Classic Air Medical Fixed Wing Pilot John Williams has flown 1,000 patient care flights.
Classic pilots, medics, and staff gathered Friday afternoon to celebrate. Flight Medic Jason Cole presented Williams with a wings pin. The team posed for a group photo; then it was time for cake.
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PAGE – Classic Air Medical Fixed Wing Pilot John Williams has flown 1,000 patient care flights.
Classic pilots, medics, and staff gathered Friday afternoon to celebrate. Flight Medic Jason Cole presented Williams with a wings pin. The team posed for a group photo; then it was time for cake.
Lead Fixed Wing Pilot Richard Willard said Williams “is the first fixed-wing pilot in the history of Classic to achieve this milestone.”
Willard said it took about eight years for Williams to accumulate 1,000 flights with Classic. He said most of the 1,000 flights happened in the last couple of years because the business volume has increased.
Williams has been with Classic for almost 10 years, though he has over 20 years of experience. Director of Operations Charles Cocker said Williams also piloted corporate jets and freight runs. Cocker and Williams have worked together at other companies before joining the Classic team.
Cocker said, “We’ve followed each other around.”
Williams flies Classic’s PILATUS PC-12, a single turbo engine plane. It’s used for transporting patients throughout the region, like Flagstaff, Phoenix, Denver, Albuquerque, and Tucson. Williams told the Chronicle he’d gone as far as San Francisco with a Page patient. He said it was about a two-hour flight.
Willard said, “We serve not just Page; we service the reservations too.”
Hours are regulated for pilots, and the average mission is about four hours round trip, which includes waiting time. Williams said he’s had occasional three-flight days when the waiting times were less.
Williams said true airspeed for the Pilatus is about 250 mph with no winds. Flights are usually between 24,000-27,000-feet altitudes, though the plane will handle 30,000 feet. The pressurized Pilatus gets better mileage at higher altitudes, and it allows the pilot to get above thunderstorms.
Classic Air Medical staff (left to right): Chris Burns, Matt Stein, Tyrel Brown, Richard Willard, John Williams, Joannie Williams, Deanna L. Amoss, Charles
Classic Air Medical EMS Pilot John Williams shows off his cake, marking his 1,000th patient flight care flights on April 2.
