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The view: Morning Sunrise outside Boston, Massachusetts—Norwood Memorial Airport
The pilot: Charlie Tillett
The photographer: Ed Gromley
The airplane: 2010 Piper Meridian
The mission: Sunrise departure on a volunteer Angel Flight mission to help someone from Bangor, Maine, avoid the 8-hour round trip drive to Boston and get to a mid-morning medical appointment.
The memory: There is no flying that I do that is more rewarding than providing a little hope to people by helping them get to medical treatment.
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Charlie Tillett gave himself the birthday present of an introductory flying lesson in 1988, bought his first airplane in 1992 and has owned at least one airplane ever since. During that time, he has flown 2,500 hours and completed 150+ Angel Flights. He and his wife live outside Boston and are currently using their Piper Meridian to travel around the country on a quest to play golf in all 50 states (OK, commercial to Hawaii).
Latest posts by Charlie Tillett (see all)
- Friday Photo: a sunlit thunderstorm - July 16, 2021
- Friday Photo: Meridian sunrise - May 28, 2021
- Friday Photo: a road in the clouds - March 27, 2020
Wonderful photo! I also fly for Angel Flight Northeast, also in a PA46T (2014, similar paint scheme in fact!) but can’t say I’ve captured any airplane photos as good as that one! I agree that public benefit flying is among the most rewarding too!
Scott:
Glad you are putting your Meridian to good use – it’s a beautiful plane and Angel Flight is a great cause.
I envy you Charlie as the Piper Meridian is the the airplane of my dreams! And thank you for what you are doing with it!
JP: Thanks so much for your note. Glad you enjoyed the picture – I give all credit to Ed who saw the beauty in the image and snapped the photo – I’m so often focused on pre-flight (and flying) that I sometimes don’t appreciate the amazing sights we see until it is too late to record it.
Beautiful picture of a beautiful airplane.
This is such an amazing photo and truly speaks to the warmth, light and joy that Angel Flight NE pilots, like Charlie Tillett and all of our volunteer pilots, provide to our patients who turn to AFNE for assistance to access medical care during the darkest of times. Charlie joined Angel Flight Northeast in 2001 and has been instrumental in support of our mission to provide free flights for children and adults traveling to medical treatment. When the global pandemic began and families scrambled to get loved ones home safely, Charlie became the go-to pilot for these missions, flying at least one or two flights weekly, as he covered enough miles to travel round trip from Boston to San Francisco four times. His 30 years of flying experience, detailed knowledge, and calm professionalism were evident to passengers on every flight. Thank you to Charlie and every Angel Flight NE pilot for helping us complete our mission.
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