Volunteer pilot groups delivering service through aviation, and the origins of ANR headsets.

Hillel Glazer represented Airplane Geeks at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 and recorded conversations with a number of people. In this episode, we have two of his interviews.

Mark Hanson is the President of the Air Care Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public service organization that represents a nationwide network of volunteer pilot groups that deliver service through aviation.

Mark became a pilot in 2009 and is a nationally recognized advocate for general aviation’s role in all types of public benefit flying. He has served on the Air Care Alliance Board of Directors since 2020, most recently as President. He is a seasoned FAA Safety Team Lead Safety Representative who runs a national monthly FAA Safety webinar series, an accomplished aviator, and a longtime advocate for charitable aviation. He has flown more than 500 volunteer missions supporting children, veterans, patients, and wildlife for organizations such as Angel Flight, Veterans Airlift Command,  Sky Hope, Turtles Fly Too, STEM Flights, and others.

Dan Gauger, a Distinguished Engineer (retired) at Bose Corporation, worked on the headsets for the Burt Rutan-designed high-altitude composite ultralightweight aircraft Voyager. In 1986, Bose engineers approached the Voyager team with two ANR headset prototypes just before their record-breaking flight around the world. The pilots were risking the loss of 20% of their hearing. They agreed to try the prototypes. Three years later, the first ANR aviation headset was available to all pilots.

Max Flight and Hillel Glazer.