“


If not for MDHI’s perseverance, we’d have been in one heck of a situation.


Delivering the Goods, and Goodwill MDHI committed to weekly supply fl ights, assuming aircraft and fl ight crew availability, beginning May 14, 2020. The fi rst three fl ights carried chainsaws and related items, important to the 15,000 Navajo homes without electricity for heating and cooking, followed by load after load of personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, face masks, bleach, and anything else that was needed. Nearly everything they carried was donated or purchased with donated funds,


courtesy of NASVU, chaired by Tom Eisiminger, with Bob Dalpe coordinating op- erations with MDHI and Pete Tsinnijinnie as the Native American veterans advisor. During the winter, as a new wave of infections moved across the area, even


incoming road travel was forbidden by the tribal government, essentially closing off the Navajo Nation to outsiders. Fortunately, MD Helicopters was allowed to continue its fl ights, becoming one


of the only sources of supplies and equipment from the outside. To further reduce the risk of virus transmission, even intra-reservation road travel was discouraged, so MDHI fl ights were directed to additional locations, bringing supplies closer to those in need.


Above: MDHI pilots CJ Schneider, left, and Dave Salem coordinate the next leg of the journey during a refueling stop at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (KFLG).


Below: On a different flight, MDHI pilot Bob Rappoport heads for the FBO office at Arizona’s Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport (KINW).


54 ROTOR JUNE 2021


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