Frequently Asked Questions

Most charitable volunteer pilot organizations are transportation oriented, designed to move people or cargo between airports in flight profiles common from your first day of flying. In contrast, LightHawk flights are generally scenic in nature and may require the pilot to fly at lower altitudes (still around 1,000’ AGL minimum), maneuver for views of specific points on the ground, and in other flight profiles that are more challenging and less common than straight-line transport. After a significant amount of time flying, pilots have had exposure to a much wider variety of situations and have gained the expertise and confidence to say “no,” as well as to appropriately divide attention between flying and other demands. While any time requirement can be labeled “arbitrary,” LightHawk’s requirement is based on a number of respected statistical analyses of General Aviation safety, and has been upheld consistently by our board as the membership requirement for volunteer pilots. A majority of our volunteers substantially exceed this minimum requirement. 

There are important steps that must be taken before you can fly a rented or flying club owned aircraft for LightHawk, and these steps can be challenging to complete without adequate lead-time. In advance of flying a rented or flying club owned aircraft, you will need to provide LightHawk with proof of insurance that demonstrates that you, as the user, and any passengers aboard, are covered to the same liability limits required to be carried on aircraft owned by LightHawk volunteer pilots (USD $1 million per incident, $100,000 minimum per person). In addition, LightHawk must be named as an “additional insured,” just as is required for pilots who fly their own aircraft. Pilots who rent usually handle this by acquiring a renter’s or non-owned aircraft liability policy. LightHawk must be added to their renter’s/non-owned policy as an additional insured. 

(1) You must have $1 million in liability coverage per occurrence, with a minimum of $100,000 per person. (2) LightHawk must be listed as an “additional insured” on your policy. (3) We request a 10-day notice of cancellation clause on the policy that requires your insurance underwriter to notify LightHawk if the policy lapses for any reason. LightHawk represents to its partners and passengers that a LightHawk volunteer pilot has at least 1,000 hours of PIC flight experience and has insurance to cover passengers in the event of an accident. 

LightHawk requires that you add us to your policy as an “additional insured” primarily so that our legal defense costs are covered if we are sued because you had an accident. Part 135 operators who do any government flying will be familiar with this and may already have multiple additional insured’s on their policy. It is increasingly becoming a standard for all pilots to have to add additional insured’s such as airports and hangar owners. All legal expenses (your own and those of any additional insured parties) for litigation related to an accident are covered in addition to the liability limits in your policy. There is generally no limit on the amount the insurance company can spend defending itself against the claim, and this expense doesn’t reduce your liability coverage. The insurance company decides whether to defend or settle based on these costs. The cost of the claim settlement itself is what is charged against your liability limits. The only time adding an additional insured to your policy might affect your financial exposure is if the additional insured were deemed to be negligent in an accident. As the PIC, however, you are 100% responsible for the flight, and the circumstances under which LightHawk could be assigned any portion of the negligence associated with an accident in your aircraft are difficult to imagine. This is one of the reasons LightHawk rigorously avoids placing itself in any position where it could be seen as the “controller” or “operator” of the flights — instead, LightHawk constantly reinforces your role as the PIC and your responsibility for all aspects of flights, preserving the integrity of your insurance. There is usually no increase in premiums associated with adding LightHawk as an additional insured, but it varies by broker and underwriter and can also depend on what you think LightHawk flights are all about and how you communicate about LightHawk with your insurance broker. Most LightHawk flights should correspond to what is commonly called a “scenic flight,” a fair-weather daytime flight, usually at or above 1,000’ AGL. Terminology such as “air survey” or “resource recon” can have connotations or commercial definitions that imply a much more aggressive type of low-level flying than would be characteristic of LightHawk flights and can influence what your insurance company understands LightHawk’s flight profiles to be.

LightHawk currently excludes balloons and gliders from our operations due to the liability concerns they raise in the volunteer environment. In addition, aircraft such as gliders and balloons are, by their flight characteristics, usually not suitable for most flight requests we receive. Experimental aircraft are currently not allowed for LightHawk flights which require passengers. Flights without passengers make up less than 1% of our total flights, so while not prohibited, there are few opportunities for pilots who only have access to experimental aircraft.  

