The Mission
A group of twelve doctors and nurses from Marquette, MI, were trying to find a way to get themselves and several tons of donated supplies from the US to Haiti to participate in the relief efforts. The doctors and nurses have partnered with Partners In Health, a long-standing Haitian health provider with an excellent reputation, to man an under-staffed hospital in Les Cayes.
Their biggest problem was that they had no way to get to or through the crowded Port-au-Prince Airport. Had they gotten there, the state of the roads and the lack of infrastructure would have kept them from contributing to the relief efforts.
This group managed to make contact with long-time Albatross owner and operator, Bill DaSilva. Bill’s plane, N7025N, was already in Florida for the winter. Bill DaSilva quickly agreed to donate their plane and time to get these doctors and nurses to their destination, bypassing the usual, blocked relief routes by flying directly to the beach at their destination. Only the Albatross is capable of carrying this load from Miami directly to the waters off of Haiti and returning without refueling in Haiti. Without this transport, the mission was doomed.
Albatross Haiti Relief Mission
The Aircraft
The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large twin, radial-engine amphibious flying boat. The Albatross was developed to land in open ocean for the rescue of downed Navy pilots. The aircraft was first introduced in 1949 and primarily used by the United States Air Force, Coast Guard, and Navy. In total, 466 aircraft were built.
The People
Bill and Gina DaSilva’s generous donation of their aircraft and time was only the start. The doctors and nurses from Marquette are funding their own shelter, food, supplies and support as well as providing fuel for one round-trip to Haiti. Delta Airlines provided transportation to Miami for the doctors and their supplies. Other generous donors have stepped in to buy fuel for an additional round trip at a cost of $6000. Paul and Lynda LeVeque have flown to Florida from California to provide piloting and maintenance support while SeaPlane Operations, LLC is providing flight planning, permitting and Customs Clearance filing services. Ray Wolfe, a SeaPlane Operations principal, is onsite working around the clock for the effort while others stay back to provide publicity and web support.
Given the Albatross’ unique capabilities for delivering 4000 pounds of supplies directly to seaside locations around Haiti, and then returning without any ground support from the island, we anticipate several additional flights will be requested–both by the group we are currently supporting and the many other relief operations on the island. Even with the full donation of the crew to this effort, the fact remains that each trip costs several thousand dollars in fuel and aircraft operation costs and donations are needed to cover those costs.
Given the Albatross’ unique capabilities for delivering 4000 pounds of supplies directly to seaside locations around Haiti, and then returning without any ground support from the island, we anticipate several additional flights will be requested–both by the group we are currently supporting and the many other relief operations on the island. Even with the full donation of the crew to this effort, the fact remains that each trip costs several thousand dollars in fuel and aircraft operation costs and donations are needed to cover those costs.
The Website
This information, including our Blog, will be updated as quickly as possible. We have coordinated with the Marquette Unitarian Universalist Congregation to help process donations. In addition, donations can be made though PayPal using the “Donate” link on any of our pages.
This is the best and highest use for this aircraft and we are pleased to be able to support this generous effort by so many individuals.
Your comments and suggestions may be sent to: chuck.kimes@seaplaneops.com
no PayPal account required
Click the map above to view our route
