LMV volunteer pilots make our Mexico and Oasis programs possible. Although two of the locations we serve can be reached by car, most are only reachable by small aircraft. Similarly, the vast majority of our volunteer teams are able to participate only with the additional speed of travel a small plane affords.
To volunteer for LMV, licensed pilots must meet the following requirements:
- Minimum of 500 hours of PIC time;
- Successful checkride and oral exam with an FAA CFI prior to first trip (see below);
- Orientation trip to Mexico with another LMV volunteer pilot for first trip;
- Current FAA medical;
- Current instrument rating; and
- Maintain insurance (and provide a copy of your proof of insurance to LMV's chief pilot).
See our complete LMV Pilot Checkout Procedure.
Volunteer pilots sign up for LMV trips like our other volunteers do, under the guidance of the trip coordinator for your LMV chapter. The trip coordinator will work to ensure that well in advance of the trip departure date, you have a full clinic team, the number of members corresponding to the free seats in your airplane, allowing for the weight and volume of any requisite clinic equipment and supplies.
Once on the ground at the clinic site, pilots serve in other volunteer capacities for the duration of the clinic's operation; some pilots are also healthcare professionals like dentists or physicians, while others serve as interpreters or general volunteers. Some pilots also join our Latin America trips in these other roles (since those trips use commercial airlines to reach their destinations).
As with all trip participants, volunteer pilots pay a trip fee that varies according to the location of the clinic. Please visit trip signups for more information.
For useful resources and information as you prepare to fly a trip for LMV as a volunteer pilot, take a look at our member resources.
Qualified pilots, please join today. For more information, contact LMV's Chief Pilot.
