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Greetings,

As I sit back and look in amazement at the curveballs 2020 has thrown at us, I realize that almost every facet of life has been impacted by political, social, or health concerns. And that's just since January! Of course, aviation has been impacted in a huge way that has yet to be completely understood. Shutdowns of ATC towers and facilities simply wasn't something anybody could have predicted. Landing a Cessna 172 at Sky Harbor in the middle of the day? VFR? Unheard of! Aviation blogs and forums are filled with some pretty neat adventures and encounters over the past few months.

I tend to look for the positive side of things in everything I do. For example, with the near-complete stoppage of scheduled airline service and corporate aircraft being effectively grounded due to lack of demand, the need for pilots and aircraft has skyrocketed. Sorry for the pun. Our general aviation pilots have stepped up to fill the gap and provide patient transport, plasma and organ delivery, and delivery of supplies to rural areas. Many corporations donated use of their turbine and jet fleets to support transport of critical equipment and personnel across the country. Humanitarian and environmental missions often carried out by scheduled air carriers were shifted to the GA fleet.

We've seen that the government doesn't have all of the answers and that money cannot solve all of the problems we face. Compassion and a human touch are necessary. We, as pilots, can step forward with the skills we've been blessed with and help our fellow brothers and sisters in need. There are dozens of charities that rely on volunteer pilots to fly missions. Whether it's supplies delivered to the reservation, dogs delivered to an adopter, plasma flown to remote hospitals, or cancer patients taken to treatment centers, there is a mission for you. The rewards are remarkable. You meet fantastic people along the way and you are truly impacting people through your actions.

Take stock of your flying abilities and aircraft. Chances are there's a charity that can use what you bring to the table to better somebody's life. Step up and make the flight. Though individual results may vary, I doubt you'll regret it.

FYI, we’ve been contacted by our friend and District Ranger Jardine to ask us to get the word out to our community that due to extreme fire conditions the Tonto National Forest is essentially closed, this includes the Grapevine (88AZ), Red Creek, and Pleasant Valley (24AZ)  airstrips. Please honor our friendship with District Ranger’s Jardine and Grondon and help us get the word out. Unfortunately, it is difficult to issue NOTAMS on airstrips charted as private as our USFS airstrips are here in Arizona. We’ll keep you posted on re-opening.

Blue Skies,

Brian

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