How Long Has Angel Flight Central Been Flying Passengers?

Angel Flight Central has been flying passengers since 1995, helping patients and families reach medical care through the generosity of volunteer pilots.

What started as a simple idea from Kansas City pilot Jim Stevens has grown into more than 31 years of free air transportation for people who need help getting to care.

Jim had retired early for health reasons when his wife, a United Methodist bishop, asked him what he planned to do next. As a pilot, Jim started thinking about how he could use something he already knew and loved: flying. He wanted to help people who needed a way to reach medical care.

That idea became Wings Over Mid-America, which would later become Angel Flight Central.

From the beginning, Jim wanted to build something that was practical, trusted, and rooted in service. With support from the community, a $3,000 seed grant, and a small group of dedicated volunteers, the organization began taking shape.

The goal for that first year was to fly 12 flights. They reached that goal in the first month. Jim knew Angel Flight Central would only grow if others felt personally connected to the work. That is where the famous “Jim Stevens Lunches” came in.

Over coffee or a meal, Jim would invite potential volunteers, board members, pilots, and supporters to learn about the organization and consider how they could help. It became a bit of an inside joke that nearly everyone involved had been recruited through a Jim Stevens Lunch.

But those lunches were more than a funny tradition. They were how Jim built trust. He sat down with people, shared the need, listened, and invited them to be part of something meaningful.

As a cancer survivor himself, he often said, “People in need are just like us, they’ve been thrown a curve in life and need a little help.” Jim understood that people needing help with medical travel were not looking for a handout. They were families, neighbors, and hardworking people who had simply been thrown a curve in life and needed a little help getting where they needed to go.

That belief still shapes Angel Flight Central today.

More than three decades later, AFC continues to carry forward the spirit Jim started with: people helping people reach care. Every flight begins with someone willing to say yes, from the passenger making the request to the volunteer pilot offering their time, aircraft, and fuel.

Angel Flight Central has grown a lot since those first flights in 1995, but the heart behind the work has stayed the same.

It started with one pilot and a simple question: how can we help?

And more than 31 years later, that question still guides us!