RESCUES PLEASE READ/PILOTS PLEASE ADVISE

[N2522F]

Rescuers:

It helps us pilots out a lot if you can provide us with the pick-up and destinations airports using the three letter identifier or at least the airport name. If you just give us a small town name (like Roxboro, NC) we have to search the maps for the nearest airport.

This is a good web site to help you find airports: http://www.airnav.com

Thanks.

- Mike Young
N2522F

[catmd22]

ok, good to know, thanks

[Eric27]

I read this post often and I like to comment on some of this information. I like the idea of giving us pilots the name of the closest airport with the three letter identifier. This is good for us to locate the general area where you are looking for us to pick up or drop off the transport. A little more information can be helpful. We look at a lot of what you might think are little things like, runway condition, services at the airport. On my last transport I picked the closest airport to the receiving party, it was closer to her than the place she had picked which was a helipad at a hospital, she didn’t even know it existed. When I landed I knew why. It was a little whole in the wall runway that they called an airport with no services. Lucky for me I had plenty of fuel to get out and stop at another airport. Shame on me for not looking at it better in my guide. My point is the closest airport may not be usable by the pilot. You may need to drive to another airport to find better services.

[Eric27]

I just ran into a situation that is upsetting to me and probably to the sender and receiver. I was going to do a transport, I had my flight plan set and rented a plane just to find out the transport was for a cat. Not that I have anything against cats but I have a bad allergy to cats. A plane is not the place to have a reaction to your passenger. Since most of the animals will be flying right behind the pilot this is important. As pilots we love to fly and Pilots N Paws is a great way for us to burn up some avgas and do some good. Please don’t leave things like this out, I think most pilots like cats and much as dogs and they fit in small planes better.

[admin]

I just ran into a situation that is upsetting to me and probably to the sender and receiver. I was going to do a transport, I had my flight plan set and rented a plane just to find out the transport was for a cat. Not that I have anything against cats but I have a bad allergy to cats. A plane is not the place to have a reaction to your passenger. Since most of the animals will be flying right behind the pilot this is important. As pilots we love to fly and Pilots N Paws is a great way for us to burn up some avgas and do some good. Please don’t leave things like this out, I think most pilots like cats and much as dogs and they fit in small planes better.

Eric, on the transport request form on the board there is a space for breed. Perhaps this rescue contacted you directly and did not use the board, I have no way of knowing but we do our best to ask rescues to disclose all information concerning their flight request. As a pilot, please feel free to ask as many questions as you would like of rescues you will be flying for. The more you know about your passengers the better. I am sorry this happened to all parties involved but we do learn as we go sometimes!

Debi

[Eric27]

OK folks here come my two cents. I fly a Cessna 172, probably one of the most popular planes at any airport. She fly’s at about 110 MPH, the cockpit is about half the size of the front seat of my Toyota pick-up, not a lot of room. As much as like to fly two hours is about my limit which translates to about 200 miles. As has been said before that’s in a straight line. What I look for is a transport that starts at the same airport I fly out of so I can pick-up and fly. If I have to fly to a different airport first that’s time and money (fuel). Next I look at the airport or the area where the transport needs to go. I think for a lot of us we are looking at 200 miles one way or less.
Now with that said I have been looking and I have seen a lot of replies from people with larger faster planes that don’t mind 500 mile trips, but I think those are more I’m going that way so have a passenger or two is not a problem.
Next, I’ve looked at some of the longer transport requests. Time and distance are a big concern. If the pilot is flying from point A to point B for some other reason and has room you’re tied into their schedule. If you can find a foster home there so the transport can sit a few days until the next leg can be made it helps.
And please don’t be afraid to ask for help in some of the planning, we pilots do a lot of that so we know some of the answers. If the rescuer finds a pilot that will work with you and most of us will when you have a difficult transport send one of us an email maybe we have another way of doing something.
And please remember we love to fly and we love dogs to so if the transport doesn’t work out there a real good reason.

