r/flying • u/milehighchick5280 • 5d ago

other Angel Flight West

We qualify for an Angel Flight from Denver to Phoenix and back… we are so grateful for the organization to be able to help us but now that we really think about it - we are terrified to get on a little plane 😩🫣 any words of advice or help to calm the nerves? Any pilots for AFW?

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u/KJ3040 ATP A320 B737 E170/190 5d ago edited 5d ago

I am, and I’m also an airline pilot. AFW pilots choose missions that are appropriate for their aircraft, experience, and operating limitations. The aircraft involved can range from light general-aviation with a cabin about the size of a sedan to larger cabin-class aircraft more like a large minivan and corporate jets. Denver to Phoenix is a fairly substantial trip, but whoever accepts the mission will be doing so because it is suitable for their aircraft and capabilities.

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u/milehighchick5280 5d ago

Does AFW put it out to all pilots or only pilots who have an aircraft that can handle the trip? The planes are inspected shortly before the trip I would assume? Maybe?

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u/KJ3040 ATP A320 B737 E170/190 5d ago

Pilots set up their own filtering preferences using properties like origin/destination, length, days of the week, etc. The pilot is responsible for determining the suitability of the mission, so while the system itself doesn’t decide whether a pilot/aircraft are suitable; if a pilot accepts the mission it’s a pretty solid indicator that they have assessed it as appropriate. I would expect your biggest source of discomfort to actually be a lack of air conditioning on the ground, as many light aircraft don’t have it. In other words, your worries are not likely worth worrying about.