In a recently-held ceremony, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) honored Alaska Air Group and three families whose financial gifts allowed the organization to buy airplanes that will be used in Mozambique and Central Asia. [Read more…]
KODIAK: The ultimate backcountry machine
By CHRIS BURGESS
Rain battered the windshield of the KODIAK as it landed in the Indonesian city of Sentani. Medical personnel rushed the passenger — a 6-year old boy named Mika — into a waiting ambulance, which sped off to the local hospital.
Earlier that day, Mika had been climbing a tree in his village of Mokndoma, a small hamlet deep in the jungle highlands of Papua, Indonesia. His foot slipped and he fell, impaling himself on a branch. After local missionaries were unable to assist Mika, they radioed Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in hopes that the boy could be taken to the hospital in Sentani.
A short while later, a MAF KODIAK landed in Mokndoma on the unimproved airstrip, covering in a mere 15 minutes what would have been a days-long journey by foot through rugged mountains. After Mika was aboard, the powerful airplane leapt from the airstrip and quickly travelled the distance back to Sentani. [Read more…]
Mission Aviation Fellowship reaching isolated areas hit by Nepal earthquake
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has begun providing helicopter transportation to remote areas of Nepal hard-hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred on April 25.
MAF is also assisting authorities and relief agencies at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu with ramp management and planning, cargo handling, warehousing logistics and coordination. [Read more…]
Picture of the day: Fighting Ebola
Mission Aviation Fellowship pilot David Francis sent in this photo, noting, “I thought this picture of a health ministry worker spraying bleach on the tires of our Cessna Caravan at Boende in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a flight to support the fight against Ebola might be appropriate. GA airplanes aren’t just for recreation, they do a lot of vital life-saving work that other vehicles and forms of transport just can’t do.” [Read more…]
Fighting Ebola with airplanes
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is supporting efforts to combat a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). [Read more…]
Water and air: MAF floatplanes serve remote communities
By JENNIFER PERRY WOLF
“Up to this point in my pilot experience, flying floats is the most challenging flying I have EVER done! It’s also the FUNNEST flying I have ever done.” So says Sean Cannon, a pilot for Mission Aviation Fellowship, who is based in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
MAF to dedicate newest plane
Mission Aviation Fellowship’s newest aircraft, a Quest KODIAK, will soon be on its way to Papua, Indonesia, where it will make life better for people living in remote corners of the jungle.
Do you have what it takes to be a missionary pilot?
By CHRIS BURGESS
The Cessna 206 soared past the ridge and immediately plunged into a narrow canyon. Rocks melded into a reddish blur as the pilot-in-training aimed for a thin grass strip tucked amid the canyon walls. He relayed a mock mayday message into the radio before zooming past the airstrip and out of the ravine.
This simulated engine failure is one of many exercises a prospective pilot performs in the Idaho backcountry before serving overseas with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). But there are other steps a pilot must complete before even arriving at the non-profit organization’s headquarters in Nampa, Idaho.
A pilot report from the Philippines
By DAVE FORNEY
On Nov. 22, Dave Forney, a Mission Aviation Fellowship pilot/mechanic serving in Kalimantan, Indonesia, took these photos and filed this report from the Philippines, where he is assisting in the relief efforts:
“Yesterday I went out on the helicopter, first flight of the day, to the small islands in the little Quiniluban Archipelago. I spent the day going from island to island, overseeing the safe off-loading of food and relief supplies from the helicopter into the hands of hungry villagers.
Bringing aid to the Philippines
CUYO, Philippines — Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and New Tribes Mission (NTM) are working hand-in-hand to deliver food, clean water, and other critical aid to remote island communities of the Philippines in desperate need following Typhoon Haiyan.
The missionary organizations are among many that are providing aid to the typhoon-ravaged area.