Wings of Hope Flies Medical Relief and Air Transport Patient In Updated Piper Navajo Aircraft

By Carmelo Turdo

Wings of Hope recently flew a Medical Relief and Air Transport (MAT) Program patient aboard their updated Piper Navajo, the newest addition to the domestic medical transport fleet. The flight ushers in a new era for the MAT Program that currently flies over 200 patients per year nearly 120,000 miles to health care facilities around the Midwest. The Navajo is based at the Wings of Hope World Headquarters at Spirit of St. Louis Airport where it serves with two Piper Senecas in the MAT Program.  

The Medical Relief and Air Transport (MAT) Program provides air transport services, including provision for lodging, without cost to patients in need of treatment at specialized medical facilities. Most of those served are children with congenital or serious health conditions that require a series of treatments away from home. Volunteer pilots, nurses and ground crews are highly experienced and committed to making the flight experience as safe and comfortable as possible.

Piper Navajo Return to Service

(Photo courtesy of Carol Enright)

The recent MAT Program mission took place February 14-16, with four legs of the trip flown by two crews. Jaley and her mom, Jenny, were flown to St. Louis from Columbus, NE for Jaley's follow-up appointment following a series of treatments at Shriners Hospital. After the appointment, they were flown back home and the aircraft returned to Wings of Hope in St. Louis. This MAT Program mission, like many others, removed the barrier of transportation and made it possible for this family to obtain the best medical care for Jaley. Next year, Jaley will enter the honors program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and we wish her every success.     

This MAT Program mission was also special in that it was the first for the Navajo following a year-long major update project at Wings of Hope (discussed later in this story). In accordance with the custom for launching an aircraft to service at Wings of Hope, a "Blessing of the Plane" ceremony was held an hour prior to the scheduled flight to pick up Jaley and Jenny in Nebraska. Wings of Hope President and CEO Bret Heinrich welcomed the volunteers and staff who made the mission possible and handed the microphone to Pastor Larry Lemke of Zion Lutheran Church of Ferguson to continue with the ceremony. Here we see the Navajo being placed in the hangar, the blessing ceremony, and the aircraft prior to being towed out for departure.

The crew for the trip to pick up Jaley and Jenny from Columbus, NE and fly them to St. Louis were Mike Mahoney and Ken Pratt (L-R below). Here we see the departure from Spirit of St. Louis Airport on the morning of February 14, and they were all back at Wings of Hope that afternoon.

(Photo courtesy of Carol Enright)

On February 16, following the appointment at Shriners Hospital, Jaley and Jenny met their return flight crew, Mike Mahoney and Dave Pogorzelski. They were leaving a little earlier this time, with takeoff at about 8:45 A.M. for the flight back to Nebraska.

Piper Navajo Featured in Our Previous Wings of Hope Story 

The 1975 Piper PA-31-310 Navajo was acquired by Wings of Hope in April of 2020 and arrived in St. Louis from Nebraska on May 6 of that year. Before we begin our coverage of the Navajo update program, The Aero Experience looks back to our special three-part Salute to MAT Chief Pilot Dick Horowitz series. In the opening sequence below, Dick Horowitz is shown returning from his last active MAT mission in the Navajo on November 30, 2020 prior to his retirement from the Chief Pilot position. Horowitz will be featured in this story and in the accompanying video as we look closer at the Navajo's role in the MAT program.

Even before the Navajo went into the update program, crews welcomed the increased performance capability of the aircraft as it entered the Wings of Hope fleet. Compared to the other MAT aircraft, it offers higher cruising speed, longer range and more cabin space for stretcher patients with a nurse on board.  

"It's very comfortable inside," Dick Horowitz told The Aero Experience. "It's a great airplane-it's really quiet and comfortable and has a real, solid feel when you're flying it." 

"It's a great airplane," added pilot Mike Mahoney before the first return to service flight. You've got much more load-carrying capability [than the Piper Seneca] so you can go longer, farther, a little bit higher and get there and stay there for up to four hours." He described a typical mission with this aircraft as a trip with a stretcher patient and medical crew member on flights to places like Denver or Houston non-stop. A stretcher and pallet have been donated for use in place of the seats when needed. Mahoney added that the cockpit avionics updates make the aircraft safer and they require less maintenance than the vacuum and mechanical systems they replace.

