The second edition of Give Hope Wings is now inviting volunteer flight crew members to sign up for an epic adventure in the Land of the Midnight Sun and help Hope Air to continue its mission to ensure rural Canadians can get the specialized healthcare they need. In early 2018, volunteer pilots led by Dave McElroy circumnavigated South America, taking pledges to raise funds for Hope Air and selling legs of the journey to donors who wanted to share the experience.

The 2019 adventure will follow a similar format and aims to raise $250,000 for Hope Air, which arranges free flights for rural medical patients who need to travel to get the care they need. The title sponsor for this year’s effort is the Langley Sportsplex, which provides a wide range of recreational services to B.C.’s Fraser Valley residents, including four arenas, fitness facilities, physiotherapy clinics and daycare centres.

McElroy, together with fellow pilots Ian Porter and Steve Drinkwater, publisher of Canadian Aviator and COPA Flight magazines, will take off from Pitt Meadows airport (CYPK), near Vancouver, heading north to fly the 12,000-kilometre perimeter of the northwestern portion of North America.

“The journey will include some incredible experiences; flying over Nahanni National Park – a majestic location not accessible by any public roads, taking a closer look at peculiar ice hills called Pingos in the Northwest Territories, and getting an aerial view of majestic mountains and rainforests in the North that very few people are able to see,” the group said in a news release.

More information on participating in the effort as a donor, sponsor or volunteer flight crew member can be found here.