Tragic flash flooding at summer camps in Texas, storm surges destroying villages in western Alaska, a Category 5 hurricane devastating Jamaica – King Air pilots have had the opportunity this year to make a difference for people and communities facing difficult situations. Beyond these natural disasters, the ongoing need continued to grow for the aviation community to support patients of all ages, veterans, Special Olympics athletes and even wildlife and environmental causes needing a special lift that only private aviation can provide.
“Charity flying gives you a chance to use an asset that you already have, and you’re using the skills that you’ve honed in a way that makes someone else’s life easier,” said Patrick Murphy, president and CEO at Trident General Contracting.
The New York-based pilot flew his 1981 Beechcraft King Air C90 in the 2022 Special Olympics Airlift and estimates he has flown about 250 hours for SkyHope, a nonprofit organization providing free flights to those in need. He served 10 years in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant commander, flying search and rescue helicopters, deploying to the Japan-based 7th Fleet and Iraq multiple times. An itch to fly returned after his active service ended, and he started flying fixed-wing aircraft through a local club in early 2017.
“I flew to all the hamburger spots in the area so I was looking for another reason to fly, another mission,” he said. “With my military background, I realized I needed a mission. I started volunteering to make charitable flights and found they gave me a reason to fly while also allowing me to gain more experience with planning, executing and completing flights.”
That same mission mindset propelled James Halepaska to get involved with Operation Airdrop’s disaster relief efforts earlier this year. As a 13-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Halepaska knew immediately he needed to do something to help when news broke of the tragic flash flooding in Texas Hill Country during the first week of July.
“With the Marine Corps, we went to Haiti a few times to provide aid, and I’m always looking to do something to help others,” he said, adding that this was the first time he’d been able to combine flying and humanitarian help since becoming a pilot in 2023. “It was cool to see something like this from the civilian side – seeing that people can affect change without incredible amounts of government support. It was heartwarming to watch communities come together so fast.”
As we close out 2025 and head into a new year, we’re sharing these accounts from two King Air pilots and military veterans to inspire you to consider getting involved with a charitable flying organization.
Operation Airdrop
Operation Airdrop began as a grassroots response by pilots in the Dallas area to Hurricane Harvey, the Category 4 hurricane that ravaged the Texas coast in 2017.
Now a fully registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, OAD has grown each year as it responded to hurricane-damaged areas in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, the Carolinas and Tennessee, tornado-hit communities in the Midwest and more. The mission has always been about speed, compassion and action – focusing on the first 24 to 72 hours after a disaster, filling the critical gap before traditional relief systems can fully mobilize.
Operation Airdrop has flown thousands of missions providing millions of pounds of relief to communities in need by activating its nationwide network of general aviation pilots, partners and ground volunteers.
Halepaska saw Operation Airdrop’s call for donations of supplies and volunteers to help sort and pack the supplies in response to deadly flash floods along the Guadalupe River in Central Texas on July 4-5. He lives in North Texas and is part of a four-pilot crew at Tradewind Charter, a Part 135 operator with a King Air 300 and a Falcon 2000 at Dallas Executive Airport (KRBD).
He told his employer he was going to take some time off to volunteer at Addison Airport (KADS) loading supplies onto aircraft bound for Burnet Municipal Airport (KBMQ) in Burnet, an airport OAD was using to stay out of the search-and-rescue operations happening at Kerrville Municipal Airport (KERV).
“The owner of the King Air 300 is from down around those parts of Texas, and he said what if we volunteer our plane to fly supplies down to the affected area?” Halepaska recalled. “I had the day off already and our King Air captain Bryce Albrecht also had the day off, so we both agreed to volunteer to make the mission happen.”
They flew N124CM from KRBD to KADS, where massive amounts of donated supplies were ready to go in support of debris removal, cleanup and safety for affected families and volunteers on the ground in Central Texas.
“Cleaning supplies, personal protection equipment, chainsaws with no fuel – anything we could legally put in an airplane, we put in the King Air,” said Halepaska, who is not type-rated in the 300 but has hours in the King Air 90 series. “We made use of that trip and had every inch of the plane jam-packed.”
There were all sizes of aircraft making the journey to KBMQ that day, Halepaska said, and he was proud of how much the King Air could hold and the speed they were able to get to Burnet. N124CM was headed to scheduled maintenance the next day, but Halepaska spent more time loading supplies onto other aircraft.
When that airlift mission concluded, OAD reported 105 flights carried essential tools and supplies directly into areas that were otherwise difficult to access. Next, Operation Airdrop coordinated with partners and volunteers to respond to two more natural disasters in October and November: unprecedented flooding in Western Alaska caused by remnants of Typhoon Halong and the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa that devastated Jamaica.
Operation Airdrop
Mobilizes pilots and non-pilot volunteers to deliver disaster relief
HQ: Greater Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, area
Geographic coverage: North America and the Caribbean
Needs: pilot and non-pilot volunteers, donations
Learn more: operationairdrop.org
SkyHope
SkyHope began its mission to provide free regional medical, compassion and veteran flights in 2010. Fifteen years later, they’ve completed more than 37,000 free flights totaling 6.5 million passenger miles. Those numbers include serving over 4,300 families and assisting more than 2,700 veteran flights.
The nonprofit based at Republic Airport (KFRG) in Farmingdale, New York, arranges air transportation for individuals and families who would otherwise need to travel hours by car for essential medical diagnosis, second opinions, treatment or follow-up care. Operating predominantly east of the Mississippi River, the organization’s mission is to ensure no one in need of lifesaving or life-changing treatment is grounded by financial or geographic barriers.
