Transition Number ?

Tomorrow we will be leaving our current house for another.  We were able to rent out our house very quickly and now we have to be out by this coming Friday.  Needless to say, this week is a little busy as we try to pack and sort and move all of our things.  We are still very active preparing for churches and casting the vision that God has for us with MAF as well.  If you are interested in hearing my "presentation/sermon" from this past Sunday, click on this link, and go to the bottom of the page and click on the "Faith-Sean Cannon" link.  Too busy to write or post much else until the dust begins to settle..maybe next week. 

MAF News

Harrison Ford and MAF, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

Our newest prayer letter should be hitting your mailboxes the first part of March, but it is already available online. Click here to read it.

Also, Harrison Ford and MAF recently worked together...click here to read about it.

On a side note, support raising is going well, (we're at around 50% right now) although next week it might slow down a little.  We have been able to rent our house, but we need to be out in 7 days.  Next week will be busy.  Thank you for your prayers!

Snow Circles

Snow Circles, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

This is what crop circles can look like in the Winter. Pretty soon, as Spring begins, these circles will be bare dirt and they will begin to give of their precious topsoil to enhance the Great Sand Dunes National Park due to the crazy winds that are sure to start in a few weeks.

Flight to Midland, TX

Sunrise on the Plains, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

As mentioned, I had a flight to Midland, Texas this past Saturday. In order to get this sunrise picture over West, Texas I had to leave my home base at 4am. I then flew to 07V, aka Cuchara, Colorado to pick up my passengers. When I arrived over 07V to land at 4:22am the runway lights wouldn't come on. Long story short, I was able to identify the runway well enough on my third (and final) attempt in order to land in the dark. If I couldn't have made out the runway environment on my third pass I was going to turn around and go home and go back to bed. The moon was not out on Saturday morning, so the surrounding darkness was impressive. But, once I was on the ground the takeoff in that kind of darkness was easy and we were soon on our way to Midland, enjoying 35 knot tailwinds and landing 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Of course, on our return trip the same day, I paid for our quick trip to Texas with those same strong winds now on my nose. Twelve hours later, with our business in Texas wrapped up, I landed back at my home base of Alamosa and went on a hot date! I love flying.

Ingenuity in Haiti

Third World Aircraft Re-Fuel, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

We received this picture recently of the Kodiak re-fueling in Haiti. Sometimes you have to be a little creative when the fuel truck doesn't show up, or is broken down.

I should be flying off to Midland Texas tomorrow if mother nature cooperates...pics to come of course.

Fish out of Water

Eagle Airport (aka - Vail), originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

I had the privilege of flying to Eagle, Colorado (Vail) yesterday. It was a great, sunny, winter flight, with huge blue skies to match. This was my first time into Eagle airport and I did feel a little out of place. I think I was the only aircraft on the field that was powered by pistons instead of turbines. I think I counted 7 Gulfstreams, 1 Boeing Business Jet (B737), numerous Lear Jets, and countless Cessna Citations and many fancy turboprops. On top of all this fancy private traffic, the airlines also bring in skiers during the winter. Delta, American, and Continental all had their Boeing 757's shuttling flatlanders back to Texas. This is a very small airport tucked into a small mountain valley, so the presence of so many large and fast airplanes kept me on edge trying to keep an eye out for them as I landed and departed.
As I was taking off to head south back to Alamosa, I did follow a most peculiar arrangement of flight. An Aviat Husky (similar to a Piper Cub) was doing formation flying with a Gulfstream for air to air photos. When I asked the tower how that arrangement worked the pilot of the Husky chimed in and said "this is a fast Husky" and the pilot of the Gulfstream followed suit and said "this is a slow Gulfstream." It seemed to be working fine, although I'm sure both aircraft were at their airspeed limits, one on the bottom end and the other on the top.

Haiti Relief Photos

Haiti Relief Photos, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

I recently received a few photos from the MAF effort in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. Not surprisingly, the news media is not covering the earthquake recovery as much now, as more "important" news has taken it's place. However, the recovery and aid is still in full swing, and will be for years to come. Click here to see more of the pictures from Haiti.

It Ain't Right

It Ain't Right, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

It could be worse though...right?

Instrument Practice

SLV Under Clouds, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

After church this afternoon I was able to take an instrument student and go cloud punching in his Piper Cherokee and "shoot" some instrument approaches. I usually stray far from clouds in the Rocky Mountains with small aircraft in the winter, but the conditions were just right to safely fly in the clouds today and gain some real world experience for my student. I love popping out on top of the clouds; leaving the dark and cold world underneath and then emerging out on top to a beautiful, blue, Colorado sky. The temperature at 12,000 feet was -3c and at 7,500 feet at the airport it was -6c. These temperature inversions are common in the San Luis Valley, especially in the winter. Put a little moisture in the mix and it makes for fog. Unusually, this fog didn't burn off in the morning, but has hung around all weekend. But there were no complaints from me, any excuse to commit aviation is always welcome.