The success of an aviation business depends on its economic efficiency. Profit is generated with many hours of flying, which is why you need to fly as often as possible. Here at Helimission it is exactly the opposite. Every hour of flying time costs money. That is why we want to use the hours we fly as efficiently as possible.
I had invested lots of time in planning for the upcoming week. When we received a Medevac request shortly before the start of our scheduled flights, that disrupted my entire planning. But I was still able to find a good solution. Early on Monday morning I started with Philibert and his team, heading for the rainforest. The village of Andravindahasa lies at an altitude of almost 5300 ft. At night, the temperature in the helicopter sank to 0°C (32 F), which is almost equivalent to winter temperatures in Switzerland.
The following day, I dropped off Philibert and his team at the next village and then immediately flew on to the next destination to pick up Jean-Paul. This man had a tumor on the right side of his backside that could only be operated on in the capital city. He had such severe pain that he was unable to walk, and his friend had to heave him into the helicopter. After a 40-minute flight, we landed at “Paradisa Kely” at the edge of Antananarivo. Whilst Jean-Paul was being driven to the clinic, Sedera and his team boarded the helicopter for a week-long mission to various villages in the eastern rainforest.
In the last village we visited, Sedera and his wife Janicque were introduced to a 12-year-old girl called Fitahiana. She lost both parents during the last three years and was living with her older sister, who was finding it very difficult to continue to care for her. Sedera and Janicque were prepared to accept her into the educational and training program that they offer at “Paradisa Kely”. We had already planned to fly part of the team back to “Paradisa Kely”, so everything worked out perfectly. Fitahiana decided to come with us and was happy about Sedera and Janicque’s offer. She has already started school and is overjoyed to have found a new home.
Nick, Pilot
