How to best thank a generous pilot?

November 5, 2012 6:30 AM

Apart from a well-considered thank you note what might be an appropriate way to thank a pilot who is flying myself and another patient to a hospital for treatment? He's serving as part of a charity and I plan to write him there as well as thank the charity for organizing it. Weight is an issue, so a nice jar filled with goodies is out. I'd love to find/do something that would personal and memorable.
posted by Mertonian to human relations (6 answers total)

A small donation to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) or Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) in the pilot's name would be very generous, I think. If that's unfeasible, a small bag of homemade goodies won't be a big problem to bring on the airplane - if it only weighs a pound or two you're not going to have any issues.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:47 AM on November 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

You may be able to find out which model aircraft the pilot owns, and its "N-number", so you can order a wooden airplane desk model and make a decal for it.
posted by anon4now at 7:12 AM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've flown volunteer animal rescue with my plane but not patient transport (Angel Flight and the like). I think a card would be well appreciated. While weight is important, it's hard to imagine the pilot being bothered by a jar of goodies that would weigh a couple of pounds or so. But really the pilots do it mostly to help others, so personal words of thanks ought to be plenty.

If someone looked up my registration info, even to make a personalized a gift, I would find it a bit creepy.

Good luck with your treatment.
posted by exogenous at 8:37 AM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

(I think the weight concern is on the part of the pilot, not the plane.)
posted by Houstonian at 8:38 AM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

This guy's giving free rides to patients because he wants to make a difference in people's lives, right?

Under those circumstances, the best reward is often just a letter down the road saying "yeah, here's how things turned out, and here's what you made possible."
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:14 AM on November 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

I piloted many of these types of flights. I think that a thank-you note is more than enough. For most Angel Flight pilots the reward is in making the flight itself and using the aircraft to do something useful. The only thing I miss is not knowing how it turns out for patients.
posted by Long Way To Go at 10:24 AM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]