specialty  camps, and other essential services across the Western United States.

Have questions about piloting a mission? Send us an email at [email protected], or call (888) 426-2643.

There are a few ways to volunteer for Angel Flight West ­— you don’t have to be a pilot to make a difference. consider joining us an Earth Angel by providing ground transportation to and from flights.

The Need

For too many Americans, cost of travel presents a daunting barrier to care and community. And for some medical patients, illness or weakness makes commercial air travel, or a long-distance drive, unappealing or unnecessarily risky.

That’s where you, and your personal plane, can help make a lasting difference.

Hundreds of passengers need your help

Every day, on average, Angel Flight West oversees 10 unique flights — and each flight is piloted by a trusted volunteer: someone just like you.

Each of the upcoming flights depicted on this map represents a chance for an Angel Flight West passenger to receive the medical care they need. Each flight offers hope and health — gifts you can help deliver as a volunteer.

What to Expect

Flying with us offers pilots an amazing sense of fulfillment and the thrill of a powerful responsibility. Through it all, our volunteers and staff help make the process smooth and manageable for any trained pilot.

Check out this video presentation to learn how Angel Flight West makes volunteering easy.

Pilot Requirements

As a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight West, you’ll enjoy full control over:
  • When you fly
  • How often you fly
  • What passengers you fly

There is no quota of flights to meet — and our passengers understand Angel Flight West can’t always guarantee a particular service. Cancellation, for any reason, is always your choice.

Many of our pilots rent their aircraft. Although Angel Flight West pilots are able to live anywhere, our flights cross only the western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.
  1. The pilot applicant must meet the following minimum times:
  2. Certificate PIC Time PIC Cross Country
    Private 250 75
    Commercial N/A 75
    Airline Transport Pilot N/A N/A
  3. Pilot applicants must have received a flight review per FAR 61.56 within the last 24 months; or an insurance-approved recurrent training course at an approved facility; or a Part 121 or 135 line check, instrument proficiency check, or PIC check within the last 12 months; or successful completion of one Phase of the FAA Wings program within the preceding 12 months as of the date of the orientation..

  4. Pilot applicants must hold at least medical requirements as per FAR 61.53 (including BasicMed) current medical certificate.

  5. Renter pilots (or flying club pilots) must supply proof of a checkout from the FBO or flying club CFI for the aircraft to be used on AFW missions.

  6. Pilot applicants must hold a copy of the Certificate of Insurance, applicable to the aircraft that will be used for AFW missions, providing at least $500,000 liability coverage with a minimum per-seat coverage of $100,000. If the applicant is insured through a flying club or rental operation, or otherwise flying non-owned aircraft, the club, rental operation, or aircraft owner must hold a certification up to the required coverage amounts for the aircraft that will be used for AFW missions.

  7. Pilot applicants must affirm at the orientation (and annually thereafter) that they will adhere to all FARs, and that they have (or will have) the certificate, rating (and type, if required) for the aircraft to be flown when acting as PIC on an AFW mission. This affirmation also includes having insurance in force and compliance with drug and alcohol provisions of the FARs. Click here to review the affirmation.

  8. Volunteer Pilots must be 18 years of age or older to fly as a Command Pilot.

  9. At this time, it is not permissible to use experimental or non-certified aircraft for passenger missions. Experimental aircraft may, however, be used for missions transporting blood or for any non-passenger missions.the clu,

Types of Missions

Our flights regularly transport passengers to medical treatment facilities. Free of charge, our pilots have helped smooth pathways to a wide variety of medical needs and services, including:
  • Advanced disease treatment that is not locally available
  • Pre- or post-transplant appointments
  • Transplants (with a large time window, pending availability)
  • Second opinions and expert consultations
  • Clinical trials
  • Pediatric care
  • Veterans Administration care

Beyond transportation for medical needs, we’re also proud to provide transportation for:
  • Children attending special needs camps
  • Wounded Warriors
  • Family members seeking to provide care to sick relatives or traveling to see someone in end stages of life
  • Survivors of domestic violence or disaster relief who are planning relocation
  • Pre-adoption visits

Unfortunately, our services cannot accommodate:
  • Funerals
  • General relocation
  • Air ambulance needs

Benefits

Our pilots cross the 12 Western States — and so can you!

Looking to direct your time, your aircraft, and your special skills as a pilot in service of great deeds? There’s no better way than aboard Angel Flight West.

Each Angel Flight West volunteer enjoys:

  • A laminated ID badge, personalized with your photo, that contains our 24-hour Hotline and Mission Preparation Checklist
  • A subscription to our informative quarterly newsletter, Flights of Hope
  • The Angel Flight West Volunteer Handbook
  • Access to the Philips 66 rebate program
  • Waived fees at FBOs and airports while on AFW Missions
  • An exciting variety of social events & fly-ins
  • Immeasurable pride in knowing they’ve made a difference in the lives of passengers in need

Angel Flight West is a nonprofit, 501 (c) (3) organization, so your contributions may be tax-deductible.

Pilot Testimonials

Become a Volunteer

Ready to volunteer? Follow these steps to see if you qualify to start the AFW volunteer pilot application process.

Subscribe to get our best content in your inbox

Name
Interests