Local Pilot Marks 20 Years of Angel Flights

Look! There on the horizon. It’s a bird, it’s a plane…no, it’s Angel Flight!
A very welcome sight for adults and children facing challenging transportation situations, Angel Flights are a merciful answer to those who are “wishin’ and hopin’” for a solution to their dilemma – how to afford necessary travel to crucial medical treatments.
However, when those in need of non-emergency medical transportation don’t reside near a commercial airport, or they or their family may not have the means to embark on a regular flight, experienced local pilot Dave Lombard generously takes off from the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport to answer those wishes. In October, he will have been fulfilling those hopes for 20 years and has now flown almost 200 missions since he started in 1993.
Lombard is a member of Angel Flight West, which is a network of volunteer pilots who provide FREE medical transportation to people in need in five western states. The parent organization, Angel Flight, consists of thousands of volunteer pilots nationwide, flying thousands of missions annually.
He and his wife Christy have been residents of Mariposa County for over a quarter century. Dave humbly describes himself as a “Mechanical Engineer, Certified Welder, Husband, Grandpa, Dad, Redneck, Brewer, Bass Player, Angel Flight Pilot, Class A Trucker, Lumberjack, Patriot, and Shade-Tree Mechanic” on his business card, where “RETIRED!” is predominantly displayed.
Dave grew up in Southern California. “My dad worked for Southern Cal Edison, so as a family we moved around a lot. I came to San Luis Obispo in 1973. I met my wife Christy in 1975. We were married in 1977 and lived in Atascadero.” He longed for the rural lifestyle. “When they put in a Long’s and a Food-for-Less I thought this town is getting too big for us,” he explained.
After hearing a friend describe his recent trip to Mariposa, Dave and Christy visited for themselves and loved Mariposa. The couple returned to Atascadero and planted a “For Sale” sign in front of their house. Within two weeks they were in escrow.
“It was a leap of faith for sure,” Dave said. “My plan was to build spec houses because I was a licensed general contractor, but the economy took a dive about the time we finished building our home. I wasn’t getting any consulting work as an engineer, so I rebuilt two houses in Foresta that had burned in the Arch Rock Fire.”
The Lombards arrived in Mariposa in 1990 and Dave went to work for Paul Masson Winery. He had a 20-year career in engineering food processing and related industries that stretched far and wide. With his own airplane, he could work almost anywhere the job required.
In 2017, Dave retired. But he hasn’t slowed down; he remains very active in the community, continues Angel Flight missions, and has developed a reputation for constructing custom built Adirondack chairs.
Lombard became a pilot in 1987. “My wife was eight and a half months pregnant with our youngest child, Jacob. She dropped me off at the airport for my final check flight, and I came home a pilot,” he explained.
A few years later Dave was at the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport when about 40 private airplanes landed, all carrying deaf children on a trip to Camp Pacifica. “I asked one of the pilots what this was all about. I had heard of it (Angel Flight). It’s mostly guys with four-seat single engine airplanes. I inquired and within a month I was signed up and ready to rock and roll in July of 2003,” he said.
It was later that year that he made his first Angel Flight. He picked up his first passenger in Quincy, a very remote town in northern California. She needed chemotherapy treatment in El Monte, so he flew her to Fresno where he relayed with another Angel Flight pilot for the final leg of the journey to Southern California.
“I flew her two or three times. She has passed away now, but whenever one of our passengers passes, Angel Flight emails every pilot that ever had them as a passenger,” Dave recounted.
Angel Flight also provides transport for children who are deaf or are burn victims. “We fly them into Fresno, they do a week up at Wonder Valley Ranch, then we fly them home,” Lombard added.
Passengers must have a debilitating disease to arrange for a flight with the organization. Adults must be ambulatory. Lombard has flown one youngster who is suffering from spina bifida, and he is able to carry him to and from the aircraft.
“I don’t take flights that are longer than about two hours, and I haven’t ever stayed overnight,” Dave explained. “These are always non-emergency flights; we don’t do anything medical at all. I’m just a glorified air bus driver. Something like a chemotherapy treatment can be done in a few hours, so Angel Flight works out really well.”
Lombard pilots a 1969 Cessna 172, four-seat single engine aircraft. “I call it my Chevy pick-up with wings,” he added.
He acquired the airplane in 2002 when he was working a Paso Robles. “I finally reached an income level that would allow to purchase of my own airplane, so I thought, now is the time,” Dave recalled. Their daughter was a star volleyball player at Mariposa County High School, in fact, the league’s most valuable player.
“It was great. I could fly home for her game then fly back for work the next day,” Dave remembered.
He’s had a couple of difficult flights. Once he was bound in Palo Alto, but the weather wouldn’t clear and he had to land in Livermore. He had a Spanish-speaking passenger on board, so he called his bilingual daughter, Katie, who lived in Livermore, and she was able to explain the situation to his passenger. “I got a rental car, drove her to her appointment, then drove back to the Livermore Airport and flew her home,” Dave shared.
Whenever Lombard flies children, two adults must be aboard, the pilot and a mission assistant. “Christy goes with me once in a while if one child is flying. She’s my reliable back-up, and she’s a former airline stewardess. If I can’t find someone to go with me, she’s always willing,” Dave explained.
It hasn’t been all wine and roses for the Lombards since they moved to Mariposa. “There was a time when I was unemployed for three years straight. I was even a substitute bus driver for the school district. We always got by, got the bills paid and had food on the table,” he recalled.
Lombard was in Ponderosa Basin during the Bridge Fire and he met a water tender driver. That turned into a productive connection. Soon he was driving a water tender for that same company. “I put myself through school driving truck so I’ve always carried my Class A license,” he said.
Eventually Lombard worked the Creek Fire and the Northern Complex Fire, working 45 to50 days that year. The following year he worked more fires, but fewer days, however the income from driving a water tender allowed him to purchase a sawmill, which has significantly enhanced his woodworking.
Angel Flight pilots receive no compensation. They cover all their own expenses.
Many might wonder what Dave’s motivation is. “It’s really to give back. I’ve been blessed, and don’t mean just financially. I have some abilities that I could use selfishly, or use to help someone out. What good is it to have abilities and stuff if you keep it to yourself?” Lombard asked.
He added, “The biggest challenge Angel Flight faces as an organization is making people aware of our services.”
In 1983 the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Medical Support Team was founded. In 1984 during its first full year of operation the group flew 15 missions.
In 1993 Angel Flight West’s pilots flew 665 missions. In 1997, to facilitate growth, Angel Flight West was split into 14 regional divisions called “wings.” According to Lombard, by about 30 feet his wing is Northern California.
There has been phenomenal growth.
In 2009, more than 4,000 missions were flown, and by the end of 2021, more than 90,000 flights had been completed since the organizations inception.
The Angel Flight organization is very versatile in the special services it offers. To request a flight or learn more about the organizatioin, go to “angelflightwest.org.”