Air race gives Angel Flight wings

Western Queensland skies were filled with light aircraft last week as a convoy of aviators took part in an air race designed to raise money and awareness for Angel Flight.

Eight teams of pilots taking part in the Sydney Flight College Air Race landed atboth Roma and Longreach airports after taking off at Bankstown with Tamworth and St George as their first points of call.

The racers had to use their piloting and navigational skills to win each leg, heading to Charleville, Tibooburra and Lightning Ridge as well, before landing back at their home base at Bankstown in Sydney.

The flight route across outback Queensland and New South Wales mimicked the missions Angel Flight pilots commonly take through their volunteer-based service.

The week-long mission raised upwards of $59,000 for Angel Flight, which has helped 100,000 rural Australian families with non-emergency flights and drives into the city for vital medical care since it began 21 years ago.

Sydney Flight College president Frank Peronance is also an Angel Flight pilot and said his first hand mission experience was a motivator to raise as much money as possible through the air race.

"The sincere appreciation expressed by Angel Flight passengers who would otherwise be unable to access life-saving medical treatment makes each mission a very special and rewarding experience," he said.

"As a pilot, with access to an aircraft, I am in a privileged position to make a positive difference to the lives of people living in rural and remote areas.

"We hope through this air race to not only raise funds for Angel Flight but to also raise awareness of the health care disparity in our country."

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Angel Flight CEO Marjorie Pagani agreed, saying city dwellers took health care forgranted but when injury or illness struck for rural people, getting medical care could be an insurmountable challenge.

"Without our service, many families would suffer," she said. "We are committed to offering our free service to rural Australians, however without government funding, we rely heavily on the generous support of organisations like Sydney Flight College, who have been by our side from the very beginning."

A function in Roma raised $1200, won by air race participant Nadia Ballantine-Jones, while Angel Flight chairman and volunteer pilot Howard Hobbs, together with Warrego MP Ann Leahy won the runner-up prize of a photographic book, Bush, donated by photographer Sam Thies, and an Angel Flight pinned Akubra.

The book is a photographic socio-cultural study of outback Queensland and features portraits of many people known to Howard and Ann, who live in Roma.

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