The mission descriptions from Angel Flight were:
Mission 933 - INITIAL TRIP REQUEST:A fifty-seven year old gentleman from Wallumbilla (just outside Roma) needs transport to Brisbane for oncologist appointments to treat his lung cancer, his condition requiring him to carry a small oxygen cylinder.
His wife does not drive.
Their daughter also requires treatment in Brisbane. Her flights (Mission 934) will be in conjunction with this mission.
Mission 934 - INITIAL TRIP REQUEST:A fourteen year old girl from Wallumbilla (just outside Roma) needs to see specialist in Brisbane for sleep apnea and a growing disorder.
This flight will be held in conjunction with a flight for her father, Mission 933.
If brevity is indeed the soul of wit, the meteorologists were very funny. The forecast failed to mention any severe weather, chances of thunderstorms, fog
or precipitation. These predictions were reflected in the view out the windshield as I drove out to the airfield at eight in the morning.
The flight west was accomplished very quickly, with air traffic control giving me a direct routing at 10,000' before even passing abeam Amberly.
The only fly in the ointment was my GPS, faithful for the last 5 years, deciding to act up again. It had been doing this on and off for the last 4 weeks or so, but this morning it was particularly bad. First it couldn't find the satellites, then it lost them, then it had me going along at 282 knot. But, given that I am not supposed to be using it as my primary navigation aid anyway, I continued the old fashioned way, using terrestrial aids. Eventually it appeared to settle in somewhat and gave some credible information.
This being a maiden Angel Flight for two passengers, two eager Angel Bears were waiting to meet their new masters. En-route one of them even donned the headsets
to give me the directions that the GPS would not.
So, thus directed and with out too further much ado I landed at Roma about 10:40 and was pulling into the restroom of the terminal building as Jamie-Lee and her parents Gary and Fran were pulling up outside.
I loaded the luggage into the rear compartment of the Bonanza. Gary's oxygen cylinder
was stored within reach of the rear seat. Jamie-Lee opted to travel with dad in the back, leaving the hapless Fran stuck with me in the front.
We taxied out right on time at 11:00 and, with the flight at 9,000' nice and smooth and the wind doing little to either delay or hurry us along the way, we touched down at Archerfield at 12:43. Having landed on runway 10R, I was obliged to give my passengers the grand tour of Archerfield, so it was another 10 minutes before we shut down.
This time the GPS worked like a charm, not hiccuping even once, but one of my head-sets, working perfectly for the last 16 odd years, decided to go south. So Fran had to make do with shouted instructions, while Gary and Jamie-Lee could talk over the intercom.
Earth Angel Alex McCarthy was waiting for us in the terminal building, and on seeing us struggle with the bags, came to help us carry some. The family
was soon installed in Alex' car for the trip to their accommodations for their 10 day stay in town.