Mike: Old acquaintances greeted one another, catching up on the latest flying and airplane building adventures as airplanes filled the ramp and cars packed the parking lot at West Houston Airport where a large audience gathered to hear first-hand from one of the heroes of an incredible event that captured the world’s attention for several days in April, 1970.
Gene Kranz was the NASA Flight Director of Apollo 13, and our Guest of Honor and speaker at EAA Chapter 12’s 55th birthday celebration. The hamburger lunch, cooked and served by fellow chapter members, was generously provided by folks from the Austin Planetarium, who had on display a large portable planetarium – probably a good topic for another week in this space. Dessert, a couple of sheet cakes, was polished off in no time.
Gene opened with a pitch to see if anyone wanted a couple cans of Poly Brush and some aircraft wheel pants he’d been trying to find a home for and he felt that someone in the crowd just might need them. The Poly Brush, used in the coating process of fabric covered wings, wound up in the hands of Lance Borden and will be used as he recovers his 1929 Inland Sport biplane, a plane flown in races years ago by several pilots, including Marty Bowman when she won third place in the 1931women’s National Air Derby, the same cross-country race Linda races, now called Air Race Classic. Lance and Linda have an idea cooking that involves a future air race and that Inland Sport.
Gene’s book, “Failure is Not an Option,” was the subject of his talk: of getting the crew of the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft home alive. He had great praises for all those young 20- and 30-somethings he worked with at NASA to make all this happen, singling out several in the process to give the crowd a little background. At 38, Gene was the oldest person in the Flight Control room.
Linda: Gene is such a personable guy and his presentation, complete with historic slides, photos in a Power Point that were taken during the time of crisis, was smooth but not canned. I’m not sure how he did it, but he kept us all on the edges of our respective seats with suspense and emotion, even though we already know the story. Somehow, it’s just different hearing it firsthand. Gene spoke of leadership and teamwork, and never said, “I,” but focused on the team and other team members. He took us step by agonizing step through the intense days of the Apollo 13 mission, the problems, the solutions, the hopes and fears, and the total commitment of the entire team: that failure was not an option. I only noticed his cadence slowed once by extraneous distraction; being the father and grandfather of an all female crew, when the two-year old daughter of our friends, Bob Watkins and his wife, Aileen, a 747 pilot, strutted proudly back to her seat after a potty break, pigtails bobbing with every step, Gene was taken by the cuteness and stopped his speech for a grandfatherly chuckle and smile. In a break from history there was the Gene Kranz of today, with all that is behind him, a reminder that his story has purpose for future generations. A photo snapped afterward of Katalin on “Grandpa Gene’s” lap caught the essence of their instant bond.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com
September 7, 2010 Gene Kranz
August 31, 2010 Rosamond Dry Lake Bed
August 31, 2010
Mike: It was October 14, 1947 at a stark barren dry lake in the middle of the Mojave Desert. The sun’s brilliant light beat down as Chuck Yeager in his orange rocket-powered Bell X-1 streaked skyward leaving a long white contrail, its B-50 mothership and the P-80 Shooting Star chase plane following. The air ripped apart with a sudden boom as man broke the sound barrier for the first time. Toward the north end of Antelope Valley in the high desert 75 miles north of Los Angeles in this land of sagebrush, yucca plants and Joshua trees, where gusty wind kicks up dust like that seen in spaghetti westerns, Edwards Air Force Base sits in the middle of what regular folk might call nowhere. Most of the base is surrounded by dry lakebeds, Rogers Dry Lake to the east and south, Rosamond Dry Lake to the southwest. Here several times a day the aforementioned act of aviation acclaim is repeated, and when you hear that boom you say, “there’s someone out there in thin air going really fast.”
Linda: If it were May 18, 1953, you might be hearing former Women’s Air Service Pilot (WASP) and race pilot Jackie Cochran streak across the sky becoming the first woman to break the sound barrier in the Canadair F-86 Sabre jet she borrowed from the Royal Canadian Air Force, with good friend Chuck Yeager flying right beside her. Or for a more serene thought, surveying the surrounding landscape, you can imagine horseback riders on the trails leading to and from legendary aviatrix Poncho Barnes’ Happy Bottom Riding Club.
