General Aviation on a Mission: An Illustrated Introduction

The Aero Experience has launched a new series of feature stories, called General Aviation on a Mission, to celebrate the positive impact of general aviation on our society. As mentioned in the previous post, a wide range of examples of this theme can be found in our story archives. This brief pictorial review of those special moments will illustrate the generosity and ingenuity of the general aviation community.

Growing Aviation: Leading by Example

General aviation aircraft owners regularly participate in STEM education programs to promote career opportunities in the aviation and aerospace industries. These efforts are often voluntary participation in regional or national programs sponsored by non-profit organizations. Here we feature Amelia Rose Earhart raising funds for flight training scholarships; AeroCareers sponsoring the appearance of the Lancair Columbia The New Spirit of St. Louis used by Erik Lindbergh to recreate his grandfather's famous solo transatlantic flight; EAA Young Eagles free first flights for youth aged 8-17; Jill Rempala's Cessna 150 employed as a pre-flight training aid for the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation's Intro to Flight class; Piston Aviation's Future Pilots Fund scholarship airplane raffle; Elite Aviation hosts the Red Tail Cadet Program providing flight training and youth mentoring to area high school students; and John Fester gives an incentive flight in his T-28 warbird to Red Tail Cadet D.J. Beal.

Humanitarian Aviation: Meeting Needs Where They Live

Non-profit aviation service organizations leverage their resources to fund humanitarian air operations in the U.S. and around the world. In these examples, we show how general aviation aircraft types are the best choices to gain access to both American airports and austere landing strips and harbors in undeveloped nations. Here we include the Medical Relief and Air Transport Program from St. Louis-based Wings of Hope; Flying Medical Service in Arusha, Tanzania; Arusha Medivac also in Tanzania; Samaritan Aviation in Papua, New Guinea; MiracleAir in Fiji Islands; Hands of Compassion in Guatemala; and the Civil Air Patrol.

Honoring Our Heritage: Celebrating Veterans and Their Families

We include these flights in our coverage of General Aviation on a Mission to celebrate the service of our military veterans and their families. Three non-profit organizations are represented here, each providing flights in warbirds by volunteer pilots who devote their own time and resources to remain current and available for what are often called Heritage Flights. Included below are the Missouri Wing of the Commemorative Air Force with their B-25 Show Me and Stearman trainer; Dream Flights Stearman; and Gateway Chapter of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation Huey helicopter.

Other Amazing and Fun Missions

General Aviation on a Mission can be as personal as each individual contributor. We conclude our pictorial with a look at some highly creative and satisfying flights: Cathy Babis becomes the first female seaplane pilot to circumnavigate mainland Australia; a LifeLine Pilots crew stopped at Mount Vernon Outland Airport on a cross-country journey to deliver their canine passengers for service dog training in Cedar Rapids, IA; Paul Voorhees flew The Aero Experience on our photo mission around St. Louis with ExtremeFlight airshow pilot Patrick McAlee; and Gregg Adam donated his time and Airbus helicopter to deliver Santa Clause to the National Museum of Transportation to kick off the Christmas season.   

This is just a small sample of the General Aviation on a Mission stories we have covered over the years. Check back frequently for more Midwest  Aviation content here and on The Aero Experience Facebook and  Instagram pages. Also check out @fly_with_alexis for even more amazing content!

Midwest Aviation Expo Becomes LifeLine Pilots Waypoint for Future Service Dogs

By Carmelo Turdo

The Midwest Aviation Expo, recently held at Mount Vernon, IL Outland Airport, was more than just an exhibit event for light sport and general aviation aircraft brands. It was also an opportunity for the Midwest Aviation community to bring out the best in each other as we celebrate aviation. On Thursday, a LifeLine Pilots flight arrived with two special passengers of the canine variety winging their way to a new home. The dogs are seen here getting a break from flying before being transferred to another plane and crew to complete their trip.

Stuart Rauh, John Sellers, Mason Green and Bob Briggs

Pilots Bob Briggs and Mason Green brought the dogs from Scottsboro, AL to Mount Vernon. There they met Stuart Rauh and John Sellers who flew down from Des Moines, IA to pick up the dogs and fly them back to Cedar Rapids where our four-legged friends will be delivered to Defintiely Dogs for service dog training. Rauh recalled that the last dog he flew was recently graduated as a PTSD service dog.

LifeLine Pilots coordinates air transportation for patient and humanitarian needs mostly within the northern Midwest.states. Pilots volunteer their time and aircraft for these flights, including the one featured in this story. Definitely Dogs provides trained service dogs to patients living with PTSD, anxiety disorders and hearing loss. Both are non-profit organizations who would appreciate your support to continue their missions.

Samaritan Aviation Co-Founder Mark Palm Visits Wings of Hope World Headquarters in St. Louis Before Flying to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

By Carmelo Turdo

Wings of Hope welcomed Samaritan Aviation CEO and Co-Founder, Mark Palm, and his wife Kirsten, to their St. Louis World Headquarters for a brief visit on July 18 before flying to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Palm met with Wings of Hope leadership and gave a presentation to employees and volunteers on the mission of Samaritan Aviation in Papua, New Guinea. Wings of Hope has supported Samaritan Aviation since 2001 by sourcing aircraft and assisting with aircraft upgrades and pilot training for float plane operations in the South Pacific. 

Samaritan Aviation opens access to physical healing to those in the province of East Sepik by providing medical airlift services to the only hospital in the region and assisting with the regular distribution of medicine and emergency aid to local communities. Spiritual healing is also provided through faith-based patient and community outreach. The fleet has since grown to four modern Cessna 206 aircraft, and a complex for missionary family housing and a training center for local service providers are under development. 

Mark Palm's presentation provided an overview of the mission and capabilities of Samaritan Aviation along with the vision for future expansion of services now underway. Here we include some photos and the video of his message, and we highly encourage our viewers to support the work of Samaritan Aviation.