This past few days I flew relief supplies to Shenandoah airport and Hickory, NC to support the relief efforts for Hurricane Helene. A tractor-trailer was loading up at Shenandoah to head south and they had posted a detailed list of what they needed. I went to the Walmart and loaded up--it was fun, like a scavenger hunt, looking for things I never buy. I saw parts of the Walmart I had never been to before.
The next day I saw a FB post looking for pilots to ferry supplies down to Hickory, a large staging area for the recovery efforts. Flew to Warrenton, VA and loaded up boxes and crates that had been donated, and headed south. Hickory airport was like one of those scenes from a disaster movie--large and small helicopters coming and going, some military, some civilian. The tower controller got me in quick and a golf cart showed up and they unloaded my plane. I refueled and was off in 20 minutes, trying to beat the sunset.
There is a different feeling when flying to accomplish something rather than just heading out for a "hundred-dollar hamburger." You have a real mission, and people are depending on you. Turbulence doesn't bother me as much and I press fuel minimums closer than when just bopping around (although, I believe, not unsafely.)
Without a commercial license, private pilots are limited to volunteer flights to get the "flight with a mission" experience, but you can feel it all the same. I used to fly for Pilots 'n Paws, picking up dogs from where they will be euthanized to someone who adopts them. I also flew RiverKeeper flights, surveying the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers for pollution,. And I'm just starting to fly for a group called SouthFlights, which takes politicians, journalists, and scientists up to survey what humans are doing to this plant (I suspect the answer is, nothing good.)
Fellow pilots, what other volunteer opportunities have you found? Drop me a line!
And for the non-flying public, what volunteer-based tasks would you like to see pilots perform? I would really like to hear!
Safe flying!