Angel Flight with a Cheetah

[Duane MacInnis]

Sometimes the littlest things you do for people can mean so much.
www.angelflight.ca

It was last November, when I picked up Bert "under the Beaver" at the south
terminal of Vancouver International (YVR). I whisked him home to Qualicum
on Vancouver Island in the Cheetah, a short flight, and a beautiful day.

Bert was pretty sick with leukemia, but was curious about flying the
airplane. I let him handle as much as he could, and he had the controls
most of the way. When he would bust the altitude with the yoke in a
two-handed grip, I teased him - "Hey Bert, drop the nose, we don't want to
scare those guys over there in the Air Canada jet..." He would do the turns
too, and, of course, drop the nose then. We laughed like kids as we pointed
the nose to the little Qualicum airport in the forest.

His family said he was happier that day than he had been in months, and
talked excitedly about the trip thereafter for the three months remaining of
his life. Berts illness recently got the best of him.

A great way for a Grumman to make friends.

D

[Dan Truesdell]

OK. You've now convinced me to get the extra 30 hours I need ASAP. I
got my IFR ticket with Angel Flights in mind (with a little bit of OSH,
too). Time to put the old 172 to good use.

Thanks for the motivation.

Duane MacInnis wrote:
> Sometimes the littlest things you do for people can mean so much.
> www.angelflight.ca
>
> It was last November, when I picked up Bert "under the Beaver" at the south
> terminal of Vancouver International (YVR). I whisked him home to Qualicum
> on Vancouver Island in the Cheetah, a short flight, and a beautiful day.
>
> Bert was pretty sick with leukemia, but was curious about flying the
> airplane. I let him handle as much as he could, and he had the controls
> most of the way. When he would bust the altitude with the yoke in a
> two-handed grip, I teased him - "Hey Bert, drop the nose, we don't want to
> scare those guys over there in the Air Canada jet..." He would do the turns
> too, and, of course, drop the nose then. We laughed like kids as we pointed
> the nose to the little Qualicum airport in the forest.
>
> His family said he was happier that day than he had been in months, and
> talked excitedly about the trip thereafter for the three months remaining of
> his life. Berts illness recently got the best of him.
>
> A great way for a Grumman to make friends.
>
> D
>
>


--
Remove "2PLANES" to reply.

[TripFarmer]

D,

Thanks for the story. I joined AF 3 months ago and will keep this in the back
of my mind.


Trip

In article <Gf96c.90815$Ff2.72669@clgrps12>, says...
>
>Sometimes the littlest things you do for people can mean so much.
>www.angelflight.ca
>
>It was last November, when I picked up Bert "under the Beaver" at the south
>terminal of Vancouver International (YVR). I whisked him home to Qualicum
>on Vancouver Island in the Cheetah, a short flight, and a beautiful day.
>
>Bert was pretty sick with leukemia, but was curious about flying the
>airplane. I let him handle as much as he could, and he had the controls
>most of the way. When he would bust the altitude with the yoke in a
>two-handed grip, I teased him - "Hey Bert, drop the nose, we don't want to
>scare those guys over there in the Air Canada jet..." He would do the turns
>too, and, of course, drop the nose then. We laughed like kids as we pointed
>the nose to the little Qualicum airport in the forest.
>
>His family said he was happier that day than he had been in months, and
>talked excitedly about the trip thereafter for the three months remaining of
>his life. Berts illness recently got the best of him.
>
>A great way for a Grumman to make friends.
>
>D
>
>