From the Logbook...My Wingman

It's not often that the stars align just right that two of our airplanes actually meet in the same space and time without planning.  Last week while I was heading home, Jason was also flying and we realized that we were withing a few miles of each other.  With some coordination over the radio, we teamed up and flew formation the remainder of the one hour flight home.

What added to the cool effect was that Jason didn't have any passengers.  Therefore, he could "have a little fun" with the airplane without scaring anyone.

Finally, it was my turn to follow the leader, and we remained in this configuration until we broke away from each other for landing in PalangkaRaya.  Flying float planes is COOL!

Checking the Tail Feathers

Every 1000 flight hours we pull the tails off of our aircraft to give them a good looking over.  We started this inspection last week.

In about 1 hour we had the vertical stabilizer and the horizontal stabilizer along with the rudder and elevator off.  The beauty of our older airplanes is the simplicity of their design the the ability to inspect them well.

With all the tail feathers off, MCB looks kinda funny.  Hopefully within the course of a week or so, we will have her back together ready to fly for another 1000 hours trouble free.

From the Logbook...Choices, Choices

One of the benefits of flying float planes are all of the potential landing sites.  While the majority of our flights take us over solid jungle and swamp, some of our routes will follow a suitable landing river for miles, making the options for landing many; just in case they are needed.  

From the Logbook...Joloi Pt. 2

One of the challenges we face flying float planes is finding a place to "park."  Many of the places we fly to are "easy" in terms of the landing but finding a suitable dock can really be hard.  Often we'll tie up to anything from a dock, a log, a boat, or any combination of some secure floating items.

Above is a group of three pastors that I was transporting around the jungles of Central Kalimantan.  Their stories are amazing, and their resolve to see the Gospel shared unto the ends of the Earth will challenge us all...they are studs!

From the Logbook...Joloi Pt. 1

Last week I returned to the village of Joloi to transport a team of pastors further downstream.  Due to the Christmas season, they have been on a "tour" of sorts helping with many of the interior churches and their Christmas church services.

It didn't take long until a group of kids gathered to watch all of the happenings at the dock I was tied up to.  I had to abort my first landing attempt into Joloi because I noticed a bunch of little heads bobbing in the water right where I was going to touch down.  It turned out to be this group of kids enjoying a mid-day swim.  I'm glad I saw their heads at the last moment.  Sometimes due to the light on the water of the river, objects are hard to see, whether it is logs, people, or something else.

From the Logbook...Overnight in Goha

Due to my decision to pick up the patient referred to in the previous two posts, I was "running late" the remainder of the day.  I calculated numerous times throughout the day that if I didn't have anymore hiccups I would still be home before sunset...and then I experienced a hiccup in the form of a large thunderstorm right over PalangkaRaya.  Me and my fellow MAF teammates that I had picked up made it 40 miles from home, about a 15 minute flight.  But, we prudently decided to land and seek shelter.  Thankfully, the village we decided to land at had people living there that we knew.  Shortly after we landed I also began to pour rain for the rest of the night.

After sleeping like a log on the hard floor, we woke up at 5am to find the airplane still where we left it (always a good thing) and prepared to have a breakfast of rice, noodles, and some fried eggs.  The picture above is all of us plus our host at the breakfast table.  Shortly after breakfast we flew the remaining 40 miles to PLR where I geared up to complete that day's flight schedule.  Never a dull moment.

From the Logbook...Lawang Kama Pt. 2

The patient I referred to in the previous post was in bad shape.  I later learned that she was unable to deliver the baby's placenta 3 days before.  Her body was already experiencing toxic shock and she looked almost dead to me.  Without the airplane bringing her to a hospital in PalangkaRaya, her chances of survival were almost nil.  It's a pleasure to be able to be here and help those that live a VERY tough life and are daily confronted by challenges that we as Westerners see as almost routine...like childbirth.

From the Logbook...Lawang Kama Pt. 1

Last week before leaving PalangkaRaya I already had a long day planned; full of moving some pastor teams, picking up our own MAF team that ministered interior over the weekend, and a few other "general" passengers.  However, before I even got to my first stop, I received a call over the radio informing me about a woman that had given birth 3 days before and was still having some real trouble.  If I could pick her up, it would change everything else I would accomplish that day...sounded like a typical day as a missionary pilot.