Mike: From the cracked mud-and-borax lakebed I’ve witnessed rapidly descending aircraft round out, touch down, then seemingly bounce back into the air in practice landings for another legendary aircraft, the Space Shuttle, which made its first landings on these lakebeds.
As a student pilot these were my landmarks on solo cross-country flights, handy for cross-checking with the boundaries of the U.S. Air Force’s restricted flight areas. The runways painted on the lakebeds look like a photo negative with their black lines on white landing strips, some of the longest in the world: Rosamond, four miles; Rogers, over six miles long.
I’ve crossed this airspace hundreds of times, sharing the skies with most types of aircraft in the U.S. Military’s arsenal, always centered about those dry lakebeds visible for a hundred miles from any direction. I wish I could have landed on one.
Linda: Edwards AFB with its 13 runways is home to NASA's Dryden Research Center and the USAF’s Test Pilot School. Restricted flight areas stretch from Rosamond Lake, up into Nevada's Tonopah test range, including Yucca Flats, the area used for underground testing of nuclear bombs and home of Area 51. Edwards has seen lots of aviation history in the making, and on October 1 another first will take place there: a fly-in for general aviation aircraft, complete with pancake breakfast. Pilots may enter a drawing to land on the 21-square-mile Rosamond Dry Lake. On September 10th, 100 lucky names will be drawn. Entries can be made online at www.FlightTestNation.com, but pilots must meet strict criteria, be willing to land on dry, packed mud, and be prepared for high gusty winds. Perhaps Mike will be one of the lucky one hundred, and fulfill that longtime wish.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com
August 24, 2010 Young Eagles Flight to Brenham
Mike: The EAA’s (Experimental Aircraft Association) very successful Young Eagles program has opened the door for that first flight for over 1.5 million youngsters. We count it a privilege when our EAA chapter puts out a call for Young Eagles pilots because that means there’s another opportunity to introduce another young person to the wonderful world of flight. Our most recent trip to Brenham with several other chapter members and Young Eagles first took shape with a special family. The parents whose second son was diagnosed with a degenerative disease which will take his eyesight within a year are on a quest to provide him with as many experiences as they can while he still has sight. Once the request was circulated among the chapter members, everyone with an airplane and availability jumped at the chance. Grant, an air traffic controller who flies a Piper Cub, Jim, a flight instructor who has a Luscombe, our chapter president, Phil, flying a Cessna 172, and us, in a Piper Arrow, met with the young boy and his family at the West Houston Airport on a Saturday. The boy, his older brother, and a teen-aged girl would lift off West Houston’s runway into a light breeze on a hot day, banking northwest toward Brenham for a taste of the goodies found at the award winning Southern Flyer Diner.
Linda: Since the teen-ager would fly with us, we rented the Arrow for a little more room than our sporty Cheetah would afford three adult-sized people. With Mike riding in the back, it was chick pilots all the way. At 16 my co-pilot already knows she wants to fly. She’s been bitten hard by the aviation bug and is urging her dad to hurry up and finish his project. He’s building a Cozy, an airplane in the Experimental category. Seems his daughter just can’t get enough of flying and when we landed at Brenham she was eager to go back up right away.
The two boys were thrilled with the adventure, excitedly telling their mom all about flying as they joined Grant in a booth at the diner. The round trip gave the brothers a chance for each to ride once with Grant and once with Jim. Grant’s open-door Cub provides an awesome view with the added benefit of feeling the wind wisp past the little Cub.
Mike: Our EAA Chapter 12 is based at Ellington but our next big shindig is this Saturday, from 11-3 at the West Houston airport. Chapters from Waco, Dallas, and San Antonio will be joining us as we celebrate 55 years of Chapter 12. That makes us one of the longest-running chapters in the country and from what I understand the oldest in Texas. Chapter 12 boasts many astronauts as members, probably more than any other chapter since Houston and Ellington are home to NASA and the Johnson Space Center.
