Date: Sep 24, 2018
Subject: shoutout: Operation Air Drop
On the most recent episode, you talked about the role of GA in helping those impacted by hurricane Florence. If you're looking for a specific shout-out suggestion, Operation Air Drop absolutely deserves it. Making their base in the GA terminal at RDU, they loaded and launched 475 GA flights carrying 280,692 lbs of cargo over the course of just 6 days. Flights went to numerous airports, including Wilmington while that city was isolated for several days, and many smaller airports in the region.
At any time of day, dozens of volunteers were working in the terminal, and of course there was huge support from pilots. The general public was amazing dropping off goods and even having them shipped from Amazon. By all accounts the operation was run very effectively, and these folks deserve a shout-out for making a real difference.
There are lots of great photos and such on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/opairdrop/
And news stories:
http://www.wect.com/story/39148791/operation-airdrop-flies-in-more-than-10000-pounds-of-supplies-to-brunswick-county-on-friday
Thanks for the great podcast! I look forward to each episode.
Michael Hrivnak
private pilot at KTTA
member, Wings of Carolina Flying Club, among oldest and largest with 400+ members