The MAF Blog: Worldwide Pulse

Posts Tagged ‘cessna’

Not Just Another Plane Dedication

Posted on: April 27th, 2012 by Jason Chatraw | Leave a comment

With a pilot for a father, I grew up around airplanes. However, they never really grabbed my attention. I never stared at them with much awe as they rose from the ground and disappeared into the deep blue sky. It was a way to get around, to move from point A to point B. I didn’t even like model airplanes.

Yet as someone whose attention is fully arrested when I see a tool for the Gospel, my perspective on a certain object changes. I’ll never forget the first time I realized I could go into a chat room online and talk about the Gospel with people who were searching for answers. That same “ah-ha” moment for me happened when I first experienced how effective airplanes are at taking the Good News of Jesus into isolated and remote areas.

On Saturday, April 28, at our headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, MAF will dedicate a Cessna Caravan for the program in Haiti in a special ceremony. And after my recent visit to the program, I realize just what an impact that plane is going to make in Haiti.

With a litany of projects that could never be finished by missionaries alone in a lifetime, work teams coming from all over the United States and other countries around the world routinely descend on Haiti to lend a helping hand. Once these teams arrive in Port-au-Prince, there’s not a minute to waste in getting to a remote location. Missionaries only host these teams for a short period of time, so they want to ensure they maximize their time in Haiti.

Without MAF, that time would be diminished greatly, perhaps by as much as two days. Bouncing along the rough dirt roads that splinter throughout Haiti consumes hours of time, perhaps even a full day going and a full day coming. But not if mission teams fly—and the Caravan enables MAF to transport entire teams in an efficient and cost effective manner that saves hours of time.

I know this Caravan is going to get a full workout on the field—and the people it will be carrying are going to present the Gospel in a powerful way. It will be an effective tool and just might be the catalyst that results in a greater impact for the Kingdom.

Watch a video and read the MAF Haiti Outlook Report to learn more about Mission Aviation Fellowship being the catalyst for change in Haiti.

Open publication - Free publishing - More airstrips

Can’t Stop This Flight!

Posted on: April 18th, 2012 by Tripp Flythe | 2 Comments

About 45 minutes into a 70 minute flight, cruising along at 10,000 feet, I looked over to see my engine monitor gauge flashing “25.0 VOLTS” at me (it’s a 28 volt system). I cross checked with the ammeter above it, which was showing a discharge. Then, a few seconds later, my low voltage light began glowing bright red. It appeared I was having an alternator failure. I followed the “LOW VOLTAGE” emergency checklist, and found the voltage regulator circuit breaker had popped out. I reset it, and the system began charging for about 20 seconds, but then it popped out again. I tried calling our base in Tarakan on the HF radio, about 100 miles away, but apparently the gremlins that took away my voltage regulator also got into the HF radio, because they couldn’t hear anything I was saying. I was now only about 20 minutes to my destination of Long Metun, well over halfway there, and the weather was nice, so I wrote down my position, time, and ETA, and turned off the master switch to the electrical system in order to preserve my battery power. Thankfully, unlike a car, an airplane’s engine is not dependent on the battery (at least after starting), for situations such as this.

Just before landing, I switched on the power briefly to lower the flaps, and tried to contact our base again to tell them I was landing. No answer. After landing, I looked under the panel to see if I could find out what was causing that circuit breaker to pop. I opened the cowl and looked at the alternator and voltage regulator. Everything looked normal. It had now been over 45 minutes since anyone had heard from me, and they would begin looking for me soon if they didn’t hear anything. So, I and the airstrip agents made the 15 minute hike into the village to use their HF radio. After telling them I was OK, I got a waiver from our chief pilot to make the one-and-a-half hour flight back to Tarakan, since I’d be without an alternator and flying “in the dark” most of the way. I was disappointed since I’d specially arranged my schedule that day to do some church flights for several folks out of Long Metun: two pastor’s wives and their children were heading home to two different villages, one pastor was heading to Malinau, and there was a medical patient in another village I was to pick up. They were also pretty disappointed.

I told them I was going to have to head straight to Tarakan without passengers, but if for some reason I started the plane and it began working again, I’d shut down and they could get on board. Well, someone must have been praying hard, because sure enough, when I started it up, everything was working normally! I made it the rest of the day without another problem with the electrical system. (We still haven’t figured out what caused that circuit breaker to pop, and we’ve flown it several days since it happened).

What’s the Deal with Avgas?

Posted on: August 9th, 2011 by Jason Chatraw | 2 Comments

It’s hard not to talk about gas without reverting back to my middle school days and snickering at the mention of the word – but in the world of MAF pilots, the discussion of avgas is no laughing matter.

Barrels of Avgas

So what is avgas? And why does it always seem to be in short supply?

