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Founded in 1981 by Wanda Whitsitt of Champaign, IL, LifeLine Pilots, 501 (c)(3), began as a small group of pilots in Illinois who envisioned using their special skill of flying to help people with emergencies to reach medical centers. Originally, there were 40 pilots coordinated by a group of volunteers. A total of 40 missions were flown the first three years. After five years, the group separated from the state agency in order to expand the service area outside of Illinois. Criteria was expanded to include financial need and logistical concerns as well as a time element. An answering service was engaged to take calls and refer them to the volunteer mission coordinators who were board members. Our 100th mission was flown in 1987.

After thoughtful and intensive consideration, the move was made to open the office at the Peoria, IL airport and broaden the scope of our activities in order to fulfill our stated mission. A steady growth in mission activity has underlined the importance of this decision. To date, over 1,000,000 passenger miles have been flown with a volunteer core of over 500 pilots. The service area grew to include the Midwest States. LifeLine Pilots has a cooperative relationship with several other volunteer pilot organizations that allows them to facilitate missions beyond those states.

The need of general aviation services to those with transportation barriers continues to grow. LifeLine Pilots seeks to fulfill this need by recruiting pilots willing to serve of themselves and their gifts.