This coming Sunday, 13 November, hundreds of Australia's general aviation pilots will put their aeroplanes and skills at the disposal of FunFlight, with the aim of taking around 1300 sick and underprivileged children for the ride of their short lives.
FunFlight happens every year, where aero clubs organise pilots and planes to fly little customers, all co-ordinated by a central non-profit charity. It's a production line of beaming faces ... on both pilot and passenger.
”There are few days like this," says FunFlight founder and board member Michael Verheem. "It is truly amazing that everyone gives their time and effort freely and we can help bring such happiness to children who really need it. The look on the faces of the children when they board the plane is heart-warming and when they touch down they just can’t stop smiling.
“The day wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of volunteer pilots, aero clubs, aviation organisations and sponsors. We have big dreams – we would like to double the number of children we reach if we had the capacity.”
Each aero club creates their own excitement, with some organising other activities like Harley Davidson rides, jumping castles, clowns, fire trucks, face painting police and other community services like Rotary, Probis, Lions and CWA join the fun.
Some of the locations FunFlight is happening on Sunday are:
• Newcastle
• Rockhampton
• Mount Gambier
• Bendigo
• Point Cook
• Mornington Peninsula
• Torquay
• Lilydale, Vic
• La Trobe Valley
• Hamilton, Vic
• Launceston
• Hobart
• Jandakot
• Dubbo
• Tamworth
• Central Coast NSW
Although FunFlight 2016 is only days away now, participating aero clubs can still use more volunteers both as pilots and ground handlers. It takes only one visit to www.funflight.org to register and you're in the business of making children happy.