Our Guest of Honor on Saturday is none other than a most distinguished former EAA Chapter 12 member, Gene Kranz. Retired from NASA, Gene’s accomplishments include Assistant Flight Director during two Mercury missions, and three Gemini missions, Director of another Gemini flight and Apollo 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17, and eventually the Director of NASA. You likely know from his book, “Failure is Not an Option,” that Gene is one of the heroes who made the successful recovery of our Apollo 13 astronauts. Come join us for cake and ice cream.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com
August 17, 2010 The Maverick Sport, a flying car with purpose
August 17, 2010
Linda: The concept of the flying car has been a dream of entrepreneurs for ages. Several varieties have been created, some amusing, such as the Mizar Flying Pinto with Cessna Skymaster-like wings and tail (1970's), and others showing commercial potential, such as Terrafugia’s Transition.
Inventors have mostly focused on developing a multipurpose vehicle for more advanced societies. I'm a bit skeptical on their practicality, though. While in car-mode a parking lot dent might render the vehicle non-airworthy, its value declining instantly. And, in these grossly litigious times, who would insure it? They say necessity is the mother of invention, and evidently there are people who deem a roadable aircraft a necessity. Is it? Let's be realistic. Everything here is temporary. You, me, our cars, our airplanes. What if we went beyond temporary? Enter I-TEC Founder and CEO, Steve Saint, inventor and builder of the Maverick Sport. http://www.mavericklsa.com/. This is not your grandfather's roadable aircraft. This incredible vehicle was created to carry the message that has eternal consequences - the Gospel of Christ.
Mike: I-TEC (Indigenous Peoples Technology and Education Center) was established to help indigenous churches overcome technical and educational hurdles that stand in the way of their independence. Check out http://www.itecusa.org/.
Born to a missionary family serving in Ecuador, Steve earned a degree in Economics from Wheaton College in Illinois and became a successful businessman, enabling him to continue supporting missionaries and make occasional mission trips back to Ecuador’s indigenous people. But something always called him back to aviation, something, you might say, he inherited from his dad, who was also a pilot.
Linda: So this year Steve Saint brought his Maverick Sport from Florida to AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the event where major aviation announcements are made and new products introduced, and showed thousands a whole new take on the flying car.
The Maverick Sport drives like a dune buggy, has an airboat propeller on the back, and deploys a parachute-like wing supported by a mast. It flies like a plane, carries up to 550 pounds, and will be certified by the FAA in the experimental category.
Perhaps you’ve read the book or seen the movie, End of the Spear (http://www.endofthespear.com/). I-TEC, and the Maverick Sport, are some of the good God has brought out of evil.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com.
August 10, 2010 M & M Air Service, part 2
“When I was a kid, we were happy if all we had to flag was 1,000 acres in a day,” says David Mitchell, vice president and third generation at M & M Air Service. “We got up early, climbed across ditches and fences, flagging our way across muddy rice fields, working late into the evenings. With today’s technology, GPS and electronics, there are no flaggers. It’s safer.”
Better education improves safety, too. Ag pilots receive considerable training and continuing education; a minimum of 20 units in the areas of pesticides and chemical applications every three years. Annual safety meetings and daily briefings are additional requirements, and special courses offered at conventions earn them insurance discounts.
These days pilots load “shape files” of fields directly into the airplane’s onboard computer system. With the ability to exclude an area from spraying, the pilot creates a flight plan. They may fly a race track pattern or parallel rows as they did when flaggers were employed. A data logger tracks the plane’s actual flight, heading and altitude. That information once downloaded, becomes a permanent record of what was actually sprayed.
New technology, says M & M’s Mark Mitchell, brought major changes to crop dusting that many older pilots didn’t exactly embrace. Charles Trickey, according to Mark, flew almost exclusively in Liberty County for 43 years, “but when we started using GPS and data-loggers in 1993, that was it for him. After 30,000-plus hours of aerial application, the system retired him.”
