"Our goal is to get kids in wheelchairs up in the air. There are a lot of kids in wheelchairs around New Zealand. What we are doing is we are exploring the possibility of buying a utility aircraft capable of us lifting the child out of the wheelchair and putting them on the back seat of the aircraft through big utility doors. We haven't got that with any of the aircraft we fly at the moment.
"Pacific Aerospace did a trial for us through Damian Camp the CEO. They gave us access to one of their 750 XLs which they build in Hamilton, and they took three kids in wheelchairs for flights.
"The cost to Child Flight would be about $150,000 but we are pretty determined and we are working with two large sponsors at the moment to see if that can be achieved.
"We are the only charity in the world that would dedicate flights to children in wheelchairs. No other charity are capable of providing those flights. We are hoping our concept will be taken up by overseas organisations."
Chris said Child Flight has been successful in Hamilton and has secured funding from a number of organisations such as Harcourts, Z Energy, and Go Bus. ANZ is sponsoring one free flight for every special needs school in New Zealand. Chris said his challenge now is to get the plane to all parts of New Zealand including Tauranga, Whanganui, Hastings, Napier.
"We are currently spreading ourselves right around the nation. In September we will go to Nelson then fly to Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill then we will do all the major special schools in the South Island. What we do when we go into these areas is we leave a legacy.
"We get other local pilots to become involved with Child Flight and volunteer both the aircraft and their time as pilots to continue to fly for their local region.
"We go in and take the flagship which has all the decals on it and we leave the legacy behind ... private flights continuing for the schools. We're hoping that the pilots will continue to stay in touch with the local schools. We will continue to raise funding for each region we have gone into."
Chris plans is to set up a 'club' for the kids who are taken up by Child Flight.
"Long term we would like to set up a centre for the kids we touch so it becomes like a club. That is provided for them in the weekends, so they can get together and share their experiences with other kids from completely different set of circumstances. It could be a kid with cancer is sharing his or her experience with a kid in a wheelchair."
He said there is no doubt many of the children are touched by the experience.
"We will take on anyone who we regard has a special set of circumstances.
"I took a child up last year whose mother had died and he stopped talking.
"We didn't get him to talk but we certainly got him to smile."
