They say that the best ideas always start with beer. You're not likely to get any argument from FunFlight founder Michel Verheem.
It was over a beer with now Hallmarc Aviation owner Michael Loccisano 15 years ago that the aviation charity was born. Now FunFlight is on the cusp of flying their 15,000th passenger.
The milestone is expected to be passed at Tyabb Airport on 11 February, as FunFlight holds its first event since the onset of the pandemic. It is a time for Verheem to reflect on the journey the charity has taken since the concept was first floated.
"In 2007 I was doing a self-development course, and part of that course was to organise a community event," he recalls. "I had planned to do something with training young motorcyclists. That fell through in the last week of planning. My father had just passed away from cancer, so I thought to organise something for children with cancer.
"Over a beer with Michael Loccisano, he said he was a pilot and it would be fairly easy to get a couple of mates with aeroplanes, and if I could organise 10 children, they'd fly them around the bay."
Verheem and Loccisano put together an emergency plan, then contacted Angel Flight for advice on organising fuel sponsorship. The word got out to the general aviation community.
"A few days later I got a call from someone at the Peninsula Aero Club (PAC) at Tyabb, who said they'd heard about the plan through Angel Flight and asked if we'd mind if they added a few aircraft ... 40 of them. They said they'd organise something, which turned out to be a miniature version of their air show."
Within six weeks, Verheem, Loccisano and PAC had rounded up 140 passengers from around the Melbourne basin, and had them flown from various airports to Tyabb, where all sorts of aircraft displays and entertainment was ready for them. All the pilots were volunteers and wore the cost of the flight themselves.
It got very big.
"It was supposed to be a one-off thing," Verheem muses. "It wasn't even called FunFlight in the beginning."
Then Verheem got another one of those phone calls. It was from one of the pilots who said he had a "considerable" amount of money to donate if there was charity behind the events. So they started a charity and called it FunFlight.
Since then, FunFlight has involved around 30 aero clubs from all around Australia wanting to extend the thrill of flight free of charge to not only kids with cancer, but children and families facing adversity. It puts smiles on faces and allows them to escape from life for a while. In 2009, it included children of families that had lost so much in the devastating Black Saturday bushfires.
From Cairns to Hobart and from Bunbury to Newcastle, the clubs organise their own events locally, and each one is tailored to what the club can do. Sometimes a flight can be 45 minutes long, sometimes 15 minutes long. The duration of the flight has little impact on the size of the smile or the intensity of the joy.
Then came COVID, and the fun had to stop. This year, Verheem and his team are kick-starting FunFlight again and will the milestone approaching, it seemed appropriate to open up with an event where it all began at Tyabb.
PAC has gone out to organisations within the Mornington Peninsula to attract passengers; a special school, some social care organisations, a palliative care for children organisation. PAC clearly plans to welcome back FunFlight with the same energy that they started it with 15 years ago.
For Verheem, the return of the charity is a poignant time.
"It's a bit unreal, especially coming out of COVID," he said. "Just before COVID we were working with Variety to do a FunFlight safari at the same time they would do their car bash. We did a big kick-off event on 6 February 2020, and in March the country shut down."
As COVID infected every aspect of life in Australia, FunFlight was put in abeyance as the directors diverted their energy and attention to saving their own businesses from devastation. Verheem began to think that FunFlight was gone.
"We had no money, the board members–including me–were otherwise engaged. So when COVID became more manageable I still thought it was done. We'd had a good innings, but perhaps it was time to let it go.
"Then I realised it was not just about us as the board or the work that we do. It's about what we create both for the passenger and the community. Every time someone says 'I'll help' it exposes them to the power of volunteering and giving without necessarily getting anything."
But the coffers were still bare, meaning a kick-start would not be easy. Enter yet another enthusiastic benefactor.
One of Australia's most prolific and popular aviation video producers Stef Drury came to Verheem and offered to donate a considerable amount of money, which catalysed the resurrection of FunFlight.
Part of the new beginning is a new format, where aero clubs will be able to select their own date for their own event, rather than everyone around the country doing flights on one of only two days each year. What has not changed is the enthusiasm of the passengers and the clubs' need to recruit pilots: FunFlight Captains.
But not everyone can do it; there are minimum requirements the captains need to meet, namely:
- captains must hold at least a PPL and a current and valid medical certificate
- 250 hours minimum time in command
- 50 hours minimum time on type of aircraft to be flown
- endorsements for the aircraft being flown and be current in accordance with CASA regulations
- three take-offs and landings in past 90 days, or a sign-off by a qualified flying instructor or CASA ATO that the pilot has had a check flight in the past 30 days.
Experience has shown over the years that pilots and owners of large six-seat aircraft are the most sought-after commodities on the day. Barons, Bonanzas, Senecas, large Cessnas all make life easy for organisers and keep families together in the air. Although all types are welcome, Verheem has put out a call specifically for these aircraft, and anyone who has anything large enough to accommodate a wheelchair.
Pilots who want to join in this year will need to register their interest on the FunFlight website first. At this point, only the Tyabb event on 11 February is open for registrations, but more clubs and locations are expected to come on board throughout the year.
FunFlight 2023 is gaining momentum as the aviation community once again mobilises for the good of the community. Although it found itself close to extinction thanks to COVID, the spirit of general aviation has ensure that FunFlight will endure.
Verheem, Loccisano and the board might even find time to celebrate over a few beers.