Wings of Hope Hangar Visit: Humanitarian Aviation Nonprofit Celebrates 60th Anniversary

By Carmelo Turdo

 Wings of Hope begins the new year marking their 60th anniversary since the seeds of the current global humanitarian nonprofit organization were planted by a group of St. Louis businessmen providing funds for an aircraft to serve in Kenya. Since then, Wings of Hope has grown to change and save lives through the power of aviation in the U.S. and ten other countries in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America. Wings of Hope partners with local organizations outside of the U.S. that can support the use of aviation in sustainable humanitarian service to the local population in need. In the U.S., the Medical Relief & Air Transport (MAT) program provides air transportation services for patients needing specialized medical care within 900 miles of St. Louis. The MAT program serves over 200 patients per year flying over 100,000 miles.

The Aero Experience attended the weekly staff and volunteer meeting on Tuesday hosted by Wings of Hope Interim President, Amy Buehler. She and the department directors gave concise status reports on their current and future projects, some of which are included here or will be featured in our story rotation throughout the year. Also during the meeting, those with January birthdays were recognized and cake was served!

During our visit, we captured the takeoff of the Piper Cherokee raffle aircraft on her delivery flight to the new owner in Mount Sterling, KY. Two aircraft per year are raffled, with all proceeds going to support the mission of Wings of Hope. Each raffle sells out within days or even hours of the first ticket sales, and each winner receives a newly inspected and, in most cases, updated general aviation aircraft. 

(Wings of Hope graphic)

Wings of Hope recently added the Piper Navajo to their MAT fleet, with the first patient flight taking place in February of last year. This aircraft provides increased speed and range compared to the current Seneca aircraft, allowing for longer flights or the accommodation of additional family members to accompany the patient. During our visit, the Navajo went on a short post-maintenance flight and returned to the hangar to await the next MAT mission. For more information on this aircraft, including the extensive cockpit avionics upgrade performed by Wings of Hope, see our previous story: Wings of Hope Flies Medical Relief and Air Transport Patient In Updated Piper Navajo Aircraft.

A new long-term project is underway in the Wings of Hope hangar - the restoration of a Cessna 206 for future use in Tanzania. A team of volunteers has already begun the inspection of the airframe, and major assemblies are laid out as shown below. We will post regular updates as progress continues.

Planning is well underway for upcoming spring events sponsored by Wings of Hope: SOAR Into STEM and the Wings of Hope Gala. SOAR Into STEM provides area high school students with a four-part course in basic aeronautics, along with a career fair and first flight experience, and the annual Gala is the largest fund-raising event of the year for Wings of Hope. More information on these events can be found in the links above.

The Aero Experience looks forward to featuring Wings of Hope in our regular coverage throughout the coming year, and we encourage everyone to support their mission!