Ok...I must be missing something (PnP)

neilw2

neilw2

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Nov 23, 2013
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608
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MA
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Display name:
Neil W
No, no I'm not making a thread bashing the mission...

I'd really like to do some more meaningful flying and I figure it would be great to be able to help out a few dogs. Especially since my wife is the biggest dog lover I know and we are both big believers in rescue dogs. I think it would be something cool to get involved in together.

However, I can't for the life of me figure out how to get involved using their website without spending a ton of time/energy finding a mission that I could help with.

I mean I get the premise but it seems way too hard to organize a flight. People are volunteering but no one is there to organize the trips.

There has got to be a better way! How do you guys get involved without spending all day cruising their message board? Am I missing something on their website that summarizes the legs that need to be flown? Is there another company other the PnP that do it- maybe in a somewhat more organized fashion? Or am I insane?- certainly could be a possibility....
 
maybe the first step is to set up notifications for missions in your area? I don't ever 'comb the message board', I wait for notifications to come to me. then, typically you'll see someone trying to organize the legs. if not, pass on it.
 
eman1200 said:
maybe the first step is to set up notifications for missions in your area? I don't ever 'comb the message board', I wait for notifications to come to me. then, typically you'll see someone trying to organize the legs. if not, pass on it.
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This. I have mine set up to notify me when a trip is close to me. I get a couple of notifications a week. I never go to the site anymore.
 
eman1200 said:
maybe the first step is to set up notifications for missions in your area? I don't ever 'comb the message board', I wait for notifications to come to me. then, typically you'll see someone trying to organize the legs. if not, pass on it.
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Hmm...ok well that sure sounds easier. I signed up for the site today and I'd rather look at the midget porn you love so much than stare at that! :eek:

I'll set up a notification and hope for the best.
 
Mike Smith said:
This. I have mine set up to notify me when a trip is close to me. I get a couple of notifications a week. I never go to the site anymore.
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So when you get the notifications can you sign up for a leg right through the email? Or do you have to go the thread they created and post your sign up there?
 
you signed up today and you're already flaming it? you might want to give a chance, like maybe until you do your first flight. however, unlike midget porn which obviously everybody likes, maybe PnP isn't for you. there ARE other organizations, maybe @Ted DuPuis can chime in with other options.
 
neilw2 said:
So when you get the notifications can you sign up for a leg right through the email? Or do you have to go the thread they created and post your sign up there?
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The notification comes as an email, it has a link to the thread. You go there and plan it out with others. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
 
eman1200 said:
you signed up today and you're already flaming it? you might want to give a chance, like maybe until you do your first flight. however, unlike midget porn which obviously everybody likes, maybe PnP isn't for you. there ARE other organizations, maybe @Ted DuPuis can chime in with other options.
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No I'm not flaming the organization, just the website..i just found it hard to use is all...I'm sure flying my first dog will make it all worth it

I'll chill out and give it a while with it and look out for notifications via email...

Thanks for everybody's help!
 
neilw2 said:
Hmm...ok well that sure sounds easier. I signed up for the site today and I'd rather look at the midget porn you love so much than stare at that! :eek:

I'll set up a notification and hope for the best.
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Well hell who wouldn't rather look at midget porn than deal with reality. :rolleyes:
 
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whereisrandall said:
Neil, here's a fave of mine that I find very easy to navigate: Patient Airlift Services. Many many missions weekly, most in NY/MA. http://palservices.org/
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That looks like a really neat organization. However, being at about 320 hrs or so I'm a little shy of their 350hr requirement. I will definitely look into it further in 6 months or so when I meet their requirements.

Thanks for the info!
 
You can join beforehand - I did - and then just update the office when you hit 350. On the website back end, you get a sense of the flights, etc. My last was Bangor to Boston - I really enjoyed the IFR-into-Bravo workload. And I enjoyed the free parking at Logan.
 
PilotsnPaws doesn't have a great UI.... but the forums are pretty easy to navigate. Just scroll down the list and look for something in the title near you, or with a flight path that would go over you in a straight line. Don't recognize the legs? Don't worry about it. There will be one you recognize. Give it a couple days and look at it a couple times and you'll get used to it.

When I look, I look at like... LA area to wherever. Or wherever to the LA area. Or sometimes I look for stuff like... San Diego to Barstow or San Francisco to San Diego... it would go over my area in a direct line, so I'll look to see if anything's being organized and there's a leg near me.
 
2 features might help:

Graphical view which shows all flights, hover over the line & it shows you the particulars.i use this when I have a free day to see what is near me.

You can post a flight you are taking so if anybody needs a flight they can contact you.
 
Sad thing is, the site was updated a few months back to what you see now. The mapping feature mentioned above is good for looking for trips through your area. I have flown around 10 missions through the site. I found it easier to find a rescue organization who is already established/trusted, as they tend to have everything in order all you do is show up and go. In fact the last three I have done the rescue contacted me directly, we set it up , then they posted it to the site to have records for writing expense off.

I signed up for Doobert the other day as well. It seems harder to get info from that site though and I haven't flown anything for them yet.
 
When I had low time I flew for Animal Rescue Flights (www.animalrescueflights.org). They basically got founded because they didn't like the PnP system. Their setup pings you when trips come near you and need a pilot. You might give them a try.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
When I had low time I flew for Animal Rescue Flights (www.animalrescueflights.org). They basically got founded because they didn't like the PnP system. Their setup pings you when trips come near you and need a pilot. You might give them a try.
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As always Ted has the answer!

I just checked it out...MUCH more intuitive layout and organization of the website...I think I'll have better success finding trips with this.

Thanks for the help.
 
I signed up for PnP, set my notfications, and anytime a trip has a source or destination near me, i pick up. pretty easy.
 
neilw2 said:
As always Ted has the answer!

I just checked it out...MUCH more intuitive layout and organization of the website...I think I'll have better success finding trips with this.

Thanks for the help.
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Aunt Peggy (who I haven't seen 'round these parts in ages) made the initial suggestion that I start flying for ARF back 8 years ago, so I can't take all the credit. Julia had a much better idea for an organization in my opinion, but more effort was required. Now PnP is much better known, but ARF still does a ton. Oh, and there are still plenty of pictures of my Aztec up there from the early trips I did with ARF. Ahh, memories. :)
 
I use the transport map:

https://pilotsnpaws.org/maps/maps_trips.php

After clicking on the green or purple line and finding a trip i'm interested in flying, I click the blue underlined text and that takes me to the forum where i post my availability. Often times I will find multiple trips near each other and I will try to combine as many as I can fit in the plane.
 
It is difficult to navigate sometimes, not so much the website, but multi-leg flights are tough to coordinate with all the people involved. I got lucky last weekend and landed a single leg trip that went off without a hitch. Maya got flown to her hew place. It was cool!
 
I've flown a few missions. (Like above) I use the map to see if there's a trip I might want to fly. The PnP people at each end of the mission have been very nice, grateful, and willing to deliver the animals early if that's when I choose to fly.

I always fly the whole route. I attempted to fly a leg in a 4 pilot trip, but while the organizers meant well, there was pressure for less experienced pilots fly into possibly iffy weather and I didn't want to have anything to do with pushing another pilot to fly beyond his ability.
 
We fly PNP too. It's fun and you meet a lot of nice pilots. Last weekend we had a tour that originally involved 4 pilots. Due to weather we had some delays and we agreed that we will fly the dogs to their final destination for that day, making it a three leg trip for the two dogs.

Going forward we will look for a maximum of three legs, but will prefer only two pilot involvement. I think whichever organization you chose you will have fun - it is also very satisfying to hand over cats and dogs to their new furever home. :)
 
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