Another long time employee, James Fanette, began his career with M & M cutting the grass, then worked as a flagger, loader, and eventually a pilot. Following that he became their aircraft mechanic and inspector. James retired two weeks ago after 43 years with the company.
M & M now has nine airplanes, various models of Air Tractors, manufactured in Olney, Texas. Three are aerial firefighters in west Texas, two spray fields in southeast Texas, another is fertilizing timber throughout several southern states while others are spraying corn in the Midwest. Among M & M’s customers are the U.S. Department of Interior, Texas Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Land Management. They also spray local area counties for mosquitoes after hurricanes and reseed burned areas for the U.S. Forest Service.
On a recent trip through Hartsville, South Carolina, David Mitchell met a pilot who said, “Are you from M & M? You gotta see this.” He opened the hangar doors and David says, “There was one of our old Stearmans, nicely restored.” Another of their Stearmans is still working fields in Sumter, South Carolina. You can see their #21 Stearman, the first airplane in Texas to sow rice by air (April 9, 1946), in the Chambers County Agricultural and Historical Museum in Winnie. Their #34 Stearman was donated to the National Agricultural Aviation Museum in Jackson, Mississippi. The last Stearman M & M owned was used for training until it suffered heavy damage from Hurricane Ike. Now completely restored, their sole Stearman will once again be ready to train another generation of M & M pilots.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com
August 3, 2010 M&M Air Service, part 1
Mike: “April 9th, 1946! That’s the day aerial seeding of rice fields in southeast Texas began,” as told to me by George Mitchell, second-generation manager and president of family-owned and operated M & M Air Service, “…and it has been here ever since!” Founded in Beaumont, Texas in 1946 by Poley and Fields Mitchell and Gilbert Mapes, the Mitchells purchased Mapes’ share of the business a year later, and now M & M Air Service has been serving the farming communities of southeast Texas continuously for 65 seasons. George, Fields’ son, took over as manager in 1966. George and Gail’s children, Paul, David, Mark, Lisa and Andy are the third generation of M & M. David and Mark both hold positions as vice-presidents with responsibilities for different divisions of the company. Lisa’s responsibilities include accounting and payroll. Andy is an agricultural and single-seat aerial tanker (SEAT1) pilot with experience in all areas of the company’s operation. Paul passed away in 1993.
Back in ’46 the company bid on 200 government surplus Stearmans and were awarded 42, for which they paid a mere $56.56 each. They re-configured most of those airplanes for aerial application of wet and dry materials.
When M & M began, rice production covered 150,000 acres in southeast Texas and the airplanes took to the air before sunrise, operating until well after dark. For 20 years, M & M operated up to 33 Stearmans and never left the Tri-County area of southeast Texas. Those 33 Stearmans flew only six months out of the year, yet flew an estimated 1.5 million hours.
“M & M expanded into Liberty County in the 1950’s,” George continued. “Earl Atkins managed M & M’s Liberty operation for a long time then went into business for himself forming Liberty Air Service. Then he sold it to Hughie Crouch who later sold it to Billy Richardson whom M & M bought out. M & M stayed solo throughout.”
A Stearman can haul about 1,400 lbs. and can fly pretty slowly. To reduce time between trips, each farm had its own air strip. George says there were 172 air strips on farms in the three counties. “We called them Stearman strips,” he says, “because the Stearmans didn’t require that much runway to get airborne.” One day, George Mitchell and Henry Morrison flying two Stearmans broke the record for the number of loads flown in one day: 197 loads.
Today the area’s rice production has dropped to 25,000 acres and like many businesses M & M has had to change with the times. “For 20 years rice was 100% of our revenue. Now it’s only seven to eight percent,” George told me. Diversification has been the key to survival. They began brush control flying in west Texas and far west Texas, then added a ground spraying business with a John Deere rig. Forestry fertilization for private forestry producers came next, followed by aerial firefighting. In addition, George says costs have skyrocketed. “Since 1946, the price of airplanes has multiplied by 10,000. The last airplane we purchased was $565,000.00.” Today the family business continues with nine Air Tractors. We’ll talk more about M & M’s current operations next week.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com.
