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."