MISSION STATEMENT |
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The Air Care Alliance
promotes, supports, and represents public benefit
flying through communication and cooperation among
organizations facilitating flights for health,
compassion, and community service. |
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL |
RENEW TODAY and SUPPORT ACA!
Don't forget to send in your annual renewal today!
The Air Care Alliance needs your
continued support - both financially and with your
updated listing information. 'Thank you" to those
of you who have already sent in your data and your
dues. For those of you who have not done so, please
return your data sheet and your membership renewal
as soon as possible.
charlie.schobel@aircareall.org
Scroll below for a list of our 2013 proud members.
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LEGAL CORNER
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By Jeffrey S. Kahn, Esq.
Director/Treasurer ACA
Many volunteer pilot organizations (VPOs)
have been approached with offers of donated aircraft.
The standard legal advice to the VPO has been: you can
accept the donation, but sell the aircraft. A recent
decision by the FAA reinforces that
advice. For the donor who only receives a tax deduction
for the actual sale price instead of the fair market
value that the donor hoped to realize, it may cause him
or her to reconsider the offer.
There is a limited exception involving travel incidental
to one's business. For example, a VPO that arranges
flights by volunteer pilots for charitable purposes may
use the aircraft to bring its staff to
Albuquerque for the Air Care Conference
this April. However the exception does not
apply if the organization's business is the carriage of
passengers, as would be the case with an owned aircraft.
Patient Airlift Services, Inc. (PALS)
knew all of this when considering what to do with a
donated Beechcraft Bonanza. PALS was
aware that, without an exemption from the FAA, it
could not use the aircraft to conduct humanitarian
flights with passengers. Having received an exemption
to allow pilot fuel reimbursement (as have several
other VPOs), PALS was hopeful that the FAA would grant
an exemption to allow the use of the donated aircraft
to better serve the public. PALS maintained that since
the flights would meet the same high standards as
flights conducted by the pilot in his or her aircraft,
they posed no additional safety concerns.
In a
decision issued January 23, 2013, the FAA denied the
Petition. As always, the FAA praises, "[t]he
humanitarian efforts of many individuals in the
aviations community ..." Nonetheless, "... the FAA
believes that the interests of safety are best served
by requiring operations conducted for compensation or
hire to be conducted under parts 121 or 135." There is
nothing new in the decision. The FAA simply reiterates
its very broad interpretation of "compensation", notes
that flights conducted in an aircraft owned by a
charity involve compensation, and concludes that it
will not relax its standards because of the
humanitarian nature of the flights.
Simply
put, so long as VPOs are on safe ground only so long
as they stay in the business of arranging and not
providing air transportation.
The
full text of the FAA's decision can be found at:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FAA-2012-0158-0004
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
2012-2013
Officers
Rol Murrow
ACA Board Chairman
Emergency Volunteer
Air Corps
Charles (Lindy) Kirkland
ACA President
Angel Flight East
Jim Weaver
ACA Vice President
Angel Flight West
Karen Halverson
ACA Secretary
Lifeline Pilots
Jeff Kahn
ACA Treasurer
Angel Flight East
Directors
Judy Benjamin
Angel Flight Central
Hume Davenport
Southwings
Rick Durden
LightHawk
Charlie Schobel
Angel Flight Soars
Kevin Sell
Volunteer Pilots Association
Christopher St. Peter
Operation Angel Planes &
Angel Flight West
Gary St. Peter
Operation Angel Planes
Bill Worden
ACA President Emeritus
Angel Flight West & EVAC
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ACA MEMBER LIST |
SEE WHO ALREADY FLIES WITH US!
Dozens and dozens of groups serve our communities and
those in need, including international, national,
regional, and statewide groups - and even small local
groups with just a few pilots serving their immediate
area.
The Air Care Alliance lists and makes
referrals to all the groups we can find. If your
volunteer pilot organization is not on the Air
Care Alliance Listings Page at
www.aircareall.org/listings.htm
please send us your information so we can include you!