Piper Navajo Undergoes Year-Long Update Program 

Throughout most of 2021, the Navajo settled into a corner of the hangar where it would undergo a series of major updates. Along with the overhaul of both engines and propellers, the cockpit received what Wings of Hope Director of Operations, Tim Long, called a "twenty-first century Garmin avionics suite." Replacing the vintage vacuum-based instrumentation with state-of-the-art digital avionics necessitated access to much of the airframe, and for a while the Navajo appeared to be peeled back in layers like an onion. 

Below we show the aircraft well into the project already in the first week of January, 2021, with the interior seats, flooring and instrument panel removed. While the engines and propellers were out for overhaul, work on the avionics installation proceeded steadily throughout the year. 

(Photo courtesy of Jay Rickmeyer)

The most noticeable changes are in the cockpit with the panel upgrade. As seen in the comparison below, the conventional instruments were replaced with modern Garmin flat screen displays.  

(Photo courtesy of Jay Rickmeyer)

(Photo courtesy of Jay Rickmeyer)

Wings of Hope's John Heilmann provided this list of the Avionics installed in the Navajo:

Pilot and Co-Pilot Garmin G600Txi touch screen displays that show a Primary Flight Display (PFD), Multi-Function Display (MFD), and Engine Monitor Display.  The MFD can be changed by the pilot and co-pilot to show weather, traffic, charts, or additional engine data.

Garmin GI-275 back-up display for use in case primary flight display fails.

Garmin #1 GTN-750Xi GPS/NAV/COM with a remote GMA-35C Audio Panel.

Garmin #2 GTN-750Xi GPS/NAV/COM.

Garmin GTX-345 Transponder with ADS-B in/out capability.

Garmin remote mounted GDL-69 XM Weather receiver to provide XM weather information to the Pilot and copilot G600Txi displays.

Garmin GFC-600 Autopilot with Roll, Pitch, Pitch Trim, and Yaw servos. The Navajo is also equipped with a "Smart Rudder Bias” system that automatically assists the pilot in controlling the aircraft in the event of an engine failure. It will automatically detect which engine fails and add in the correct rudder input to help maintain directional control.

Garmin GCU-485 Dedicated PFD controller located below the throttle quadrant. This provides a convenient location to input heading and altitude changes to the autopilot.

(Photo courtesy of John Heilmann)

By early December, the Navajo was coming back together with the engine installation, and the aircraft is seen here back in the air on a late January 2022 flight.

(Photo courtesy of John Heilmann)

(Photo courtesy of John Heilmann)

The video below illustrates the story of the Navajo as it undergoes the update program and return to service last month.

The Navajo will continue to serve, along with the two Piper Senecas, in the St. Louis-based MAT fleet for many years to come. It is a great tribute to the leadership, staff, volunteers and supporters of Wings of Hope that the MAT Program continues to thrive and expand its range of service. 

Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Wings of Hope has the vision of "Changing and saving lives through the power of aviation." Wings of Hope has a rich history of using aircraft to provide humanitarian aid to communities in remote places where it is most needed. In 1959, various Catholic ministries started providing humanitarian air services in the Turkana region of Kenya. Not unlike Charles Lindbergh's preparations for the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, Bishop Joseph Houlihan of Eldoret, Kenya approached St. Louis businessmen Bill Edwards, Joe Fabick, Paul Rodgers and George Haddaway about his need for a new aircraft. They then provided the seed money for the first Cessna U206 used by the newly-minted United Missionary Air Training and Transport. As news of this first successful aircraft service spread, more aircraft were needed. Wings of Hope incorporated in 1967, and has since provided humanitarian and development services around the world through an inter-faith approach to serving the needs of all mankind. Today, Wings of Hope continues to emphasize aviation as the means to achieve their mission and partners with local organizations in the countries served. A complete list of areas served can be found on the Global Programs web page.

The Aero Experience thanks the Wings of Hope staff and volunteers mentioned above who provided interviews and contributed background information for the production of this story and video.