Chuck Zunk’s attraction to aviation goes back as far he can remember, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that his dream of being a pilot was actually fulfilled. He received his pilot’s license in 1998 and bought his first plane in 1999.

Once he was finally able to devote himself to his hobby, he said, it became a form of recreational therapy.

“Flying helps me to relax; it’s a way to temporarily forget about everything else,” he said.

This flying enthusiast now has over 1,700 hours of flight experience and owns his own plane. His machine of choice? A Cirrus; a plane best known for its being equipped with the Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System (CAPS), a parachute capable of lowering the aircraft and its occupants to the ground in the event of an emergency. The four-seat, single-engine model, constructed primarily from composite materials, flies at about 200 mph, with a range of about 900 miles on full fuel tanks, and it is capable of navigating in a broad range of weather conditions up to a ceiling of about 17,000 feet.

This pilot's love of flying may have propelled him to purchase a plane, but it was his compassion for others which motivated him to use it for the benefit of the needy. He has flown over 80 missions in the last five years as a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight, an organization that uses volunteer pilots to fly medical transportation missions for patients who would not otherwise be able to travel to medical facilities outside their area for medical evaluation, diagnosis or treatment. Pilots not only volunteer their time and their planes, they foot the bill for the cost of the fuel.

But that’s all right with Zunk, he said, because the rewards far outweigh the personal expense.

“Meeting courageous people as they confront serious problems inspires me to be a better person,” said Zunk.

One of his most memorable flights, he said, began when he received a telephone call at 1 a.m., asking him if he could transport a liver transplant recipient. The recipient, he was told, had to be in Gainesville before the 6-hour critical time limit on the donor organ expired. 

Zunk raced to the airport to meet the family; arriving at the hospital just two hours later.

He was relieved, he said, that the patient made it to the hospital in time. But the significance of the situation did not impact him until much later — when he learned that the the transplant was a success and the patient had made a full recovery.

Zunk recently accepted a position as chairman of the Fairhope Airport Authority (his predecessor as chairman, Colton Coile, was also a volunteer for Angel Flight). He said he sees the potential for the airport to be developed as a core of economic activity that will ultimately benefit the city of Fairhope.  He plans to continue making improvements to the facilities, and to market them in such a way as to foster economic development in the Eastern Shore area. 

Active and well-maintained airports often benefit the surrounding communities, said Zunk, because a number of businesses will use them to move critical supplies and materials, and to transport key personnel. 

“These are businesses that create jobs, pay taxes and provide vital services to the community. Another benefit of an airport is its use in medical and emergency situations.  Medical transport, emergency supplies and personnel, transplant organs and hurricane relief are just a few examples of how the airport is used in supporting the community,” he said. He pointed out that the Fairhope airport is home to a Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department station and to a flying unit of the State Highway Patrol — a peace-of-mind bonus for pilots using the airport.

Zunk, a retired executive, and his wife of 34 years, Sally, moved to Fairhope in 2003, and he has been with the Airport Authority since 2004. Their two grown children live in Arizona.