Rotary Fellowships are international groups whose members share a common passion. Being part of a fellowship is a fun way to make friends around the world, explore a hobby or profession, and enhance your Rotary experience.
These groups help expand skills, foster vocational development, and enhance the Rotary experience by exploring interests while developing connections around the world.
The International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians (IFFR) is one such group of like-minded aviation enthusiasts, some of whom are either aspiring, current or past pilots, who enjoy the fun and fellowship of getting together twice a year in interesting places around the globe. Past Assistant Governor Mike McFarlane, of the Rotary Club of Kew, Vic, is the new IFFR World President for 2024-26 and an Angel Flight pilot. With a foot in all three camps, he is well positioned to facilitate building the relationship.
Globally, they are some 1,140 IFFR members, mostly active Rotarians, who proudly wear their IFFR ‘Wings’, spreading the word about Rotary in their respective communities while linking their passion for aviation through Service Above Self, often engaging as volunteers in the emerging concept of public benefit flying.
There is no doubt that Angel Flight, Rotary and IFFR are community service kindred spirits; committed to doing good in the world by extending a helping hand and providing their talents, skills and resources to those in need.
According to Mike, a long-standing Angel Flight pilot and IFFR’s current Vice President Asia & Australasia, “There is no better form of flying for a pilot than Angel Flights, where you can enjoy your passion for aviation and at the same time make a real and visible difference to another person in need of ongoing medical help.”
PICTURED: Angel Flight volunteer pilot Mike McFarlane and patient Shirley ready to board an Angel Flight from Moorabbin, Vic, to Port Lincoln, SA.
In Australia and New Zealand there are some 120 members in the IFFR ranks. The concept of public benefit flying is very familiar to them, some being active pilots or Earth Angels for Angel Flight, which celebrates its 21st anniversary this year in Australia.
Angel Flight Australia is a charity that coordinates non-emergency flights and drives to help rural people dealing with the triple threat of bad health, poor finances, and daunting distances. All flights are totally free and may involve patients travelling to medical facilities anywhere in Australia.
Since its inception in 2003, Angel Flight has completed 60,000 flights, helping 100,000 rural families access the medical care they need and deserve. Research from the ‘National Rural Health Alliance – Rural Health in Australia Snapshot 2023’ demonstrated the disparity in health care for rural people and the dire need for services like Angel Flight.
The research showed that the further an Australian lives from an urban centre, the lower their life expectancy. They are also twice as likely to die from preventable illness and rural men are 2.5 times and women 2.8 times more likely to die from potentially avoidable causes than those in urban areas.
Angel Flight has been helping address this rural health crisis for 21 years with its enduring motto that ‘Help is never far away’.
IFFR Australian President 2022-24 and Angel Flight pilot Rob Hannemann believes there is a natural fit between Angel Flight pilots and Earth Angels with the IFFR members; both groups are dedicated to doing good in the world. He believes “there is the opportunity for other Angel Flight folk to join in the adventures of IFFR on six-monthly Fly Aways plus, importantly, more IFFR members become part of Angel Flight family”.
PICTURED: A mum and her child flying home after treatment, with Angel Flight volunteer Mike McFarlane in the pilot’s seat.
Angel Flight CEO Marjorie Pagani sees great scope for a collaboration with mutual benefit, building on Rotary’s Service Above Self to involve more Rotarians in the activities of Angel Flight
and IFFR.
“In a similar vein to Rotary, the success of Angel Flight is due to the fact that our volunteers gain enormous satisfaction from giving their skills and resources to help fellow Australians in need,” said Marjorie.
“It is their way of making a very personal contribution to the community in which they live. The natural synergy between Rotary and Angel Flight has led to an enduring relationship and one we intend to build upon to bolster our community service position and ultimately help more people in need.”
The next IFFR Australian Fly-In is on the Gold Coast, Qld, in October 2024. Angel Flight Australia members, pilots and Earth Angels are most welcome to join in the fun and fellowship.
For information on IFFR or Angel Flight, contact Australian IFFR President 2022-24 Rob Hannemann on 0439 754 290 or IFFR World President 2024-26 Mike McFarlane via president@iffr.org.
MAIN PICTURE: Angel Flight works with volunteers to coordinate free, non-emergency flights and transfers so people living remotely across Australia can access specialist medical treatments.