A couple thursdays ago was very exciting for me....my first day of flying here in Papua! The first few flights for new guys like me are "ride-alongs" with an experienced pilot. That means my job for the day was to soak up the "big picture" of what a day in the life of an MAF pilot is like. I was encouraged to take lots of pictures (and if you know me, you don't have to twist my arm to get me to do that!)
I picked out quite a few pictures to share.....and because there were so many I sorted them into three albums.....and I also included some video from the day at the end.....
The People Album
The Flight(s) album....pictures I took while en route....some beautiful scenery here in Papua, the awesome central mountain range, and beautiful (and challenging) weather.
Airstrips Album....I was very surprised at how many airstrips could be spotted just on one flight. They are all over! There are many that look like they are either under construction, or not kept up any more. I lumped them into their own album....
The Video.....including one takeoff from a village
The flying part was definitely fun and the scenery was amazing. I was a little bit like a kid with his face stuck against the window of an airliner (without my face stuck against the window though.....trying to maintain some dignity here!) I was glad that they advised me on these first flights not to get too absorbed in the technical details of the flights but soak up the big picture. I couldnt help but notice some technical details. But I also was amazed at the scenery...the dense mountains....big rivers and waterfalls everywhere, and an amazing amount of "houses", huts and small villages in the middle of no-where!
The moment I will never forget from this day....is by no means the flying part. It's when David and I landed in our very first airstrip, a place called Kiwi, and there surrounding the parking area were well over 100 Papuans who lived on that mountainside. When we got out of the plane, I felt a sense of awe to finally see them, and to be in their village. It was also a wierd feeling having 150 people staring at you, watching your every move! Some of them approached the plane and talked to us in Indonesian. One said he was the town pastor. One wore a winter jacket that looked like something you would wear in Detroit in January, and it was a very nice 75 degrees outside.
We were greeted by a missionary from Illinois named Jack who has been there for fourty years. He greeted us with coffe cake and instant coffee. The coffe cake was very good....and amazingly one ingredient he uses to make it is "powdered eggs" that are fourty years old! You would never know from the taste. Jack has seen the Gospel flourish in his area in his time there. He and his wife are finished and heading back to America in the next couple weeks. Their village is planning a big going away celebration for them. The village pastor said to me that they were sad to see them go but they needed to be independant.
I've said enough, I hope you enjoyed the pictures! As I write this, a couple weeks after the fact, I have almost ten hours of training time in the Kodiak, learning the procedures and how to fly the airplane. It's definitely a lot to learn, and it's a lot of fun! Pretty soon the focus of my flight checkout will be going along on these flights to interior villages and learning the specifics.
The People Album
The Flight(s) album....pictures I took while en route....some beautiful scenery here in Papua, the awesome central mountain range, and beautiful (and challenging) weather.
Airstrips Album....I was very surprised at how many airstrips could be spotted just on one flight. They are all over! There are many that look like they are either under construction, or not kept up any more. I lumped them into their own album....
The Video.....including one takeoff from a village
The moment I will never forget from this day....is by no means the flying part. It's when David and I landed in our very first airstrip, a place called Kiwi, and there surrounding the parking area were well over 100 Papuans who lived on that mountainside. When we got out of the plane, I felt a sense of awe to finally see them, and to be in their village. It was also a wierd feeling having 150 people staring at you, watching your every move! Some of them approached the plane and talked to us in Indonesian. One said he was the town pastor. One wore a winter jacket that looked like something you would wear in Detroit in January, and it was a very nice 75 degrees outside.
We were greeted by a missionary from Illinois named Jack who has been there for fourty years. He greeted us with coffe cake and instant coffee. The coffe cake was very good....and amazingly one ingredient he uses to make it is "powdered eggs" that are fourty years old! You would never know from the taste. Jack has seen the Gospel flourish in his area in his time there. He and his wife are finished and heading back to America in the next couple weeks. Their village is planning a big going away celebration for them. The village pastor said to me that they were sad to see them go but they needed to be independant.
I've said enough, I hope you enjoyed the pictures! As I write this, a couple weeks after the fact, I have almost ten hours of training time in the Kodiak, learning the procedures and how to fly the airplane. It's definitely a lot to learn, and it's a lot of fun! Pretty soon the focus of my flight checkout will be going along on these flights to interior villages and learning the specifics.
