David Hunt's enthusiasm for flying

David Hunt's enthusiasm for flying has lead him to new horizons with Angel Flight West.

Since 2003, he's donated his time and aircraft to flying needy patients to medical care. Now as Angel Flight West's new wing leader in Montana, Hunt also will be piloting their program here.

Hunt stepped up to take over for the late Jim Long, who was Montana's wing leader for Angel Flight for the past five years. Last year, 69 Angel Flight missions were flown in Montana. Long flew 35 of those himself. His unexpected death Sept. 20 left a huge gap in the program in Montana. "I had some pretty big shoes to fill," Hunt said.

Hunt, who lives in Whitefish, has pursued a lifelong fascination with flying. "For years, I'd head to any air show I could find," he said.

His wife Linda helped him "quit wishing and take the first step," when, five years ago, she bought him a gift certificate for his first flying lesson. It was love at first flight. He became private pilot-certified a year later, and then bought a 1999 Piper Archer III single engine plane from an Ohio businessman who'd won it in a "Flying" magazine contest. He's since flown to three corners of the United States, with Maine as his next stop.

A native of Deer Lodge, Hunt graduated from the University of Montana in the mid-70s with a degree in computer science. He accepted a position in Kansas City with an architectural engineering firm and met his wife there while she was finishing her second degree in occupational therapy.

They married in 1983 and moved to St. Louis, Linda's hometown and the corporate headquarters for A.G. Edwards. The brokerage firm hired Hunt as a senior systems analyst and he managed a team of 500 for their information technology department. During that time he also finished his master's degree in finance at the University of Southern Illinois.

Two years ago, Hunt, 52, retired from A.G. Edwards as vice president and director of technology and wanted to return to his home state. He and his wife already owned a house in Whitefish and had brought their two children to the Flathead Valley every year to ski, bike and hike in Glacier Park.

After moving to Whitefish, Hunt began offering his services as a technology consultant. He says working as a consultant keeps him in keyed in to technological advances and gives him the flexibility and time to pursue his aviation interests.

Two years ago Hunt attended a pilot program by the Montana Aeronautics Department to train and develop a pool of pilots for aerial search missions in the state. It was there he met Long, who attended the program each year.

In May of that year Hunt began flying for AirLifeline, another national charitable aviation organization, at the urging of his hangar neighbor, Gerry Mason, who was the group's area coordinator and a board member.

"It gave me a way to share my passion for flying in a purposeful way," he says. He'd made a half-dozen flights for AirLifeline before it merged with Angel Flight.

Last fall Jim Long encouraged Hunt to step into a leadership role with Angel Flight West. Hunt attended the annual wing leadership conference and came away impressed. "I was absolutely inspired with the dedication of the board members and the caliber of people who were involved with this organization," he said. Shortly after, he signed on as their new outreach coordinator.

On Sept. 20, the plane Jim Long was piloting for the Forest Service crashed on Mount Liebig near Essex. Initially, all five aboard the plane were believed dead. The next day Hunt flew as an observer to the crash site.

Hunt and Jim Weaver, Angel Flight's executive director, had been scheduled to speak at a health provider conference in Billings on Sept. 22. At that point they discussed whether they should still go, then made the decision to go on as planned.

"I knew that Jim would have wanted us to continue our mission," Hunt said.

It was at the conference that they learned that two of the five aboard the plane, Jodee Hogg and Matthew Ramige, had survived the accident.

"We were both just stunned," Hunt said. Although Long and Forest Service employees Davita Bryant and Ken Good died in the accident, Hunt said hearing how Long pushed Good out of the wreckage was characteristic of the way he lived. "He would have been determined to help others, even to the last second."

Hunt has flown 15 missions for Angel Flight so far this year. One of his recent passengers was a seven-month-old infant with retinal cancer. With laser eye treatment, her prognosis is good. "Helping to open the door to recovery and giving children a chance to see positive futures is gratifying," he said.

Angel Flight's pilots often encounter people going through what may be the hardest time of their lives. Hunt also has transported a 16-month-old baby given three months to live and flown a high school senior from Cut Bank to Seattle for treatments over several months. She was able fulfill her wish to graduate with her class before succumbing to cancer.

For almost a year now, Myra Ikeda has been able to fly from Kalispell to Spokane with her 5-year-old daughter, Selena, who is being treated for leukemia. Long piloted their first Angel Flight last year on Dec. 29. Selena Ikeda, now a kindergartner at Helena Flats School, is undergoing chemotherapy and spinal taps at Deaconess Hospital and has been in remission since August.

"I don't know what we would have done without Angel Flight. The pilots have been wonderful," her mother said. "They've made our lives so much easier."

The Ikedas have also flown with Hunt and Whitefish pilot Rex Short. "This is an amazing organization," Myra Ikeda said. "They've been my angels." Within an hour after attending funeral services for Jim Long, the Ikeda family was on board another Angel Flight bound for Spokane.

As the new wing leader for Montana, Hunt says his first step is to expand the grassroots team of support pilots and seek funding opportunities to help cover a state with such enormous geographical challenges. Through his outreach work he continues to tell the Angel Flight story.

Hunt says Angel Flight gave him perspective on what was once just a hobby, giving him a deeper appreciation for his flying skills. Through his role, he has witnessed families who are persevering through grave situations.

"It minimizes your own problems and has made me thankful for what I have," he said. "It's been humbling."

Reporter Carol Marino may be reached at 758-4440 or by e-mail at cmarino@dailyinterlake.com