Piper Aztec To Fly For Bahamas Habitat

Bahamas Habitat says it has received the very generous gift of a terrific Piper Aztec aircraft in excellent airworthy condition,” announced Steve Merritt, Chief Pilot and Treasurer of Bahamas Habitat. He went on to say, “This gift of an aircraft by a supporter in Minnesota reflects the gratitude that we all feel for the blessing of being involved in this mission.” 

Walt and Raeanna Gislason of Willmar, Minnesota made this generous contribution in order to enable the mission to provide logistical support for disaster relief in the islands of the Bahamas and Haiti.  Walt Gislason said, “After my wife, Raeanna and I read about the excellent work that Bahamas Habitat is doing, we thought we could be of assistance by donating this aircraft that would be better used in their mission work.”

Bahamas Habitat has used donated aircraft over the last two years to provide logistical support for people and supplies to support disaster relief efforts from the earthquake in Haiti in January and February of 2010, and more recently to help alleviate the suffering from the effects of Hurricane Irene in the Bahamas.  When there aren’t disasters to respond to the organization uses the planes to support ongoing building projects in the Bahamas like the building of a Children’s Home on Current Island and in support of their main base camp on Eleuthera.

The organization encourages others to make similar donations, which are fully tax deductible. In order to take advantage of the tax deduction, the donation must be made before January 1, 2012. “Donating an aircraft is quick and easy and generates real money for the donor in the form of reduced taxes or refunds, so it can be a very viable solution for owners wishing to sell or dispose of their aircraft and get an immediate return,” said John Armstrong, President of Bahamas Habitat.

The organization is hosting its next “Fly-In & Help Out” event February 16th – 19th, 2012. Pilots and volunteers interested in becoming involved in flying missions with Bahamas Habitat should sign up online to receive the Fly-In & Help Out event information. This will put them on the mission notice email list.

FMI: www.bahamashabitat.org