A Pilots N Paws Journey With Garmin Pilot

As pilots we love to fly our airplanes for a variety of different causes. Some of us fly for work, and others purely hobby. Some even dedicate their time and aircraft to charities, helping people and animals in need. Kansas City area dog lover and pilot, Ron Sipple, recently used his vintage 1950 Cessna 170A and Garmin Pilot on a rescue mission for Pilots N Paws. 

Pilots N Paws is an organization that connects animal rescue and foster organizations with pilots in an effort to save dogs by transporting them all over the nation.  For Ron, a parent to four dogs (including one foster), it was a no-brainer.

“With Pilots N Paws it was simple. All I had to do was answer a few questions about when and where I was able to fly, then rescue groups use the organization’s forum to find pilots and post transportation requests,” Sipple said.

Sipple received his first request for a trip in late June 2015. Despite owning his 170 for only a month, he figured this was the perfect chance to stretch its cross-country legs. The panel configuration in his 170 was not much different than the way it rolled out of the factory back in 1950. Steam gauges, older Nav/Comm equipment, and not much other than his whiskey compass in the way of navigation. Fortunately he had his trusty Nexus 7 tablet equipped with Garmin Pilot – the perfect tool for the job.

This particular transport mission began June 28^th at 0900 in Wharten, TX.

“There were a total of 15 dogs being transported from Texas to Iowa, three adult dogs and 12 puppies. These dogs are usually in an extremely bad situation to warrant these transports to Iowa from Texas. Without any water/food or medical care, the mom only had a few more days to live. The pups surprisingly were in pretty good shape,” Sipple said.

The first leg of this trip transported all 15 dogs in one aircraft from Wharten, TX to Mesquite, TX. Upon arrival in Mesquite, pilot number two was standing by to take the precious cargo on to their next stop in Joplin, MO. At stop number three, Sipple and another pilot divided the passengers between their aircraft.

“Fortunately for me, there was another Pilots N Paws pilot transporting dogs from Lee's Summit, MO to Joplin in an RV-6. He had room for two of the adult dogs heading north and agreed to take them back to Lee's Summit, so we didn’t have to squeeze two more dogs in the plane with the mom and twelve pups,” explained Sipple.

Once the crew was loaded, it was time to head north to Lee's Summit, MO.

“The trip to KLXT (Lee's Summit, MO) started great with a quartering tailwing and 115 knots ground speed. About 45 miles from KLXT a front was blowing through and a headwind slowed the ground speed to 90 knots,” Sipple said.

Having Garmin Pilot handy allowed Sipple a simple way to “modernize” the navigational capabilities of his classic Cessna 170.

“The Garmin Pilot app on my Nexus 7 worked great. The airport info was really handy and the extended centerline and safe taxi are extremely helpful,” Sipple added. 

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