Mission 2237 - Archerfield to Maryborough

Background

On Thursday the 27th of September 2007 I flew Mission 2237, making it my 72nd Angel Flight.

The mission description from Angel Flight was:

INITIAL TRIP REQUEST:

A 50 year old lady needs to attend a specialist pain clinic at the Royal Brisbane Womens Hospital for consultation and possible admission for surgery.

Due to the nature of her condition a short flight will be far more comfortable than the long trip by road.

Gail and her husband Ray were flown down to Archerfield by Cheryl and Barry Arentz in the morning. Depending on the outcome of the consultation with the doctors they would either stay in town for the operation or have to go back in the afternoon. So I was effectively only on standby for this mission.

Archerfield to Maryborough

Just after noon, I got "The green light" from Geoff Marsh at Angel Flight. So I headed out to the airfield at about 2 o'clock for the 3 o'clock departure.

I was still doing the pre-flight inspection when Earth Angel Thomas Skennerton called to say that they had arrived. So as soon as I had the suspicion that the VH-FWL might be capable of flight, I escorted Gail and Ray to the aircraft, helped them over the wing into their seats and fired up the engine.

The flight north was in clear but smoggy conditions, exacerbated by flying toward sun. But about an hour after take-off, runway 35 at Maryborough loomed large through the windscreen. With the stall warning screaming and my eyes shut to simulate a night landing, we slammed onto the asphalt.

Maryborough to Archerfield

Having disgorged by passengers and inspected the mens room at Maryborough, I soon got going again. The flight back south, again about an hour in length, was smooth and the visibility was somewhat improved by having the sun behind me this time.

Summary

I was back on the ground in Archerfield after having