Mt Beauty pilot John Hillard volunteers plane, skills for Angel Flight

This Mt Beauty pilot volunteers his skills and plane to transport regional Australians to the medical care they need.

Mt Beauty's John Hillard volunteers with Angel Flight. Picture: Kirrily Carberry

Angel Flight volunteer John Hillard is a nominee in The Weekly Times Heart Awards, supported by the Powercor Country Festival. Heart celebrates the contributions of volunteers to rural communities. Nominate a great volunteer now, by using the form below.

John Hillard is an angel with real wings.

John volunteers his plane and skills for Angel Flight, which coordinates non-emergency flights so people in regional and remote Australia can access specialist medical treatment.

John — who started learning to fly about 26 years ago and got his own plane about 10 years later — was living in Adelaide when a friend and Angel Flight pilot inspired him to join the charity in 2007. John continued to be part of the charity when he moved to Mt Beauty 10 years ago.

John says many of the patients he transports are going for repetitive medical appointments, such as cancer treatment. “For somebody who lives in Mallacoota or Orbost — we get a lot from there — that is a huge journey and … they’re often not feeling the best at the end of the day and then to have to get into the car and drive home or have someone drive them home, it is really unpleasant,” he says.

He recalls one patient he flew from Melbourne, home to NSW. It was a trip that would have taken the patient seven hours one-way, but they were able to fly it in two. “It’s a win-win for everyone. I enjoy flying so it’s an excuse to go flying. The people who you do it for, you can see the need and they appreciate it … and it’s just a well organised system and something you can be proud to be part of.”

John’s volunteering is not confined to the cockpit. He teaches bushwalking navigation a couple of times a year in Melbourne, and volunteers with Bush Search and Rescue Victoria. He also volunteered with Mt Beauty airport committee as secretary until about a year ago.

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