William Peppler flies north along Florida’s coastline above Delray Beach in a 1967 Piper Navajo.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Tao Woolfe
William Peppler cannot move or speak. The 10-year-old spends most days surveying the world from his small, black wheelchair. But on this sunny Saturday afternoon, William’s wheelchair is back at the hangar. His view is limitless.
The boy is in the noisy cabin of a 1967 Piper Navajo, flying north along Florida’s coastline, a ragged ribbon stretching below from Delray Beach to forever. William is weightless today, gazing through aviator shades at white sand beaches, cloud puffs, and an endless turquoise sea.
“This program opens a huge window in his life,” says Galina Stepina, William’s great aunt and constant companion. “It is his favorite day of the year.”
Galina is speaking of Vital Flight, a volunteer pilot organization that provides free flights to people with special medical needs. Once a year Vital Flight hosts “A Special Day for Special Kids” — a big party at the Boca Raton Airport for disabled children and their families.
Throughout the day pilot volunteers take kids on 20-minute flights up the Palm Beach County coast while back at the hangar, parents and siblings eat free food, get tattooed, play in the bounce house, and interact with pirates, miniature ponies and other kids.
“We help anybody with a special need for free — kids with a terminal illness who need to be transported, foster kids, wounded veterans — anybody facing special life challenges and who need a break on transportation costs,” says Michael Covello, a pilot and member of the group.
On April 11, more than 20 Vital Flight pilots gave some 200 kids and family members rides from Boca Raton to Delray Beach in small planes, mostly Cessnas and Piper Navajos. They flew at about 1,500-2,200 feet, traveling about 155 mph.
William Peppler’s pilot, Remy Dulay, has been flying for 14 years. This is the third year he’s flown children and families for Vital Flights.
Dulay enjoys showing the kids South Florida from a pilot’s point of view, but the kids, in turn, also deepen Dulay’s perspective.
“We think we have problems, but when you see these kids and their families, you realize how much you take for granted,” he says.
Three volunteers helped lift William from his wheelchair and secure him in the plane.
The Boca Raton resident has had cerebral palsy since birth. He cannot walk or sit up straight. A travel pillow keeps his head from drooping. His eyes, however, take in everything, his aunt says.
“I believe William is an angel who was put on Earth to make us better people,” says Stepina, who left her home in Moscow to care for William. “Today, even with his broken wings, he is flying.”
About Vital Flight
For more than 25 years, pilot organizations throughout the United States have provided humanitarian air transportation. Most of these organizations, including Vital Flight, belong to the national Air Care Alliance, an umbrella organization dedicated to providing flights for those with special needs.
On the local level, Vital Flight coordinates air transportation for many groups, including disabled children, wounded military veterans, cancer patients, and emergency responders to natural disasters.
For every dollar donated, Vital Flight provides $4 in services to those in need.
To make a donation, see vitalflight.org.
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