July 27, 2010 AirVenture 2010
Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely
Mike: Picture this: a gaggle of birds converging in Oshkosh, Wisconsin–more than 50 “Gooney Birds” actually–this week’s gathering the centerpiece of the world’s largest annual convention, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture. They’ve had lots of rain, but hopefully the weather will cooperate for the much anticipated event which this year celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Douglas DC-3. Debuting in 1935, it was the airliner of the late 30’s, 40’s and early 50’s–the Golden Age of Aviation. The workhorse-of-an-aircraft continued to fly commercially well into the 90’s, but fewer than 100 airworthy DC-3s remain out of more than 14,000 built. In the military version as the C-47 they were used to fly supplies over “the Hump” from India into China, and later used in the Berlin Airlift. The Brits dubbed it “Gooney Bird.”
AirVenture is not only the largest annual convention of anything, anywhere, it’s one that embodies the spirit of aviation. Homebuilt and light sport, aerobatic and high performance planes, vintage and current warbirds, and even spacecraft are being showcased this very moment through August 1st, for a full week of pure “aviator heaven.” Concerts by bands such as Chicago, and Asleep at the Wheel, daytime and night time air shows, fireworks, a salute to Veterans that spans the entire event, and live auctions you can join in online through www.auctions.com, are just some of the other special features.
For the Young Eagles Auction, Ford Motor Company created an aviation-themed car: the one-of-a-kind 2011 SR-71 “Blackbird” Mustang. In 2008, the Mustang AV8R (with hints of the F-22 “Raptor”) delivered a record auction contribution of $500,000. In 2009, the AV-X10 “Dearborn Doll” auctioned was crafted in honor of WWII aircraft. This year’s Mustang is the first collaboration of former U.S. Air Force flight instructor Carroll Shelby and long-time P-51 pilot Jack Roush. The SR-71 “Blackbird” jet first took flight in 1964, the year Ford’s Mustang was introduced. Shelby and Roush helped design, engineer, and produce the SR-71 “Blackbird” Mustang, which includes their embroidered signatures in the seats.
Young Eagles and other EAA programs are designed to inspire youngsters to become engineers, aviators, astronauts, scientists, and innovators–the aviation pioneers of tomorrow. Introduced in July 1992, Young Eagles has already flown more than 1.5 million young people at no charge, making it the largest youth aviation education program in history, thanks to EAA.
Linda: Tom Poberezny is EAA’s president and AirVenture chairman; his dad, Paul is the guy who started it all, way up there in cheeseland back in 1953. It now draws over a million people each year. Thousands camp under the wings of their airplanes or on the lake shore nearby where a couple hundred floatplanes are moored. The theater in the woods shows new and old movies, including this year, “Fly About” and “Breaking Through the Clouds,” and all those people flock like gooney birds to the daily seminars offered by the best known aviation experts in the world. There are seminars on how to use a new product to its fullest potential, and builder workshops; presentations on the latest news and events affecting aviation, the introduction of new aircraft, and jaw-dropping fly-bys. Check the schedule online at www.AirVenture.org–it’s like a world’s fair of aviation and at its core is the spirit that every person attending can sense.
A million people like us, visiting and sharing experiences and enjoying the atmosphere, with the only real anxiety possibly being how nearly impossible it is to see everything here in a week.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com
July 20, 2010 Charlie Sisk: Business, Aviation, and Life part 2
Mike: In spite of his earlier hesitation, Dayton resident Charlie Sisk joined Grace Flight this year and says his experiences have been uplifting. Having witnessed his own sister suffer from the effects of Hodgkin’s disease, Charlie was uncertain whether he could handle getting that personal with people who are fighting for their lives. But now he says the benefits far outweigh his previous fears. “It takes a level of stress off people who are taking debilitating treatments knowing they have transportation to the doctor.” Grace Flight coordinates volunteer pilots with patients who need transportation to medical treatment. Many cannot afford commercial travel, nor risk the exposure to germs inherent in public transportation, i.e., airlines. For people who live far from where the most prominent medical facilities are, an organization such as Grace Flight may be their only hope. As they say, “Getting there is half the cure.”
