AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 28
BRIEFING
GI V ING BACK /
" I am so proud to be part of the vertical aviation community to see all the individual helicopter owners and
helicopter operators, doing what only helicopters and vertical aviation operators can do, " said James Viola,
president and CEO of Vertical Aviation International. " Vertical aviation showed its flexibility needed to help
save lives. "
Gold, a nurse anesthetist, drove her camper
to the airport and lived there for a week after
the hurricane.
During that time, volunteers flew more
than 300 missions to Asheville, Hendersonville,
Mountain City, and other destinations that were
inaccessible by road. The aircraft making those
trips ranged from single-engine Cessnas to a
Gulfstream corporate jet.
Flight schools at Greenville that normally
compete came together to collect goods and
distribute generators, fuel containers, extension
cords, and food around the region. Donations
poured in via GoFundMe and Venmo.
" I've never seen an airport community come
together like this, " Byron said. " It's been nothing
short of extraordinary. We knew we had the
airplanes and pilots, and their willingness
to do whatever has to be done to help is just
remarkable. "
As water levels dropped and washedout
roads got repaired, it became possible to
deliver relief items by truck in larger volume
and the need for aircraft deliveries began to
diminish and similarly hastily assembled airport
distribution points such as Hickory, North
Carolina, began to stand down.
The costs to the volunteers were significant.
Flight schools and volunteer CFIs performed
scores of flights while missing out on collecting
any revenue. Helicopter tour operators
cancelled scenic flights and provided refunds
while delivering goods for free.
28
AOPA PILOT / December 2024
Michael Byars of Spartanburg, South
Carolina, made multiple trips to Asheville
in his twin-engine Cessna 421 and singleengine
Cessna 182. Each trip required a
separate approval from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, which made Asheville
Regional Airport its operations center.
There's an aviation maxim that says a Cessna
182 will lift as much as you can pack and still
close the doors, and Byars tested that theory.
Every bit of available space in his Skylane was
filled with cargo such as bags of diapers, food,
and over-the-counter medicine.
" We reached out to schools and church
groups in the area, " he said, " and this is what
they said they needed urgently. "
Those who took part in the relief efforts said
they were glad to help.
" It was a beautiful thing to see and be part
of, " Byron said. " We had airplanes going nonstop
and flight instructors powering through on Red
Bull, all in an effort to help people they didn't
even know and would probably never meet. "
" We didn't have any formal communication
or coordination, " Lori said. " We just worked in
parallel and did whatever we could to help, and
it turned out that was a lot. "
" We learned as we went and each day got a
little better, " Gold said. " It went from a couple
of people loading up a helicopter on day one to
a well-oiled machine a few days later. And we
accomplished a great deal together. "
dave.hirschman@aopa.org
GA responds
to Helene
The general aviation
community joined
government agencies
and private relief
organizations to help
deliver care packages to
people in need during the
aftermath of Hurricane
Helene. Air transport
was an important part
of the recovery effort.
GA groups organized
numerous relief flights
to the hurricane-ravaged
area, including Operation
Airdrop, SouthWings
(based in Asheville,
North Carolina), and
Aerobridge, which
encouraged aircraft
owners and pilots to
volunteer their services.
The National Business
Aviation Association
invited business aircraft
operators to register for
possible dispatches in
the NBAA Humanitarian
Emergency Response
Operator database.
Aerobridge said that
within the first two days
of recovery operations
in the Asheville area, its
pilots flew 76 missions,
delivering more than
21,000 pounds of
supplies.
aerobridge.org
operation-airdrop.com
southwings.org
http://www.aerobridge.org
http://www.operation-airdrop.com
http://www.southwings.org
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024
Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 26
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 30
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 32
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 34
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 46
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 67
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 73
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 79
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 112
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - Cover4
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