Dr. John Quinn of Charleston, S.C., has donated his Beechcraft Baron to Bahamas Habitat for its mission work.
Quinn, a pediatrician, have made numerous trips to the Bahamas over the years. When he became aware of the needs in the Bahamas, he decided that his Baron would be best used to support the work of the U.S.-based Christian nonprofit organization that supports housing and disaster relief work in the Bahamas.
“I had considered donating my aircraft to a good cause and realized that the best fit for my Baron would be in a region of the world where a twin would be valued and where access to avgas would not be an issue,”he said. “Bahamas Habitat was the ideal choice where it will bring significant value to the ministry work there.”
Quinn comes from a family of long-time flyers. His grandfather began teaching him to fly when he was only 10 years old in Shreveport, La., in a T34 military training aircraft. He reports that his mother and grandmother are both pilots too. His most recent aircraft before the Baron was a J3 Cub on floats that he put over 500 hours on. He said he might go back to a similar grassroots aircraft for awhile and looks forward to being a volunteer pilot for Bahamas Habitat so he can participate in missions in his beloved Baron.
The aircraft is a six-place twin engine 1969 Beechcraft B55 Baron Colemill 600 conversion with upgraded engine horsepower and Garmin 430 GPS Nav/Comm, 330 transponder with traffic, Garmin GDL69 XM weather and WX500 Stormscope. Performance is 200 knots, which will make transport missions to and among the islands very efficient.
”The work of our mission will be dramatically benefited by this generous donation,” said John Armstrong, president of Bahamas Habitat. “Dr. Quinn’s aircraft is the ideal tool for the needs of Bahamas Habitat and it will help to achieve and elevate the vision we have for the mission. We are extremely grateful to Dr. Quinn and look forward to his continued involvement in the work of the ministry and what God has in store.”
Steve Merritt, the treasurer and chief pilot for Bahamas Habitat stated, “We often say the inaccessibility of some of the Bahamian Islands is their blessing and their curse. It can take all day to go 50 miles between islands via commercial plane or boat. This can be a real challenge in managing the mission’s multiple camps. We needed an aircraft that could make the trip quickly back and forth to the islands and then provide the lift and support needed between our camps there. The Baron is the perfect tool for the mission. We are extremely grateful to have this blessing and will put the plane in service immediately and look forward to Dr. Quinn’s on-going involvement in the mission’s work.”
The Baron will make its maiden flight for the organization for the upcoming Fly-In and Help Out Event being held Oct. 29, where aviators will fly from the US to the mission’s base camp on Eleuthera in the Bahamas.
For more information: BahamasHabitat.org
