Hope Air fleet lands in Brandon

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This article was published 19/06/2023 (842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A small group of private pilots touched down at the Brandon Flight Centre Sunday afternoon to kick off the final leg of this year’s Give Hope Wings campaign, which aims to raise money and awareness for the Hope Air charity through a cross-country aerial expedition.

The pilots were treated to some barbecue and a tour of the nearby Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum before taking off to their next destination in Winnipeg.

Before flying off again, chief expedition leader Rupert Robin told the Sun that flight conditions in Manitoba have remained pleasant so far, which puts their 10-aircraft fleet on the right trajectory to complete 11 more stops over the next five days.

“Hopefully we can get to Fort McMurray. It’s looking a little smoky at the moment,” Robin said, referencing the raging wildfires that continue to blanket the province.

“But we are visiting some of the more northern places where hopefully we meet some patients as well and hopefully that will build the media exposure of the need for this kind of thing.”

The Give Hope Wings campaign, now in its sixth year, is designed to spotlight the activities of Hope Air, a national charity that provides support to Canadians who must travel from their home communities to access medical care.

This support includes paying for flights, accommodations, meal vouchers and ground transportation to major health-care facilities.

Having originally grown up in the United Kingdom, Robin told the Sun that the importance of these medical transport services never really hit home until he moved to British Columbia a couple years ago.

“I’m just getting my head around how big the country can be and how far away people can live from a specialist oncology centre or anything really,” he said.

“I’ve heard some interesting stories from patients, some of whom said if it had never been for something like Hope Air, who was going to pitch in with thousands of dollars of funding, they might have forgone some of that specialist health-care that they actually needed.”

This year’s expedition, which began on June 5, consists of three routes in Western Canada, Eastern Canada and the Prairies, with a new batch of pilots being swapped in for every new leg.

The Prairie route officially began on Sunday and will feature a grand total of 12 stops throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

After Brandon and Winnipeg, the fleet will touch down in The Pas, Thompson, La Ronge, Sask., Prince Albert, Sask., Fort McMurray, Alta., Villeneuve, Alta., Calgary, Alta., Lethbridge, Alta., Saskatoon, Sask. and finally Regina, Sask. on Friday.

Hope Air hopes to raise $600,000 through this year’s Give Hope Wings expedition, according to a news release from the charity.

To date, Give Hope Wings has generated over $1.8 million for the charity, providing 5,145 travel arrangements for those in need.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @KyleDarbyson