After I reversed course and dropped off my passengers at another village, telling them I would be back in about 2.5 hours, I set a new course for the patients village.  I was on the patients river about 45 minutes later.  Since the airplane had only been in their village many years ago, most of the village turned out to see the unique floating airplane driven by a man equally unique.  The above photo is a common sight to us here as Westerners.  We are always getting our picture taken with cell phones, with or without permission.  The woman above thought she was being sneaky until I turned my own camera on her and "busted" her attempt of photographic covertness.

From the Logbook...Storm Clouds

This seems to be a common problem right now...nasty, black, and beautiful storm clouds.  It's rainy season.  I was making a mad dash to my destination very near the wall of advancing blackness to pick up 3 passengers that had already spent an extra night in the jungle due to bad weather.  After 5 minutes on the water, we were airborne again, barely beating the bad weather which would have surely made all of us spend an extra night in the jungle.

From the Logbook...A Cool Breeze

Last week while making a mad dash trying to beat bad weather I had a flight leg without passengers.  One of my favorite things to do when no one else is with me is to open both windows.

Leaving the bad weather in my six, the cool air coming into the cabin at 120MPH is great!  Especially after enduring 90+ degree weather at ground level coupled with 80% humidity.  It makes a Colorado boy sweaty!

All those little white wisps are signs that rain had just passed through the area.  After 25 minutes of cruising with the windows open, my internal body temperature had cooled down, ready to finish the days flight schedule.

The Snake Charming Pastor

Last week I was able to take a 3 person team from our office, plus a local pastor to an interior village for 3 days and 2 nights in order to help with some interior Christmas church services.  While waiting at our dock, we all spotted a snake crawl up into a parked car.

I found it hidden under the hood in a small nook of the engine.  Pastor Wilson was braver than me and just reached in and grabbed it out.  It turned out to be non-venomous but no one knew that until we looked at it's mouth.  The comfort and ease that the locals handle potentially deadly wildlife is always amazing to me.

From the Logbook...Float Repair

This past Saturday I had a long flight day because I couldn't fly due to poor weather on Friday.  Well, all that poor weather included lots of rain, which raises river levels and also brings down lots of debris like wood...big wood!

Knowing I had a two hard encounters with some semi-submerged logs, I wanted to give the floats a good looking over when I got back.  Sure enough, I was missing a protective keel strip.  The strip did it's job well and sacrificed itself so the float would remain unharmed.

So, me and Abet, one of our VERY capable national workers, repaired the missing keel strip before heading home for the evening.  With a mix of some super-duper glue mixed in a plastic cup, the keel strip went right into place, ready to take a beating on the rivers of Borneo.

Neighborhood Wedding

A few weekends ago, true to Indonesian tradition, our family was invited to a wedding the following day for people we didn't even know.  The groom is the son of our neighbor across the street and he made sure to invite the whole neighborhood.  We went as a family but only Brooklyn and I made it through the whole thing.  Weddings are VERY different here as compared to an American wedding, but then again, that's just par for the course here.  Almost everything is different.

From the Logbook...Robyns Rock

The majority of the area surrounding the town that I live in is FLAT...as in REALLY FLAT!  However, about 80 miles north of here, in an area that we routinely fly, the terrain makes an abrupt change.  Suddenly the flat swamp becomes transformed by rugged mountains, full of decaying limestone "fingers" like in the picture above.    Because this particular rock lies on a route we often fly, it was always being generally referred to in conversation.  In order to clarify those conversations, and to honor his wife so I'm told, my wing man Jason named it after his wife, Robyn.  Now when we describe "that rock" we can attach a name to it...Robyn's Rock.

From the Logbook...Rain Delay 4

When your life revolves around the river, when it comes time to install a new engine in the family station wagon, or canoe, you don't put on your greasy jeans or overalls.  You strip down to your skivvies and wear only what is necessary because it will most likely be a greasy AND wet installation process.  Just in case you are wondering, yes, the log-ladder in the background is as slippery as it looks.  I have yet to fall going up and down them, but I have sure come close.  I can't imagine doing it barefoot.

From the Logbook...Rain Delay 3

I'm always amazed as some of the skills young children have interior.  After my attempt to paddle a canoe unassisted a few weeks ago I realized how hard it is.  This boy couldn't have been older than 10 or 11 years old and was just paddling away while it rained.