“Another reason I like doing Grace Flights,” Charlie adds, “is that it lets me control my giving. I know that 100% is going directly to the people who need it.” Grace Flight accepts donations to fund facilities at Hobby Airport, and the minimal paid staff. Overhead is low, thanks to many volunteers.
“The patients are great,” he says of his passengers. Charlie shows them how to navigate using aeronautical charts and airport diagrams, and how to control air vents to help keep them from becoming sick during the flight. He puts a headset on them and has them write down frequencies they hear the controllers say. “I think it really helps keep the boredom down,” he explains. “How boring would it be to sit in a small plane for a couple hours with nothing to do, not feeling well, and not knowing what’s going on?”
Linda: Charlie’s got a heart for people. With his success he could easily be sitting around saying, “look at me, look what I’ve done,” but instead, he’s out there helping others. “On one flight we had some pretty rough weather conditions. It was lousy weather all the way. I think my passenger actually found it exciting, but I was concerned. Heading to Mineral Wells the wind was really picking up. There’s no control tower there, but the people on the ground said over the Unicom frequency that the wind was favoring landing on the taxiway.” The two runway options were both beyond the crosswind landing limits of the airplane. “About a mile out, I banked into the wind as hard as I could, with full opposite rudder, and began my final descent to the taxiway. About 300’ above the ground the wind suddenly stopped. In front of the crowd that had gathered to see if this pilot could make a landing in that wind, it was probably my best landing ever.” An exciting flight, no doubt; one that enabled one young man to have needed chemo treatment.
Grace Flight is something Charlie doesn’t take lightly. For those who don’t fly, or don’t own an airplane, he offers this suggestion: “You don’t have to fly to help. Ground volunteers are needed too. The economy is down, people with clerical or administrative skills, ground transportation, a cheerful attitude and a caring smile are needed. You don’t need any special skills for that.” To volunteer, call 888-500-0433, or www.GraceFlight.org. Tell ‘em Charlie sent you.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com.
July 13, 2010 Charlie Sisk: Business, Aviation, and Life part 1
Mike: 13-year old Charlie sat in the back seat of the old white Cessna 172. It was a short flight, maybe thirty minutes, but it changed his life. “I got to have me one of these,” would stay on his mind for nearly forty years. Then on July 4, 2006, Dayton resident Charlie Sisk, owner of Sisk Rifles, bought his first airplane, a 1957 Cessna 182.
He began primary flight training at the Cleveland airport until his first solo flight, then finished at Georgetown, and took his private pilot check ride at Brownwood airport.
Charlie talked close friend, Aaron Baker, owner of Cannon Safe, into learning to fly. When Aaron earned his private pilot license he knew he didn’t want to be limited to flying under Visual Flight Rules only, so the two discussed instrument training so they wouldn’t be grounded on rainy days, giving them the freedom and mobility both businessmen needed. Aaron made Charlie an offer he couldn’t refuse: he’d pay for the course if Charlie would take it first, and then help him through it. November 2007 Charlie began an accelerating instrument training course and earned his instrument rating in just ten days.
Linda: Charlie Sisk doesn’t let any grass grow under his feet. He’s down-to-earth, logical, and real smart. He’s got an uncanny understanding of human behavior and he “gets it” about life and how to treat others. If something isn’t worth pursuing, he knows when to walk away. His personality sets the tone for his book, “Selecting and Ordering a Custom Hunting Rifle,” which is really a lot about life in general, and very entertaining reading.
