SUBSEQUENT REQUEST (13th & 14th Angel Flights).
Thirteen year old Zach needed to attend Sydney Children's Hospital for ongoing review and follow-up as a result of a brain tumour diagnosed in 1996. The brain tumour resulted in blindness. Zach and his mother find the 10 hour journey exhausting physically and emotionally.

Read about a previous mission for Zachary (M649)

Peter Gibson - Pilot

Mick Caspers - Earth Angel
(Mick's 24th Angel flight)

Dave Hayes - Pilot

Robyn McBride - Earth Angel
(Robyn's 37th Angel flight)

Angel flight 2 by Dave Hayes
This is Dave's 8th Angel flight
Previous mission for Dave - M574 AF1.

Comment by Dave
"This Angel Flight went as planned but for a half hour delay… After arriving at Bankstown on one of Sydney’s hotter days (about 34 deg C), Piper Arrow VH-CPP was nicely heat soaked and didn’t want to start in a hurry after Earth Angel Robyn McBride brought Zach and his mum Carol to the terminal. Fuel vaporisation was my assessment, but greater familiarity with gas-turbines than pistons could also have contributed! Rather than continue attempts to start with passengers sitting in a hot aeroplane, or risk flattening the battery and melting the starter motor, I elected to wait and enlist the help of another Earth Angel, Graeme Bentley, who was at Bankstown terminal on another mission, to help me remove and refit the cowling while CPP cooled down, then bring the passengers out from the air-conditioned terminal once the engine was started.

Taxiing and running up was stinkin’ hot, but once we got airborne and some nice cool air began to flow through the cabin it turned into a pleasant trip. Zach got a nice long nap and Carol was able to do some reading and enjoy the view as we cruised over Shellys then Moruya and down the beautiful coastline past Narooma, Bega, Merimbula and Eden to Mallacoota. Zach and Carol’s transport was thankfully waiting at Mallacoota despite the delay, then it was a short hop home to Canberra.

Seeing the rugged and remote beauty of Mallacoota made me appreciate Angel Flight even more. Thanks to this organization, people can still access the best specialist help available, without having to move from the wonderful places they call home, or the friends and family they have there.

Many thanks to the team at Angel Flight who do all the hard work behind the scenes to make such missions work, to Earth Angels Robyn McBride and Graeme Bentley, and to Dr Sterling Kitchings who graciously allowed me to use his Piper Arrow II, VH-CPP, on a day that he couldn’t make it due to work commitments."

Pilot Dave, Earth Angel Robyn, Zach and Carol

Carol and Zach enjoy the flight

Beautiful Mallacoota in Victoria's remote south-east