“I had a friend in college who was date raped. I will never forget walking her to Planned Parenthood so she could have a legal and safe abortion. As a father of three daughters, I want my daughters and everyone else to have access to safe healthcare.
I have flown over 60 mission flights as a volunteer pilot for another charitable aviation organization. Elevated Access is uniquely positioned to help those facing such difficult circumstances, and help pilots that give of their time, treasure, and talent to feel the deep sense of gratitude that comes from doing something for someone that desperately needs us.”
— Tim, Elevated Access Volunteer Pilot
“My mom got pregnant at 13 and gave birth to twins at 14. In her state of residence, abortion was legal, but she needed parental consent. My grandparents wouldn’t sign off for an abortion procedure.
People always seem to forget that there are children that come from this. There are children that have to live with being unwanted. There are children that live with a parent who doesn’t have the resources.
All it would take is access to reproductive health care to make sure that nobody goes through what I went through. That’s why I volunteer with Elevated Access and use my social media platform of @cheesepilot to recruit other pilots.”
— Adrian, Elevated Access Volunteer Pilot
“When I fly as a general aviation pilot, I am free to choose when I leave, what altitude to fly, which route to follow, where to refuel, and who I can bring along with me. I cherish that freedom of choice. It’s among the best things about general aviation. Recently my fellow citizens have seen their choices for healthcare cut or severely curtailed.
I volunteer with Elevated Access because I feel it is my duty to share my own freedom of choice with them. I am also privileged with financial stability and a flexible schedule, while many of my passengers do not have the means or time to travel commercially to friendlier states for their healthcare. I volunteer with Elevated Access to share that privilege.”
— Michelle, Elevated Access Volunteer Pilot
“I decided to volunteer with Elevated Access as it ties back in with why I even joined the military. Both of my grandparents served in World War II, fighting for an idea that’s bigger than themselves, that America stands for freedom. That idea has evolved quite a lot since World War II. Now, that freedom transcends freedom of choice, but also means allowing women and men to stand on equal footing.”
— Active Duty Air Force Officer, Elevated Access Volunteer Pilot
“I was driven to volunteer with Elevated Access for the same reason I signed up to serve in the military: A desire to help people. If it’s within your capability to help a fellow American, you should do it.
That’s why a whole lot of us joined the military in the first place. You can look at this as an extension of … patriotic duty.”
— National Guardsman & Police Officer, Elevated Access Volunteer Pilot
“A few days after day Roe vs Wade was overturned, the trigger law went into effect shutting down the last remaining abortion clinics in my home state.
The day the last clinic closed, I had an intense emotional reaction thinking about all the women who had upcoming appointments that were now simply canceled. I felt angry, sad, empathetic, and powerless. I had an overwhelming urge to act.
Elevated Access gives me the opportunity to do something to directly help and make a real difference to those who are most affected by the recent abortion bans.”
— Kim, Elevated Access Volunteer Pilot
“I have seen the best and the worst of the world. Being an ally for [justice] has always been important to me. Flying for Elevated Access gives me the ability to do something about rights being stripped from women and trans people.
The “party of freedom” seems to want to tell people how to live their lives, and Elevated Access lets me be involved in giving the oppressed their voices back.”
— Thomas, Elevated Access Volunteer Pilot
“We constantly read, as general aviation pilots, about how lucky we are to have the flying freedoms that we have in the US compared to other countries, with some very minor exceptions,” he says of being a pilot in America. “I could basically hop in my plane anytime I want, fly anywhere I want. I don’t have to talk to a single air traffic controller. I could file a flight plan and I don’t have to check in with some government entity.”
”I think as pilots, we’re very proud of the freedom we have and so it seems appropriate for me to use the freedom I have to help out people whose much more fundamental freedoms – [such as] rights to medical care or decisions about how they want to control their own body – are being jeopardized right now.”
