Fort Myers pilots relentlessly fly donations to Hurricane Dorian victims

Almost three months after Hurricane Dorian ravaged the Bahamas, two Southwest Florida pilots are still taking on the daunting task of helping people in need.

Larry Warden and Ted Ehrlich are part of the Sundowners Flying Club. They’ve made it their mission to help the victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas.

“They’ve lost everything,” Warden said. “Whatever they need, we’ll fly over.”

The Sundowners Flying Club uses planes for their relief missions trips to the Bahamas. They are bringing everything from food to clothing to even school supplies. The club is made up of 77 pilots that used to do coastal patrols. But ever since Dorian, their main focus is the Bahamas.

“From the aerial view,” Warden said, “all we see is blue tarp from the buildings that actually stayed up.”

These images are also hard for Ehrlich to see.

“It’s not just flying over because you’re above it all. You can’t really see the detail,” he said. “It’s on the ground visiting the schools, seeing the people in the destroyed villages and seeing how hard they’re trying with what little they have.”

What they need right now are donations. Ehrlich said they have plenty of donated clothing. What there is substantial demand for is water, snacks and any school supplies for children, specifically printers for schools.

“We’re going to keep going until we’re not needed anymore,” Warden said.

“It’s really really touching and just makes us want to do more,” Ehrlich said.

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You can donate items to the Sundowners Flying Club. It is 605 Danley Dr. in Fort Myers.