Qantas A380 pilots wing it for charity during pandemic

A number of Qantas A380 pilots have downsized during the pandemic, taking the controls of light planes for a good cause.

Qantas A380 pilot Captain Rod Anderson at Bankstown is using his ‘stood down’ time to help out a medical transport charity. Picture: Nikki Short

Qantas A380 pilots facing a long wait until the superjumbos return to the skies are using their skills for a greater good – flying chronically ill children from regional areas to cities for medical treatment.

The work has helped lift the spirits of the pilots, and given them an outlet for their passion for flying, to the delight of Little Wings chief executive Clare Pearson.

Before Covid-19 struck, the Sydney-based charity struggled to find experienced and available commercial pilots but now they are spoiled for choice.

“It’s obviously to the detriment of the pilots but for us it has meant they’re available during the stand-down, which is fortunate,” Ms Pearson said.

“We have had quite a significant increase in demand because people don’t have the commercial options at the moment, with airlines flying so inconsistently in regional areas.”

Unlike Angel Flight, which relies on private pilots using their own aircraft, Little Wings operates its own fleet of well-maintained Beech Barons, and uses only commercial pilots.

Ms Pearson said the charity relied on donations and fundraising, and the generosity of people like Captain Rod Anderson.

A Qantas pilot with 40 years of experience, Captain Anderson spent most of his career flying Boeing 747s before switching to A380s.

He said the principle of flying was the same no matter how big or small the aircraft, but there were some other differences between the four-engine jets and the light twin-engined Baron.

“On an A380 with its bombproof cockpit door you very rarely see a lot of the passengers, but with Little Wings they’re right there with you,” he said.

“You’re often flying the same families so you sort of get to know them, and it’s nice to see the kids improve. I recently flew a child who’d just been told their doctor didn’t need to see them again for six to eight months. That was a very uplifting flight.”

Despite doubts surrounding the return of the A380s, Captain Anderson was optimistic that demand for overseas travel would see the double-decker aeroplanes back in the air sooner than November 2023.

“People are like coiled springs. They need to get out and see the world and as soon as we’ve got enough people vaccinated and borders reopened that love of travel will be unleashed,” he said.

Until then he was content to volunteer his skills to Little Wings, and run the charter flight company, Golf Air, which he set up with a fellow pilot.

As the name suggests, the company organises charter flights to hard-to-reach golf courses such as King Island and Barnbougle in Tasmania and Queensland’s Hamilton Island.

“I think we can see a way forward as opposed to this time last year when we didn’t even have a vaccine,” Captain Anderson said.

“Whatever happens I will continue to fly for Little Wings. It’s a great help to all of the families for whom things might not be going so well.”

Originally published as Qantas A380 pilots wing it for charity during pandemic