Two volunteer Angel Flight pilots have been awarded the 2020 Public Benefit Flying Awards.
Awarded by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), in partnership with the Air Care Alliance (ACA), a nationwide league of humanitarian flying organizations, the awards were created to honor volunteer pilots, other volunteers, and organizations engaged in flying to help others, as well as those supporting such work.
This year’s recipients are:
Distinguished Volunteer Pilot
Scott Gloyna serves as Angel Flight South Central’s Northwest Texas Wing Leader, where he engages and mentors pilots interested in public benefit flying. As a volunteer pilot, Scott dedicates his time to helping people who are faced with life-threatening illness, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has found new ways to support local communities while including other volunteer pilots in his efforts.
Scott’s enthusiastic and compassionate dedication to public benefit flying has had a ripple effect through West Texas communities and the entire Angel Flight organization, according to officials.
Charlie Tillett joined Angel Flight Northeast in 2001 and has been instrumental in the support of their mission to provide free flights for children and adults traveling to medical treatment. When the global pandemic began and families scrambled to get loved ones home safely, Angel Flight Northeast experienced a large increase in requests for flights over 1,000 miles. Charlie became the go-to pilot for these missions, flying at least weekly over the next three months, as he covered enough miles to travel round trip from Boston to San Francisco four times. His 30 years of flying experience, detailed knowledge, and calm professionalism were evident to passengers on every flight.
“Each year our Public Benefit Flying Awards recognize the fact that aviation plays a key role in our ability to respond to a variety of emergencies from natural disasters to the transport of patients, medical supplies, and organs,” said NAA President Greg Principato. “Many times, those recognized are volunteers, who combine their passion for aviation with their sense of responsibility for others.”