I had the pleasure of sitting next to Bill and his lovely wife at the RVAC 80th birthday bash last August. The RVAC raised, I think, around $10,000 for Angelflight. An absolutely fascinating story as to how he came to get Angelflight up and running. Founder of a highly successful ad agency and a keen pilot (PC12 owner) Bill one day realized that he could use his skills and his aircraft for a better purpose.
Just so all of you understand how much Angelflight has grown, Moorabbin handles around 4-5 flights a week now and I think Essendon does the same or more. Not as much as the RFDS (or MAS for Victorians) but getting pretty close at times. Mostly from based pilots but several visitors as well. They are not emergency cases but by god they are important. Mostly trips for long term treatment of serious diseases, the Angelflight operations mean that patients can get to and from Melbourne in an easy day, rather than enduring endless road travel.
Well done Bill, and well done all the volunteer angels!
Phil