Usually, all expenses associated with flying a LightHawk mission in the volunteer pilot’s own aircraft are borne by the pilot as part of the volunteer donation. There are some exceptions, as indicated below for various classes of expenses. Indirect flight expenses are reimbursed in specific pre-approved circumstances while direct expenses are not eligible. Indirect flight expenses include ground transportation, food, lodging, and similar expenses that may be associated with completing a LightHawk flight mission, but are not directly connected with operating an aircraft. In some cases (usually in the case of multi-day tours outside your home area) LightHawk may elect to cover some of those costs. This is very uncommon. Any such reimbursements must be pre-authorized by the LightHawk program manager coordinating the mission. In most cases when a cost reimbursement is approved for multi-day tours it will be in the form of a per diem, based on the number of meals and nights of lodging. Excluded expenses include depreciation, depletion of maintenance reserves, insurance costs, hangar costs, or other costs of ownership pro-rated over the life of the aircraft or a year. These expenses cannot be reimbursed. If you have received approval for reimbursement or per diem, you will need to submit your receipts and/or details of your travel (number of meals, number of nights lodging) to the program manager. LightHawk will issue you a check for those pre-approved expenses. Please ask the program manager coordinating your flight for more detailed information and appropriate forms. The Air Care Alliance has released a letter in March of 2017 discussing the thin legal line concerning the reimbursement of fuel in Volunteer Pilot Organizations like LightHawk. The Letter is titled: “Volunteer Pilot Flight or illegal Part 135: Where is the line?” and can be found HERE. Bottom line: any reimbursement for the costs of aircraft operating expenses is illegal under Part 91 operation. One tactful way to respond to a partner who insists on reimbursing expenses is to point out that by accepting reimbursement, the Volunteer Pilot would be in violation of FARs as well as their own insurance policy, however a donation to LightHawk would be most welcome.

All direct flight expenses such as fuel and landing fees can often be deducted unless you are receiving reimbursement for them. Indirect flight expenses and excluded flight expenses usually cannot be deducted (see previous question for definitions of direct, indirect, and excluded flight expenses). Be sure to check with your accountant or tax advisor for the most current information on tax deductions for your specific situation, as LightHawk cannot offer definitive tax advice. To receive documentation of your in-kind donation of direct expenses for tax purposes, please note the following:

• Each pilot automatically receives, in February, a letter from LightHawk documenting total hours flown on LightHawk missions in the preceding year. These letters are based on the Pilot Trip Reports filed at the completion of each LightHawk flight.

LightHawk’s administrative headquarters address is Colorado though our staff are fully remote and spread across the United States. The organization’s regions of operation are: Southern US & Mexico: Near border with Mexico, Baja California, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona Rocky Mountain Region: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming; limited operations in Alberta, Canada and Midwestern/Great Plains states west of the Mississippi River Pacific Region: California, Washington, Oregon and limited operations in Alaska and British Columbia, Canada Atlantic Region: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas; limited operations in North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Ontario and Quebec

LightHawk occasionally seeks volunteer pilots who are willing to fly outside their home region and have sufficient experience and appropriate equipment for conditions that may involve mountain, remote area or over-water flying. Some considerations associated with flying in different regions are outlined below. If you are interested in flying in another region and feel you have the appropriate experience and skills, please contact the program manager for that region to begin a discussion. Mountain flying conditions Pilots flying missions in mountainous areas of the Rockies and Pacific regions should have substantial experience with these and other related topics:

• Weather considerations unique to mountainous areas
• Density altitude and its effects on allowable takeoff weight and rate of climb
• Mountain wave activity and turbulence
• Higher performance aircraft (235 horsepower or higher or turbocharged.

Other special flying conditions Pilots may encounter less-familiar flying conditions and may need to cope with new distractions in geographies or flight profiles that are new to them. Examples include large congested urban areas under constant ATC control, remote areas, or during lower altitude flying and positioning the aircraft for photo documentation. Desirable assets might include:

• Excellent radio skills and ability to navigate by dead-reckoning and pilotage
• Experience at short/soft field techniques and slower than cruise flight
• Survival equipment and supplies
• Ability to fly with an open a window or door off
• Experience with flying passengers that are not friends or family and require a bit more communications effort to collaborate with.

LightHawk seeks volunteer pilots to fly their own aircraft in border regions of Mexico and/or Baja California who have a minimum of two and usually three or more of the following characteristics:

• Have substantial experience flying in Mexico and ADIZ/border regions
• Speak Spanish
• Have substantial experience in the aircraft to be used (well above the 25 hour insurance minimum) and are based with your aircraft in Mexico or able to fly own aircraft down.
• Have a flexible schedule and are able to go on tours for several days at a time with the ability to handle unexpected schedule changes while on the project.
• Possess adequate insurance coverage for the country of Mexico.

If you feel you meet the requirements, please begin a discussion with a Program Manager well in advance of when you might be interested in going.