Mission 1178 - Roma to Archerfield

Background

On Thursday the 17th of August 2006 I flew Mission 1178, making it my 44th Angel Flight.

The mission description from Angel Flight was:

INITIAL TRIP REQUEST:

A 5 year old resident of Roma requires treatment for ?Hurler Scheie Syndrome?(Inherited enzyme deficiency) at the Royal Children?s Hospital.

Due to the distances involved and the frequency of treatment, air transport would greatly reduce the travelling time and amount of discomfort experienced by the patient and also help alleviate the financial burden on the family.

Leg 1: Archerfield to Roma: Rise with the sparrows

The appointment at the hospital was for 11:00, necessitating a 8:00 departure out of Roma. Since we have to brief the passengers, load the luggage etc. I had to arrive at Roma no later than 7:45. Since it takes about an hour and a half to fly there, I had to get airborne no later than 6:15, which in turn meant rising at 5:00, drive out to the airfield in the dark and do a daily inspection by torchlight.

I got airborne just at 6:10 as the sun was rising and was rewarded by a beautiful sunrise and perfectly smooth air as I climbed to my cruising altitude of 10,000'.

The clouds petered out before too long and I was flying in beautiful sunshine again. When I arrived at 7:45 and excited Chloe and her apprehensive mum Joanna were waiting for me.

Leg 2: Roma to Archerfield: A princess on a maiden voyage

Chloe insisted on rolling her own bag across the tarmac with Joanne following behind.

With the passenger briefing completed and the Maiden Angel Bear having been adopted by Chloe, we got airborne and headed east toward the coast. Being so little, Chloe unfortunately could not see much out the window, but that seemed not to matter too much. In between the obligatory "Are we there yet?", scoffing some of my jelly beans and colouring in her pictures, Chloe, passed the time very well.

Joanne too was relieved at the absence of "air pockets" which, her husband had told her, befell all travellers in light aircraft.

At 9:50 we touched down and taxied to my parking spot. Earth Angel Alex McCarthy was already waiting for us and soon took her charges away to the hospital.

I tidied up the plane and was in the office well before 11:00, having already been halfway across the state and back, and saved a little girl and her mum a six hour drive. Tommorow Angel Flight

Summary

We were back on the ground in Archerfield after having