He relies heavily on his airplane for business, philanthropy, and an occasional pleasure trip, so if he wasn’t going to let his abilities limit him, he sure wasn’t going to let the airplane limit him either; he needed more instruments and an IFR certified GPS to use on bad weather days. In a sweet deal, he traded a custom rifle to Aaron, who traded a gun safe to someone else for a Garmin 430W, a really good IFR GPS that can get a pilot down pretty close to the runway when the clouds and visibility are low. The new GPS, along with a new autopilot, meant more possible flying days for Charlie.
A typical productive day for Sisk Rifles: fly to Carrizo Springs, deliver a rifle, fly to San Antonio, deliver a rifle, fly to Austin, deliver a rifle, and be home by 6 p.m. “Carrizo Springs is six hours one way by car. I couldn’t offer this kind of customer service without an airplane. Until you have a plane and learn what you can do with it, you really don’t know how valuable it is until you use it. You can’t put a dollar figure on that kind of personal service,” Charlie says of using his airplane to promote his product and deliver to customers. “These days it seems the notion of customer service is all but gone. Yet it has never been more important.”
Mike: Charlie Sisk is one of those rare individuals who understands that what’s good for business is good for life, and vice-versa. That same drive he has for superior customer service shows up in his philanthropic endeavors as well. We’ll write more on those endeavors next week. Meanwhile, check out his website: www.siskguns.com.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com
July 6, 2010 Mission flying
July 6, 2010
Linda: My first experience with mission flying came in 2005 when I sat in the right seat of a Cessna 206 and flew over Central Africa with pilot Andy Keller, and a small crew from Answering the Call. Andy, who also works as the Chief Scheduler for AIM Air, was kind enough to let me fly from the right for most of the flight. I held a student pilot certificate then and was eager to have the experiences flying in conditions far different from what I was used to. We flew over glasslands, highlands, and deserts, trying to fly high enough above war zones to stay out of range, or avoid them altogether. There were, however, some “hot” areas along our route, an environment difficult and often dangerous.
Mike: AIM Air, part of the larger Christian ministry of Africa Inland Mission, operates a fleet of 12 aircraft in at least eight different African countries. With the main base of operations in Nairobi, Kenya, and aircraft in Uganda, and other locations, their work “enhances the ministries of evangelical missionaries, church workers, and Christian relief and development agencies in East and Central Africa, by providing air transportation to people working in Church planting, evangelism, community development, medical missions, children’s education, pastor training, emergency relief, Bible translation, short-term mission trips,” and much more. AIM Air pilots fly up to a million miles every year, serving the needs of 80 Christian organizations and hundreds of missionaries.
Aviation ministry supports the broad work of missions and the Church; the airplanes they fly are tools, “moving missionaries and cargo over some of the world’s most inhospitable terrain, to bring hope and the Good News to some of the world’s most forgotten peoples...a vehicle to help take the Great Commission to the ends of the earth.”
Almost all equipment is donated and the pilots and crew are volunteers who are financially supported by churches and individual donors in their home countries. When visiting missionaries request air service they contribute toward the minimum operating cost of the airplane they use.
Linda: Later that same year I returned to Africa, this time a newly licensed pilot, and flew right seat in a Cessna Caravan, with Mission Aviation Fellowship, another wonderful organization.
While we’re on the subject of faith and flying, Sue Halpain, of Oklahoma, wrote an aviator’s prayer last year, and read it at the start of the Okie Derby proficiency air race. It is both creative and sincere:
“Dear Lord, Lift our spirits to unexpected heights. We ask your guidance as we chart the course of our lives. Allow us to follow your flight plan and not deviate from it. Help us to follow Your regulations, remembering that the only emergency procedure is to lean on You. Teach us to keep the communication lines to You open and on the right frequency. When we face the slips and skids of life and our gyros tumble, help us to get both wings level with our turn-and-bank centered on You. May we approach each day with sensitivity and courage, and never be guilty of carelessness or neglect. But most important, Lord, keep reminding us that You are always the Pilot in Command. Amen”
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com