The short answer is that avgas is aviation gasoline used to power airplanes with piston engines. (For a more in-depth look at avgas, listen to the MAF podcast where I interview instructor pilot Jason Risser.) These engines are used primarily in smaller aircraft or recreational planes. Commercial airplanes use jet fuel, which powers planes with turbine engines. MAF’s new fleet of KODIAKS has turbine engines, eliminating the need for avgas with those airplanes.

So why the short supply?

In the U.S., avgas shortages rarely occur due to the large number of private aircraft that require it and the suppliers’ financial incentive to meet those demands. Additionally, the infrastructure within the U.S. lends itself to easy distribution. But in the places where MAF serves, the demand for avgas is much lower and getting avgas to the MAF bases can be a challenge due to the relative remoteness of the locations.

In my discussion with Jason Risser about this, he related the story of how getting avgas to some MAF bases in Indonesia sounds like something you would see in an expedition movie scene – guys floating 55-gallon drums of avgas across the river, tied together with a rope. And that’s after a long trek to the interior over challenging roads. It’s not like there are fuel trucks cruising down a nation’s highway to deliver avgas. Sometimes it is simply shipped in drums and delivered in the crudest way imaginable.

So, what does this mean for MAF?

It means a few things:

Avgas Delivery Truck

Avgas is expensive. If suppliers don’t have a substantial demand, it’s not as lucrative to produce, meaning the cost of the fuel is driven upward. Because of these challenges, MAF has to order avgas in bulk for some bases, adding to the difficulty of the avgas delivery.
Planes can be grounded, limiting MAF’s impact in a particular area. When there is no gas, there are no flights – it’s that simple. Some programs have grounded their piston-powered planes for weeks while awaiting the arrival of a new shipment of avgas.
MAF is actively seeking solutions. The ongoing transition to the KODIAK aircraft gives MAF access to remote areas without the worry of fuel shortages. However, that is a costly endeavor and will take many years to complete. But as Jason explained to me in the podcast, there are also companies working to create new piston-powered engines that run on diesel fuel and can replace the avgas engines.

If you’re geeky like me and you want to learn more about airplane engines, check out this site explaining all about turbine engines. And you can learn more about avgas from an MAF pilot’s perspective in my podcast interview with Jason Risser.

Fill Us Up

If you’d like to help MAF make a global impact and keep our planes in the air, you can take action through our Facebook Fill Us Up campaign.

MAF Monthly Podcast, August 2011

Posted on: August 5th, 2011 by MAF |

In the August edition of the MAF podcast, Jason Chatraw sits down with pilot Jason Risser to discuss the issue of avgas as it affects MAF’s worldwide ministry.

Subscribe to the MAF Podcast on iTunes »

White-Knuckle Flying with MAF

Posted on: June 28th, 2011 by Jason Chatraw | 2 Comments

Last Monday, I was enjoying a beautiful flight over the Owyhee Mountains in an MAF Cessna 206 with Aaron Hoffmann, a new MAF pilot undergoing field flight training, and Scott Channon, an instructor and seasoned veteran. To write a story on MAF’s rigorous flight training program, I figured it was best to see it in action.

Then it happened.

Scott: “OK, Aaron, we’re going to simulate engine failure. [Throttle back to idle, engine noise dies down, plane begins descending.] So, where would you put down?”

Through my Lightspeed noise-canceling headset, I heard Aaron begin going over the best possible places to land as he gestured to open areas below.

However, I was in the back with a racing heart, trying to come to terms with what a quieter engine and the phrase “engine failure” meant at that moment. I’m a writer by trade, so I already know about the importance of misplaced or missing modifiers. In this case, the modifier “simulate” is an all-important one that I didn’t recall hearing. It’s also helpful to be in the front where you can actually see flat space below as opposed to the craggy rock faces that loomed large out both sides of the plane.

About twenty seconds later – after what felt like a harrowing five minutes to me – the engine roared back to life and we zipped through the scenic canyon. Aaron’s pet flamingo, Pinkie, and I both sighed in relief.

On the ground, I expressed to Scott how it would’ve been nice to know that an engine failure simulation was coming.

“But that would’ve ruined the whole ‘surprise’ factor for Aaron,” Scott said.

I also suggested that maybe it didn’t need to happen in that particular canyon.

Scott’s response?

“We train for the worst-case scenarios,” he said. “If the pilot can figure out how to safely put the plane down when they’re in this situation, they can figure out anything.”

Aaron passed his test beautifully. Had there been actual engine failure, he explained exactly where and how he would’ve landed the plane safely. And that was the point. Never mind me in the back with my pale face and even whiter knuckles.

MAF’s works tirelessly to ensure all its pilots are equipped to handle whatever curve might be thrown their way while out on the unpredictable field of missionary bush flying – and it shows. Just keep that in mind if you ever have the opportunity to go on a training flight with an MAF instructor and pilot. Motion sickness might cause you to lose your appetite, but you can rest assured that you’re in good hands.

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