Angel Flight Director Bill Bristow has retired from the organisation he founded 16 years ago, the charity announced this week.
Bristow founded Angel Flight in 2003 after identifying a need to support rural Australians having to to travel to major cities for medical diagnosis, treatment and follow up visits.
His life-long passion for flying led him to recognise the benefits pilots and their private aircraft could offer to rural and remote Australians.
"Mr Bristow set up a remarkable system of linking health professional registrations and referrals between all large city hospitals, to outback clinics, remote area nurses and specialist institutions, as well as a network of essential skilled volunteer pilots and drivers," said Angel Flight CEO Marjorie Pagani.
"All services are free and at no cost to any person needing medical attention or to the government.
"Honoured nationally in Australia, and internationally, for his outstanding charitable work in aviation, the unparalleled success of a charity assisting tens of thousands of country families to access specialist medical treatment in the cities, Mr Bristow may not have visualised such a significant achievement back in 2003."
Starting out with only 80 volunteer pilots–and no passengers–Bristow and his team grew Angel Flight to the organisation it is today, with 3000 pilots and 4000 drivers (Earth Angels).
With his association with pilots in medical professions and increasing closures of specialist medical services, Bristow witnessed the worsening disadvantages faced by rural communities.
He set up a system of linking health professional registrations and referrals between all large city hospitals, to outback clinics, remote area nurses and specialist institutions, as well as a network of essential skilled volunteer pilots and drivers.
All services are free with no cost to any person needing medical attention or to the government.
Angel Flight's scorecard now reads 47,000 flights, 100,000 passengers and more than 20 million km driven on the roads.