ACA Member
Groups
Angel Flight Central
Angel Flight East
Angel Flight Northeast
Angel Flight Soars
Angel Flight South Central
aka Grace Flight
Angel Flight West
Angel Flight of Oklahoma
Badger Aviators
Bahamas Habitat
Children's Flight of Hope
Dreams and Wings
Emergency Volunteer Air Corps
Hope Flight Foundation
Houston Ground Angels
LifeLine Pilots
LightHawk
Operation Angel Planes
Patient Airlift Services
Pilots for Patients
South Wings
Veteran's Airlift Command
Vital Flight
Volunteer Pilots Association
Wings Flights of Hope
Wings of Mercy East Michigan
Wings of Mercy - West Michigan
Also in Our
Listings
AeroAngel
Aerobridge
Air Charity Network
Air Mercy
Angel Flight Alberta
Angel Flight Australia
Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic
Angel Flight Southeast
Angel Flight of Vancouver Island
Aviation for Humanity
Cair Flight
Challenge Air for Kids & Friends
Christian Air Ministry
Civil Air Patrol
Cloud Nine Rescue Flights
Corporate Angel Network
EAA Young Eagles
Flights for Life
Flying Paws
Flying Samaritans
Freedom Flight
Grace on Wings
Help Four Paws
His Wings Aviation Ministries
Hope Air of Canada
Hope Wings Foundation
International Shrine Aviation
Assoc.
Kids Wings
Liga - Flying Doctors of Mercy
Los Medicos Voladores
Medflight of Indiana
Mercy Flight Alabama
Mercy Flight Indiana
aka Wings of Mercy-Illiana
Mercy Flight Southeast
Mercy Medical Airlift and its
fully administered subgroups
Mercy Wings Network
Miracle Flights for Kids
Missions Made Possible
NC Baptist Men Aviation Ministry
Northwoods AirLifeLine
One Heart Missions Services
Pilots for Christ International
Pilots N Paws
Remote Area Medical
Volunteer Corps
Servant Air Ministries
Sky Hope Network
SkyArk
Volunteer Mercy Pilots
Wings for Children - SC
Wings of Hope
Wings of Mercy - MN
Be a Member of
ACA today!
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JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER LIST
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Official Newsletter of the
Air Care Alliance
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March 2013 |
Greetings!
Compassion - a call sign
for everyone
Rol Murrow,
Chairman of the Board
Back in the late 90's we at the
ACA became aware that some
pilots were using the LIFEGUARD
call sign for non-emergency ambulatory
patient transport flights. FAA
agreed with us that such a practice was
a no-no because the priority handling of
LIFEGUARD flights meant that large
passenger jets and other aircraft could
be diverted and delayed in order to
expedite the LIFEGUARD flight.
I had the pleasure of working with FAA
HQ staff in Washington, DC,
to develop a solution: the call sign
COMPASSION. It is an
ICAO designated identifier
which may be used both in the USA and
internationally to identify
non-emergency charitable flights
providing service to patients,
communities, and those in need.
We and the FAA folks felt the call sign
was important so that air traffic
controllers would understand if pilots
had special requests, such as asking for
lower altitudes for patient comfort, or
saying that a patient had a problem and
the pilot wished to change the flight
status and call sign to LIFEGUARD.
FAA authorized ACA to administrate the
call sign on behalf of all the public
benefit flying groups, thus any
volunteer pilot flying a bona fide
public benefit flight arranged by a
nonprofit PBF group may use COMPASSION
so that Air Traffic Control
personnel are aware of the purposes of
the flight and can handle it
appropriately.
The full procedures are on the ACA site
at
http://www.aircareall.org/callsign.htm
We invite all the ACA supported groups
and their pilots to use COMPASSION when
making flights for patient and medical
transport, youth introductory rides,
emergency and disaster relief ,
environmental support missions, and
other appropriate flights where such
identification would be useful to ATC
and the pilot.
