Flying on Purpose

By BILL BOND

I have found a wonderful way to add deeper meaning to my passion for flight.

Weekend fly-ins are great and keep a pilot current and proficient. But flying was starting to feel stale. My soul occasionally whispered, “add purpose to your flying.”

My meandering pathway to more meaningful flight developed over my entire flying experience.

My thrill of flight started years ago during flying lessons at Dodge Center Airport (KTOB) in southern Minnesota. After my solo in my flight instructor’s Cherokee 180, a sympathetic wife and an extra revenue stream from my election as a Dodge County Commissioner allowed me to indulge in the purchase of 1963 Cessna 150 for $5,000.

Having earned my private pilot flying privileges, a move to take a new job as a staff member on Minnesota Governor Al Quie’s staff at the State Capitol and the responsibilities of a young family required I sell the little airplane.

Without an airplane for the first time in my piloting experience, I was motivated to explore and ultimately join the Civil Air Patrol based at Crystal Airport (KMIC) on the north side of Minneapolis metro area.

“What’s not to like?” I reasoned. “Flying a free, well-maintained aircraft funded by the federal government, inexpensive flying costs, and a group of new pilot friends.”

For some, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the perfect match of flying passion, purpose, and camarderie. However, this congressionally chartered non-profit civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force, which performs search and rescue, was not for me. I had never been one for military regimentation, so after a year of engagement, regretfully I moved on.

Purchasing a 1949 Piper Clipper, this stick and rudder taildragger got me back into my sweet spot as a pilot for over a decade. What memories I have of my youngest son, now a pilot for a major cargo airline based in Germany, sitting on a booster seat as he learned pilotage while following the VOR needle to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh.

Alas, rather than spending the resources to recover this little gem and overhaul the high time engine, I sold it for the same $6,700 I had paid 10 years earlier. I watched with tears in my eyes as she flew off into the Minnesota sunset and out of my life.

I next joined the Gateway Flying Club based at Anoka Airport (KANE) north of the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, which got me into flying out of towered airports and interacting with air traffic control.

I had attempted previously to avoid this type of flight by going low and slow out of grass strips for many years. I finally succumbed to the challenge of obtaining instrument flying privileges alongside my teenage son, Derek. We shared the same study books as he worked to obtain an instrument rating on the way to fulfilling his dream as an airline pilot.

After many years in the flying club driving its Cessnas around the upper Midwest, my flying experience — other than a few business trips — was starting to get stale.

Then I happened upon a booth at the Minnesota Pilots Association annual meeting and Fly-In for Pilots N Paws. Compassionate pilots volunteer “freedom flights” to fly rescued four-footed pets to new, happy homes. 

Then I had an even more interesting find. Just as I was resigning from the flying club to pour my passion into a gorgeous 1968 Mooney M20C I had purchased, a few of my flying buddies and I learned about a local chapter of mercy flights being performed by a group called Pilots for Christ.

The “in-your-face” name didn’t stop me from evaluating and joining the local chapter of this faith-based charity based at Airlake Airport (KLVN).

I soon learned that the Minnesota chapter can be very busy flying “pony express” connections with other chapters around the country because of the Mayo Clinic, which is based in Rochester, Minnesota. The dedication and selfless flying these pilots perform is all cheerfully done at their own expense.

A memorable flight I performed a couple of years ago required that I fly direct from Anoka Airport over Lake Michigan to Mason County Airport (KLDM) in Ludington, Michigan.

There awaited a wonderful, but seriously ill, cancer patient. This gracious, warm-hearted woman seriously needed to be seen by a Minneapolis-based cancer specialist. This precious lady’s immune system was too weak to take an airline flight, public transit, or the 12-hour drive to Minneapolis.  

Completing a self-service refueling, I glanced over my shoulder to glimpse a crowd of folks moving slowly toward my position. Turns out this little angel of a woman was being borne by her caring relatives and friends to my Mooney. Many hands and arms literally hoisted her up and over my Mooney wing and into the cockpit.

I felt a strong sense of privilege and determination as I departed the Michigan airport, climbing over the lakeshore on this mercy flight back to Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM). This warm, compassionate woman expressed her appreciation repeatedly while peering out at the deep blue hues of the water far beneath us.

After landing, I taxied to the appointed FBO. Family and friends surged onto the tarmac, greeting this beloved woman. Tears flooded eyes, pilot included. Gushing with praise and appreciation, her Minnesota-based sister made sure I understood how special my passenger is to her family. She was soon whisked off for treatment.

These mercy flights add a special dimension to my passion for flight.

As I tucked my Mooney into the hangar after that mission, I realized I was already anticipating my next “flight on purpose.”