We are pleased to have solid support for Los Médicos Voladores from local media, including the following articles:

The Flying Doctors: Los Medicos Voladores (Sierra Sun)

Fernando squeezes his deep-set brown eyes tightly shut as the dentist twists and turns the pliers, working carefully but forcefully inside his mouth.  The molar finally pops out and Fernando opens his eyes beaming at the stubborn tooth that had been causing him so much pain and discomfort.  Read more...

A journey to Mexico begins with a bumpy flight (Sierra Sun)

The engine begins to rumble loudly enough to drown out the voices of the pilots, and the plane’s vibrations shake me in my tightly belted seat.  We accelerate down the snowy white runway picking up enough speed to lift off from Truckee.  “It may dance around on the runway a bit, not to worry,” Bob Horvath, a Truckee resident and experienced pilot, tells his nervous passenger — me.  Read more...

Thanks to the Flying Docs (Sierra Sun)

The quickest way to a pilot’s heart may be through his or her stomach.  Local Latina moms cooked dinner for the Flying Doctors, or Los Medicos Voladores, on Wednesday as a way to give back for the work they do in Mexico and Central America.  Before the dinner, the Flying Doctors took one lucky family up in a plane for a scenic flight around the Truckee area.  Read more...

Adventurous locals take medical care to Mexico (Bonanza)

Incline Village businessman Robert Lober believes almost anyone would benefit from volunteering for the High Sierra chapter of Flying Doctors, or Los Medicos Voladores. "It's a great lesson," he said. Lober said his eyes have been opened by the experience. He said the trips to Mexico have broadened his perspective about the definition of a good lifestyle. Typically, a group will leave early on a Thursday morning and travel for six or seven hours, stopping once en route. They set up or visit clinics Thursday night, some of which are in homes or local buildings. Electrical equipment is powered by a portable generator, and they take a lot of duct tape with them.  Read more...

Locals Part of Flying Doctors Mission (Sierra Sun)

The Piper Twin Comanche was approaching its maximum weight capacity as three passengers and pilot Rob Lober taxied onto the runway at Truckee Tahoe Airport.  Cleared for takeoff, the plane gained proper ground speed, then effortlessly lifted itself skyward.  Another Flying Doctors mission was aloft, and citizens of the remote Baja fishing village of Bahia Asunción would soon become beneficiaries of the expedition.  Truckee resident Dr. Belinda Murphy and Physician's Assistant Debbra Montoya, who lives in South Lake Tahoe, were flying their first mission for the organization.  Lober, who is not only the pilot but also the plane's owner, is an Incline Village real estate agent and building contractor. He flew his first volunteer mission in 1999; this would be his 18th.  Read more...

When an airplane buzzes over Bahia Asuncion and lands on the dirt strip five miles out of town, the locals know to send out a vehicle for a pickup.  Bahia Asuncion, population 2,500, is located midway down Baja California's Pacific side.  It is connected to the world in some ways and not so much in others.  Lobster, abalone, satellite dishes, radio and the top ranked school system in Mexico are a foundation of pride and longevity in Bahia Asuncion.  The absence of stop signs symbolizes a way of life in a town where rapid progress does not exist.  The consistency of the low-latitude sunrise along with the turkey vultures perching on the radio towers at dusk, the Sunday Masses, the smell of chicken mole cooking at Tres Hermanos and the live Mexican music sounding through the town on a Saturday night enable a visitor to experience the vibes of Bahia Asuncion in a short period of time.  Read more...

When three Truckee women left for a rural Mexican village almost two and a half months ago as part of "Los Medicos Voladores" (The Flying Doctors), none of them knew quite what to expect.  What they found was a desperate population in need of medical and dental care, and countless opportunities to help make a difference.  For three days, local dentist Leslie Joseph, dental assistant Gail Blair and Truckee Elementary teacher Esther Bousquet, who served as the group's translator, volunteered their time and dental services to the people of Zorillo - a small town in Baja, Mexico.  Read more...

Locals helping give medical aid to Mexico (Sierra Sun)

For many of us gringos, Baja, Mexico is a vacation destination for fishing in the Sea of Cortez, warm, clear water, surf and sunsets. Baja was not really much more than that for Truckee's Don Schaller until he joined Bob Horvath on a Flying Doctors trip to a small town called St. Ignacio, located midway down the the Baja Peninsula, in October 2000. On that four-day trip, Schaller didn't bring along his bathing suit or snorkeling gear. Flying Doctors (or Los Medicos Voladores), based out of the Bay Area, is a medical group that helps patients in poor Mexican villages. The nonprofit volunteer group of approximately 300 doctors, nurses, other health care workers, interpreters and pilots, all who live in Northern California, donate their weekends to help Mexicans who are without access to medical care.  Read more...