Do let ATC know that your flight is a
COMPASSION flight!
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Safety Course Receives Rave Reviews
Charles
Kirkland (Lindy), President of the Board
The AOPA / Air Care Alliance
developed Volunteer Pilot Safety
Course has been online for four
months now and has received numerous
positive reviews from all fronts.
Additionally, in the four months since
it went live, there have been more than
2500 pilots and volunteers who
have taken the course and received a
completion certificate. The
overwhelming success and popularity of
the course has now prompted the
Air Safety Institute of the
AOPA Foundation to
update and revise the earlier .pdf
document titled Volunteer Pilots
- Recommendations for Enhanced Safety.
We are currently reviewing that document
and it will be available soon on the
AOPA site and on the ACA website.
While
numerous pilots have taken the course
and found many beneficial tips in the
material, several Flight
Coordinators have also taken
the course and recommend it highly to
other volunteers who are involved with
flight coordination. The course speaks
to several areas that must be considered
in these volunteer flights. Many of
these issues have not been discussed
with volunteer or full-time staff and
the course points out how the volunteers
can play a role in decision-making, thus
enhancing the safety of all our
operations.
I highly
encourage every one of you to go online
and take this course. And like the
commercial says, You will learn
something, "I guarantee it!"
It remains the featured course at the
masthead of this page in the site.
Fly Safe! Lindy
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ACA CONFERENCE - NEXT MONTH! |
Air Care
Alliance Conference
April 26-27, 2013
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Make your travel and hotel
reservations now!
April 26-27, 2013 promises to be two great days
with your charitable aviation friends and colleagues in
magical Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico!
http://www.albuquerqueoldtown.com/ Lots of
additional information will be sent out very soon,
including your conference registration form. However, we
encourage you to make your hotel reservations and travel
plans as soon as possible.
Hotel Albuquerque
www.hotelabq.com, the site of our 2007 conference is
welcoming us back with a special ACA
rate lower than 2007 - only $102 per night. This rate is
available from Thursday, the 25th thru Sunday night the
28th. We strongly suggest you arrive on Thursday and
join the early arrivers for a Wine Tasting
Dinner at St. Clair Winery and Bistro at 6:30
that evening, across from the hotel.
http://www.stclairwinery.com/bistros/albuquerque/
There
will also be a moonlight "Ghost Tour"
of Old Town Albuquerque later that
evening. (It's full moon that night and they only do
moonlight tours on full moon nights.)
http://www.toursofoldtown.com/
Hotel
reservations may be made online or by calling either
(800) 237-2133 or (505) 843-6300. Reference the
Air Care Alliance Annual Meeting or Block Code
1304AIRCAR. (Yes, it's AIRCAR.) The following link will
take you directly to the hotel reservation page with the
Air Care Alliance Conference code already entered. Click
HERE.
April
4, 2013 is the deadline for hotel reservations
at this special ACA conference rate.
The actual conference opens with a reception on Friday
evening, co-hosted by Angel Flight West
and Angel Flight South Central. At
about noon on Friday we will be offering a
Walking History Tour of Old Town. (See the
above Tours of Old Town link.) Coming in early and/or
staying longer will provide you lots of time to
explore the Land of Enchantment and
the Duke City (Albuquerque)!
The full conference day
on Saturday will incorporate a variety of sessions
including: "Volunteer Pilot Recruitment,
Retention and Recognition:" A panel of veteran
public benefit flying staff will share their thoughts
on how to increase your volunteer pilot base, how to
hang on to them, and how to tangibly give them the
kudos due them.
For the complete Air Care 2013 Conference
Schedule and all related information, click
HERE.
See
you in Albuquerque! Book now!
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General email:
mail@aircareall.org
Office Phone and Patient Transport Help Line:
Toll Free: 888-260-9707
Office Fax: 815-572-9192
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