Friends of Flying Santa

12/22/2025

Please help support our 2025 Friends of Flying Santa flights. https://mailchi.mp/ad3de73ab609/please-help-support-our-2025-friends-of-flying-santa-flights

12/13/2024

12/05/2023

It is that time of year again. Flying Santa's team is busy with preparations for our four days of flights to New England's USCG stations and lighthouses.

These Coast Guard crews remain dedicated to keeping our coastal waters safe. Whether serving multi-day shifts at coastal boat stations or weeks to months long tours on the larger cutters, these service men and women are backed by their supportive families.
Maine pilot Capt. William Wincapaw began the flights back in 1929 as a gesture of gratitude and appreciation for the crews and families stationed at the lonely lighthouses and USCG stations around Maine’s Penobscot Bay.

Through the years, as the program expanded, responsibility for these flights was passed from the Wincapaw family to maritime author Edward Rowe Snow and his family.

Friends of Flying Santa are the current stewards of this Christmas tradition. Now entering its 94th year, we are honored to be able to continue the Flying Santa visits. Our four days of helicopter flights include visits with more than 1000 children from 100+ USCG units from Jonesport, ME to Jones Beach, NY. At every stop, our Santa is able to hand out gifts to each child, listen to their Christmas requests and pose for family photos. The children are always extremely excited about seeing Santa, his helicopter sleigh and receiving a gift. For these CG families, the visits continue to be a major morale event.

The costs for gifts have increased significantly over the years. This is our primary expense. We are an all-volunteer non-profit organization and financial contributions go directly towards our Santa visits. We kindly ask for your financial support to keep the excitement and wonder of Flying Santa going as we spread Christmas cheer and recognition to New England’s Coast Guard crews and families.

With sincere appreciation from all of us at Friends of Flying Santa, we wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas!

Brian Tague - President
Jeremy D’Entremont - Vice-President
Tom Guthlein - Treasurer
John Roberts - Clerk
Bud Breault - Trustee
Sally Snowman - Trustee
Dave Considine - Trustee

12/01/2023

Coming up on December 9 - the Flying Santa visits the Hull Lifesaving Museum!

By Carol Britton Meyer   The Hull Lifesaving Museum is celebrating the holiday season with a Winter Wonderland featuring a Festival of Trees, an Audubon Christmas Bird Count, a visit by Flying Santa, and an opportunity for children to drop off letters to the jolly fellow in a special mailb

12/24/2022

WCVB Channel 5 in Boston did a nice piece about Friends of Flying Santa this week:

Flying Santa is a tradition honoring Coast Guard families that dates back to the 1929.

12/16/2022

Rob Apse's documentary, The Last Lightkeepers, is now available to watch on YouTube. Rob did a wonderful job showcasing the keepers, lighthouses and organizations that are active around New England. He includes a chapter on some of the Flying Santa history and a cool montage of scenes from recent flights. We invite you to check it out and spread the word about Rob's work.

This "gorgeous" and "extremely powerful" lighthouse film odyssey across New England, explores the region's final act to save these American sentinels that on...

11/14/2022

Friends of Flying Santa Third Annual Virtual Gala on Saturday, November 19, 2022, at 7 p.m. EST

Join the U.S. Lighthouse Society and Friends of Flying Santa for a celebration of a wonderful 93-year-old tradition. Back in 1929, the pioneering Maine pilot Bill Wincapaw started flying his seaplane over the lighthouses and lifeboat stations of the Maine coast in the Christmas season, dropping gifts for the keepers and their families as a show of appreciation. The popular historian Edward Rowe Snow became involved in the 1930s, and he kept the flights going through 1980.

The program continues today through the work of the nonprofit Friends of Flying Santa. Helicopters visit Coast Guard stations throughout the Northeast, with more than 1000 children of Coast Guard families receiving gifts from Santa. It’s a perfect way to express appreciation to an under-appreciated branch of our military.

This program will include a presentation on Flying Santa history by USLHS historian Jeremy D’Entremont and Brian Tague, president of Friends of Flying Santa, and there will be other special guests. There is no fee to participate, but you must register in advance for this Zoom event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

When: Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance:

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Friends of Flying Santa event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

11/14/2022

Dear Friend of Flying Santa,

As we approach the 2022 holiday season, we are once again preparing for our Flying Santa flights to New England’s Coast Guard stations and lighthouses. In spite of the pandemic, with the help of many hands and generous contributions we were able to successfully and safely continue our Santa visits in 2020 and 2021. The Coast Guard crews and families greatly appreciated that our visits carried on during this difficult time.

These crews remain dedicated to keeping our coastal waters safe. Whether serving multi-day shifts at coastal boat stations or weeks to months long tours on the larger cutters, these service men and women are backed by their supportive families.

Maine pilot Capt. William Wincapaw began the flights back in 1929 as a gesture of gratitude and appreciation for the crews and families stationed at the lonely lighthouses and USCG stations around Maine’s Penobscot Bay. Through the years, as the program expanded, responsibility for these flights was passed from the Wincapaw family to maritime author Edward Rowe Snow and his family.

Now entering its 93rd year, we are honored to be able to continue the Flying Santa visits. Our four, full days of helicopter flights include visits with more than 1200 children from 100+ USCG units from Jonesport, ME to Jones Beach, NY. At every stop, our Santa is able to hand out gifts to each child, listen to their Christmas requests and pose for family photos. The children are always extremely excited about seeing Santa, the helicopter and receiving a gift. For these families, the visits continue to be a major morale event.

This year, we have seen a significant increase in the price of toys. Donations will be most welcome as we try to stock up Santa’s sleigh. We kindly ask for your support to keep the excitement and wonder of Flying Santa going as we spread Christmas cheer and recognition to New England’s Coast Guard crews and families. As an all-volunteer non-profit organization, all contributions go directly towards our Santa visits.

With sincere appreciation from all of us at Friends of Flying Santa,

Brian Tague - President
Jeremy D’Entremont - Vice-President
Tom Guthlein - Treasurer
John Roberts - Clerk
Bud Breault - Trustee
Sally Snowman - Trustee
Dave Considine – Trustee

12/25/2021

Merry Christmas from all of us at Friends of Flying Santa! We appreciate all the support for our 2021 Flying Santa mission to the USCG families and are thankful for all the donations sent in to fund this year's flights. We are also extremely grateful for all the pilots and helicopter owners (Wes Verkaart and Roger Brul of Heliops, Stuart Auerbach, Scott Hannula of JBI Helicopters, Monica Snow and Ian Reynolds of Tuckamore Aviation) who donated their services. We hope everyone has a safe and healthy holiday season. Please enjoy some photo highlights from this year’s flights:

12/25/2021

A belated fond remembrance to longtime friend of the Flying Santa program, Jim Scalo of the Navy League, who passed away earlier this year. Jim was a presence at our Connecticut stops for two decades and would bring a specialized Flying Santa cake and gifts for Santa and his crew each year. We miss Jim and will always appreciate him and his family for their heartfelt support of the Flying Santa tradition. Merry Christmas from all of us at Friends of Flying Santa!

12/15/2021

Founder William Wincapaw departed from Rockland on the first flight to deliver gifts to coastal families and Coast Guard members in 1929.

12/06/2021

Flying Santa visits USCG families in New Haven, CT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – Coast Guard families were delighted to receive a special guest appearance by Flying Santa this weekend at Stratford Point Lighthouse. Flying Santa circled the sky in…