Summit Aviation’s annual Cancer Survivor Flight Camp returns for its ninth year, taking off July 17, 2023, and lasting throughout the week.
The camp was begun in 2014 by Summit Aviation’s president, Ben Walton, to help young cancer survivors move on after treatment.
Summit Aviation holds the camp out of its headquarters at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (KBZN). Held in partnership with Eagle Mount Bozeman, a non-profit that removes barriers to recreation for people with disabilities and cancer, the camp’s participants are selected through Eagle Mount’s Big Sky Kids program.
For the 2023 camp, four young adult cancer survivors — Andrew, Sophi, Hunter, and Courtney — will take to the skies over Montana for a five-day flying adventure.
Throughout the course of the week each camper will accumulate over 10 hours of actual flight time in Summit’s Diamond training aircraft.
“The campers are always amazed by how much actual flying they get to do,” says Walton.
The annual Flight Camp is completely donor funded with meals supplied by local restaurants and grocery stores.
“It’s really cool to see the community come together to support this program,” shares Walton. “It takes a lot of very generous people to make this happen every year and it’s really exciting to see everyone come together to make it possible.”
In addition to their daily flights around Montana, the campers get to spend the afternoons exploring rarely seen areas of the airport, like the air traffic control tower, FBOs, private hangars, and commercial airline operations.
The week culminates in a cross-country flight to Driggs, Idaho, during which the campers get to fly over Yellowstone National Park and see the Grand Tetons up close.
For the young cancer survivors, Flight Camp is much more than just an adventure camp.
As Martín, who attended the camp in 2021 put it, many of the campers are “struggling to find their place in the world” after so much uncertainty.
“For those who have had to live just one day at a time, the future is an ambiguous prospect,” officials noted. “Flight Camp opens a whole new world of opportunity for these young survivors. Suddenly anything is possible again. If they can fly a plane, they can do anything! That powerful realization leaves each participant with a new sense of self, achievement, and confidence in their abilities.”
“So, if during the week of the Cancer Survivor Flight Camp, you happen to look up and see a small plane overhead, feel free to wave and wish them well. You may just be sending along wishes for a smooth journey to those who have seen more than their fair share of turbulence.”
For more information or to help support the camp, contact [email protected].