[CaseySpeas]

Hello...My name is Casey Speas and I am familiar with Pilots N Paws and greatly appreciate all that you do! This is my first attempt to transport through you and I am finding it to be a bit of a challenge due to my lack of knowledge with respect to determining the best route, which airport, etc. I am currently DESPERATE to transport a female WGSD from TEXAS CITY, TX (77590) to RIVERSIDE, CT (06878) ...As I read the different posts on the guidelines, I am finding that I need to know more info than I do. How would I determine the best flight path, the appropriate airports and pilot contacts?

I originally started mapping out a road transport and have limited contacts from TX to the east coast, but it was turning into a 26 hour road trip and I felt that your forum would be a better approach for the time sensitve situation and safety of this little girl.

Is there someone that is more skilled at connecting each appropriate airport to make this more likley to happen?

I did check out the pilot listing link and that is AWESOME! I think I am still going to run into issues as I am not sure how to get the next "leg" scheduled if I am lucky enough to get a pilot starting out in Texas City, TX...Any assistance you can provide in educating me as to the best approach is greatly appreciated!

[Eric27]

I was looking this over and here are some ideas. First we need full information on the animal, breed, weight, how they can be transported (harness or create), any health problems.
Next you are going to need to do a lot of work on this one. Its 1200 miles so you will need someone flying a larger plane or a lot of little planes. With little planes they are going to have to make a lot of stops along the way so it will take several days (most of us little guys only fly 150 to 200 miles).
You will need to find foster homes along the route. I have put a possible route together but always leave room for adjustment. The pilots may be able to pick up at the location but not drop off at the same airports I have picked or may be able to fly farther.

Start at KLVJ to KAEX – 177 miles (Alexandra, LA)
KAEX to KJAN – 139 miles (Jackson, MS)
KJAN to KHSV – 217 miles (Huntsville, AL)
KHSV to KTYS – 154 Miles (Knoxville, TN)
KTYS to KCRW – 192 (Charleston, WV)
KCRW to KMDT – 250 miles (Harrisburg, PA)
KMDT to KHPN – 149 miles (Westchester CO, White Plains NY) arrival home airport

This route is somewhat direct and goes around the Washington DC airspace. If you can get a pilot to do each or several legs you will need to find a foster at each or arrange for pilots to meet. Good luck and I might be able to do the Huntsville to Knoxville leg. The other thing to look at is someone to drive some of these legs.

[n.dog]

first, a big THANK YOU to all the pilots & volunteers. i am new to this & have no idea how to judge the distance of a flight. the flight map just shows a straight line. if i knew how to figure distance, i might be able to help with co-ordinating pilot-to-pilot transfers.
thanks,
n.

[admin]

first, a big THANK YOU to all the pilots & volunteers. i am new to this & have no idea how to judge the distance of a flight. the flight map just shows a straight line. if i knew how to figure distance, i might be able to help with co-ordinating pilot-to-pilot transfers.
thanks,
n.

Hi there, it can be confusing at first until you learn some basic aviation terms. At the top of the Ride Board: Animals Needing Transport is a topic called Link to find airports, nautical miles, etc. Lots of good input there from pilots.

I use airnav.com to find the airports close to the flight path needed. You can see on the straight line map that you referenced the cities along the route. Use those to find the airport code, i.e. what the airport is referred to as. Always put a K in front of three lettered airport codes. Once you find the sending airport on airnav, go there and scroll down. On the right you will see a place to calculate distance between airports. Start by entering the total distance from sending to receiving locations and then break it down from there.

I am sure others have input as well. Airnav is a free site, others you need to register for. As a reminder, there is a lot of good information at the top right of each forum board page. There is an FAQ section for pilots and one for rescues/others. Pilots have a plane icon next to the name and rescues have a life preserver ring. It is very beneficial for all new members to read through both. Remember, it is always pilots choice as to airport, day and time for the flights they volunteer for. Most will choose to fly into smaller general aviation airports. However, for distance purposes, you can still use the larger city airports as references.

Thanks for all you do!