If Merewether pilot Adam Loong didn't use his flying skills for the common good, he wouldn't feel right.
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It's a sentiment that makes perfect sense, given he spent 29 years serving his country in the Royal Australian Air Force, including 22 years as a fighter pilot.
He joined Angel Flight Australia this year, a charity that involves volunteers using their own planes to fly people from the country to the city for medical care.
The service helps medically and financially disadvantaged people, who have been hit hard by medical bills due to illness and accidents.
"I've got more time on my hands now, given I'm out of the air force. I've got my own plane and I enjoy flying," Mr Loong said.
"Angel Flight is an excellent cause. There's so many people out there who need the service. It's a real win-win situation."
Mr Loong felt "incredibly lucky" to have a plane and time to devote to the cause.
"If I didn't do something like this, I'd feel I wasn't doing the right thing by myself and the world," he said.
Many of those who need the service travel to Sydney for medical treatments that last three to four hours.
"So they can be up and back in a day, as opposed to driving eight or nine hours each way," he said.
"They can be little babies and young families, so it's good to be able to get in there and help them out. They're all very appreciative of it."
He said Angel Flight was "a well-oiled machine".
"Everything happens online. It's really well planned," he said.
Mr Loong's four-seater Cirrus SR22 is based at Cessnock. His flights for the charity are generally in NSW, but can reach Queensland and close to the Victorian border.
Typically the flights go to and from Bankstown. They occasionally land in Maitland for those going to John Hunter Hospital for treatment or specialist appointments around Newcastle.
Angel Flight organises vehicles for the patients through people known as "ground angels".
Businessman and pilot Bill Bristow started the charity in April 2003. It arranges up to 20 flights a day.
In all, it has conducted more than 20,000 flights for 60,000 patients, carers and family members.
In the Hunter Region, about 20 missions a year have been done for the past couple of years.
All flights are free. As well as patients, blood products and medicine are transported.
Volunteer pilots donate their time, skills and most of their aircraft costs for each flight. Pilots have credentials that exceed the requirements of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for the carriage of passengers.
