AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2019 - 61

he dirt runway is much nicer than anticipated. It's 4,200 feet long,
well-groomed, and flanked by an asphalt shoulder and ramp. Even the restroom buildings
are remarkable-two well-built and nicely appointed bathrooms that seem incongruous
in this dusty brown desert environment. However, there is no running water and the
last occupants could not flush, so the modernity is marred by an odoriferous unpleasantness. It is the first of many contrasts that will mark this trip to San Quintín, Mexico.
A band of pilots, doctors, dentists, hygienists, and nurses have stuffed themselves and
equipment and supplies into a Piper Saratoga, Cherokee, a couple of Cessnas, and even
a Grumman Tiger. They are flying from their suburban homes in Southern California,
crossing the border into Mexico, and traveling to extract teeth, check blood pressure,
provide solace, and teach children how to maintain their toothsome grins.
Mission Flight was started by pilot Mike Gabelman just three years ago, along with
friend and fellow pilot Mauricio Gonzalez. The two friends are members of a church
community in El Monte, California. "I went to San Quintín to volunteer at an eye clinic,
which is offered twice a year through another organization," says Gabelman. "On that
trip, I met Pastor Joel, who used to be a field worker in the area. He had a vision for his
small church to be used as a dental clinic for the surrounding community, which is comprised mostly of farm workers. Dental care is vastly needed."
In response to what Gabelman calls the "staggering needs" in the area, coupled with
the invitation from Pastor Joel Munguia, Mission Flight was formed and built a modern
dental clinic in 2017. The group offers dental care six times a year, working with local
volunteers from San Quintín.

STRAWBERRIES AND STRIFE

DR. MARC HANEY lands his

Cessna 182 on the well-groomed
dirt runway at San Quintín
(above). Participants pack the
van with equipment (far left).
The band of pilots, doctors,
dentists, nurses, and hygienists
look no worse for wear after
their working weekend (left).

San Quintín is one of several towns
throughout Mexico that are home to the
massive agricultural company Driscoll's.
BerryMex is one of Driscoll's largest suppliers, planting, harvesting, and shipping
strawberries and other fruit and vegetables
throughout the world. Mexico is just one
of Driscoll's locations; farms in California
and Washington also supply the company.
Flying in from Southern California, the
San Quintín area is marked by the beautiful
Pacific Ocean coastline and fields of fruits
thriving in the summer sun. Acres of plastic
provide cover and the view is one of undulating white sheets shielding vibrant green
plants. The fields are a stark contrast to the
roads and neighborhoods around them-
healthy green adjacent to dusty brown.
Traveling to areas such as San Quintín,
it is always the infrastructure that surprises. Route 1, the highway that runs up
the Baja California Peninsula from Cabo
San Lucas in the south all the way to the
California border at Tijuana in the north,
is a busy two-lane road with no shoulder.
The asphalt simply falls away on either

side, usually a 6- to 12-inch lip that is jarring no matter how carefully the driver
tries to exit. And an unimproved road borders the highway on either side; people,
cars, animals, and trucks create their own
byway. With the gravel, the rocks, and the
chaos of a Wild West town, you take your
suspension and your life into your hands.
Mission Flight relies on donated vehicles to trek across the area, from the
airstrip to the church sanctuary to the
makeshift clinics. Piled into an old van,
the volunteers leave the relative comfort
of their aircraft to travel these roads with
boxes, dental equipment, generators, and
their own baggage on their laps and at their
feet. I have flown in a Piper Saratoga with
pilot Jon Smalldridge, and a lawn chair as
my seatmate. The big, three-fold chair has
blocked my view of the mountains as we
flew across into Ensenada to clear customs and then to land at Rancho Magaña,
the San Quintín airstrip. I don't understand why we are transporting a beach
chair to Mexico and the thing annoys
me. Later-seeing its use as a dental chair
set on concrete blocks-I recognize my
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2019

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