All 102 Airports Visited 

Sixteen hours, nine minutes and 21 seconds after an early morning departure from Dulles International Airport on Wednesday, March 17, Lt. Col. Lindy Kirkland and Maj. Rob Krieg returned to cheering family members and friends, having touched 102 Virginia airports and raised awareness-and money-for Angel Flight East. The nonprofit organization provides free air transportation for those in need of medical treatment far from their homes through its volunteer fleet of pilots and aircraft owners. Operation Centennial Angel's "Angel 100," forced to wait a day due to bad weather on the East Coast, began at 5:10 a.m. and ended about 9:20 p.m.

"We probably made the decision at 10:30 on Tuesday that based on the forecast it just wasn't going to happen," said Kirkland, an EAA member. "Wednesday looked better, so we decided to go with our best option."

The flight turned out to be a bit more challenging than anticipated; safe to fly in, but at times marginal. "It was very intense and it wound up being a little more work than we had planned it to be," said the Marine Helicopter Squadron One command pilot. "But the timeline was pretty much right on with what we expected."

Reaching 102 state airports, which were all touch-and-goes except for fuel stops, is a record feat, says Art Greenfield of the National Aeronautics Association (NAA). "We are recognizing the flight for landing at all the public use, hard-surface airports in Virginia," he said. The actual feat is referred to as the "Fastest time to visit all the hard-surface airports in the State of Virginia." Until verification, it's unofficial.

Kirkland praised air traffic control for their assistance throughout the day. "The coordination with the Potomac TRACON and Washington Center and all the various military facilities really paid off," he said. "They got us in and out and accommodated us very easily so we're real happy about that."

Kirkland also raved about the airplane they used to set the record, a centennial edition Cirrus SR22. "I tell you what, that is an awesome airplane," he said. "Had we not had the Avidyne primary flight display, some of the night stuff that we were doing, like coming up the hills of Virginia, would just not have been possible. It was great situational awareness, knowing where the terrain was and where we were in relation to the terrain. Absolutely fantastic."

It was a VFR flight, but some times they had very little between the cloud decs and the terrain up in the mountains. "In some cases we would have to fly down a valley to get to the next airport, with terrain on both sides and it was great to know exactly where we were. Being able to see the obstacles in the terrain around us on the display just gave us a higher level of comfort." Angel 100 did have to pick up one IFR clearance early on after the first few stops, he said.

Kirkland and Krieg had a nice reception waiting back at Dulles, comprised of family, friends, and several people from Angel Flight East, including Executive Director Tami Bream.

"That was a huge accomplishment, and I feel so privileged to be a part of all this," she said. "What they did in helping us is amazing; what they did in a single-engine aircraft is even more amazing."

Being a non-profit organization, funding will always be one of Angel Flight East's biggest challenges, and the money raised by Operation Centennial Angel will be very helpful. But program awareness is equally important, Bream said.

"The greatest thing for us is to make sure that people know we are out there for them. There are many people in this country who need us and have no idea that we exist. This flight, with all the local media attention it drew, was really a great way to get that public outreach."

Bream said their figures show that only one of 10 people who need Angel Flight services are being served. "We hope that through Operation Centennial Angel, that number will increase."

One of the lighter moments of the flight occurred as the day wound down. "Coming back around Charlottsville, a NetJets asked TRACON if we were still up, and we were, so they gave us a call. It turned out to be an old squadron buddy of mine who I hadn't talked to in years, so that was really kind of neat." As the NetJet passed in front of Angel 100, they could see each other's lights. "I called out, 'Guns! Guns! Guns!' on him and he retorts back, Cheap Shot!"

The President's helicopter pilot praised Angel Flight East. "What a great organization. They jumped right on board with this idea. I don't know what we've raised, but they were still getting donations today. Every penny we've raised is money we wouldn't have had otherwise, which is great, but also just to be able to raise the awareness of not only Angel Flight East, but for all the other Angel Flight organizations around the country. I hope with all the media coverage we've had has raised the awareness of the missions of mercy they do."

FMI: www.angelflighteast.org