In addition to no-cost flights for patients, their caregivers and companions, the Hope for Heroes program provides free air transportation for military personnel and veterans to support the wellbeing of their body, mind and spirit with flights for medical treatment as well as rehabilitative retreats.
The SkyHope staff reviews flight requests, coordinates mission logistics and provides patient support and pilot oversight. At the heart of the organization is a network of more than 560 volunteer pilots who donate their aircraft, time and compassion.
Murphy was flying single-engine piston aircraft when he first volunteered to fly for SkyHope, previously known as Patient AirLift Services SkyHope. He credits a mechanical issue that occurred while returning home from a SkyHope mission with convincing him it was time to move to a twin-engine turboprop. He owned his King Air C90 from 2020 until this fall, when he couldn’t pass up an unsolicited offer to sell.
Across the 89 legs he’s completed for SkyHope in the King Air and other aircraft, Murphy flew 181 passengers and accumulated 26,000 miles during 250 hours of flying. Those flights have included taking groups of veterans to Major League Baseball games as part of a partnership between SkyHope and MLB to honor the veterans’ service, provide camaraderie and help in the healing process. He’s also flown adult patients to cancer treatments as well as families with young kids needing specialized treatment at children’s hospitals.
“The King Air is a great platform for this type of flying,” Murphy said. “We’re talking 500 to 1,000 nautical mile trips in two hours versus three to four hours in a piston.”
Besides the financial assistance they receive, SkyHope passengers are appreciative of the privacy and ease of traveling via private aircraft. They are often new to flying in smaller aircraft, and Murphy said his passengers were often happy to see the size and comfort of the King Air. For that reason, he’d like to see more King Air pilots participate.
“If the reason you’re not flying for SkyHope is that you’re concerned it’ll take a lot of time to handle the logistics of a flight, don’t let that stop you. There’s not a big administrative burden to doing these flights; the organization has volunteers and staff to coordinate with your passengers,” he said. “There’s no pressure coming from the organization to make a flight. They have a plan B for every flight; you’re still the pilot in command.”
There is no minimum requirement for the number of flights a pilot must support, and SkyHope is flexible in order to match missions with a pilot’s availability, weight, distance and geography.
SkyHope
Free medical flights and more
HQ: Republic Airport (KFRG) in Farmingdale, New York
Geographic coverage: east of the Mississippi River
Needs: pilot and non-pilot volunteers, donations
Learn more: skyhope.org
Special Olympics Airlift
For King Air pilots who struggle with spur of the moment requests to fly for charitable organizations, Murphy recommends signing up for the 2026 Special Olympics Airlift.
The dates are set – transport athletes to Minnesota’s St. Paul Downtown Airport Holman Field (KSTP) on Friday, June 19 and return to take them home on Saturday, June 27 – and according to Murphy, involvement couldn’t be easier.
“Everything outside of the actual flying of the aircraft is taken care of for you by Textron Aviation’s team,” Murphy said of his 2022 airlift experience. “A lot of corporate flight departments fly in the SOA but it’s a great event for the individual operator too.”
Organized by Textron Aviation, the SOA mobilizes hundreds of volunteer Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker pilots and aircraft to create the world’s largest peacetime airlift. The event will transport hundreds of athletes and coaches across the country to the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.
Special Olympics uses year-round sports training and athletic competition to help children and adults with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths, abilities, skills and success while championing for a more inclusive world. All expenses – from facilities during training to meals and lodging during competition – are paid for by Special Olympics in hopes that no one is left on the sideline due to inability to pay. Travel is one of the largest expenses for state programs sending athletes to the USA Games, which take place every four years in different locations throughout the country.
Wichita, Kansas-headquartered Cessna Aircraft Company started the tradition of the airlift in 1995 and to date the SOA has transported nearly 10,000 athletes and coaches from across the country. The 2022 SOA – the first since Cessna and Beechcraft became Textron Aviation – was the first time organizers invited select Beechcraft, including King Air models, and Hawker aircraft to fly alongside Cessna Citation jets.
Murphy loved that he could plan months ahead and block out the SOA dates on his calendar. Because he was flying a King Air C90, he was assigned to fly a delegation closer to the host city. He arrived in Smyrna, Tennessee, the night before the airlift and the next morning flew three athletes and two chaperones to Orlando.
“It was cool to be a part of the airlift because of the complexity of the entire operation,” he said. “It was a conga line from just south of Atlanta into Orlando. It was remarkable to see the amount of coordination that happens between the ATC, the Textron Aviation folks and the Special Olympics team to slot everyone in there. They have a fine-tuned process of getting you out of the aircraft, parked and fueled with enough time to get a bite to eat with other pilots at the hospitality tent.”
If he purchases another King Air before the 2026 event, he’d love to fly another SOA. “I appreciated how extremely well organized and well run it was, even when the day we flew into Orlando was not a good weather day.”
2026 Special Olympics Airlift
Help transport athletes and their coaches to the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota’s Twin Cities on Friday, June 19, 2026, and then return them to their home bases on Saturday, June 27, 2026
HQ: Coordinated by Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kansas
Geographic coverage: across the U.S.
Needs: Owners and operators of Beechcraft King Air, Beechjet and Premier jets, Hawker jets and Cessna Citation jets to donate the use of their aircraft, crew, fuel and time
Learn more: airlift.txtav.com