From the Logbook...Rain Delay 2

While waiting for the weather to improve last week, it was fun to just watch interior life from the floats of my airplane.  The man above is prepping his fishing net in order to throw it from his "porch" and see if he comes up with some dinner.

First he tried off of the back of the porch.  After hauling his net in, it looked like he was unsuccessful.

  

After throwing his net from the back of his porch, he threw it off of the front.  Once again, his net came up empty.  Tough work!

From the Logbook...Rain Delay 1

Last week I had a group of filmographers that wanted to go "way north" and film some of the most untouched, hard to get to places on Planet Earth.  It even took us north of the Equator a few degrees.  En-route, we encountered some unfavorable weather so I landed on a river and we waited an hour and a half for things to get better.  I'm sure grateful for electricity and a washing machine after watching the above woman wash her laundry.

One of the distinct differences I have noticed in Indonesia as compared to our time in Latin America is the involvement of men of all ages in taking care of children.  You are just as likely to see a man holding a baby as a woman here.

Patient

Late last week we received a call to pick up a patient that interior medicine could do nothing more for.  Our other pilot, Jason, picked him up.

We later found out that the man was potentially experiencing kidney failure from making his own moonshine. Sounds like it might have been a little too toxic and his body was shutting down due to homemade poison.

Canoe Traffic

During the day, boats of all shapes and sizes are going by on the river in front our our airplane docks.  This man above managed to wave without dropping his cigarette.  Too bad a picture doesn't capture the volume of the engine noise, without a muffler, most boats are VERY loud.  I imagine many people here have hearing loss due to life on their little canoes.

River Convoy

While sitting in our MAF offices, you can see any number of floating vessels in all shapes and sizes on any given day passing by on the river.  It's really interesting.

The guys in these pictures were involved in bringing down a bunch of lumber.  There are so many different aspects of life here that I may never have a chance to understand deeper.

Hangar Kings

From time to time, for various reason, we actually have both airplanes out of the water and on the hangar floor.  They look pretty cool and it makes the little Cessna 185 look a lot bigger.  I can even walk under the tail without hitting my head.  Our floating hangar and airplane hoisting system are awesome.  Flying float planes is awesome too!

From the Logbook...Complicated Childbirth

One day last week, we received a late afternoon call asking if we could pick up a woman who had just delivered a baby but was unable to deliver the placenta.  Toxic shock was due to set in and time was of the essence   Thankfully, after a few small weather diversions, I was able to make it to her community and return her to PalangkaRaya to get to the hospital.  Two days later we were informed that she was okay but now her newborn baby that she had left behind in the care of family was now in need of medical care.  I returned to the same area except to a community further downstream.  I quickly loaded the newborn baby and her caregivers and we soon made our way back to PalangkaRaya where they rushed the little baby to the hospital.

Bath Time

When we aren't out flying, our national workers do a good job of keeping busy and this sometimes means cleaning the airplanes.

Due to their light weights, they can stand on the otherwise unreachable tail and give er' a good scrub.  It also helped that light rain was also falling while they were washing, helping to rinse the suds away.

We are flying the two oldest airplanes in the MAF-US fleet.  One with 22,000+ hours, and the other with 23,000+ hours.  Despite the wear and tear that these airplanes have experienced over their long careers in Borneo, we do our best to still keep the looking and running nicely and they faithfully bring us home every day.  The Cessna 185 is a great design and that is why they are still coveted in places like Borneo and Alaska.  They are like Jeeps with wings.  

From the Logbook...Goha and the Jumping Bean

Last week I had the privilege of taking a national co-workers uncle and his family back to their home village of Goha.  The uncle has become sick with something and couldn't make the overland trip.  I climbed up on top of the airplane to snap this picture.  It was a crazy docking situation and my feet ended up wet because once 4 or more people stood on the dock, it began to sink.

The man without as shirt and waving in the picture also gave me a new experience.  While I tried to start my airplane in order to leave, he suddenly jumped from the dock onto my float and began to tie my pontoon ropes to my float steps.  Due to the very challenging water and swirling eddies, I wasn't going to take him back to the dock.  I quickly instructed him to leave my ropes alone and that he would have to jump from my airplane into the river and swim back to the dock.  He didn't seem to mind and soon he jumped off and began swimming back to the dock.  Life is definitively a box of chocolates when flying a float plane in Borneo, you truly never know what you're gunna get.

Palm Oil Plantation

One of the main industries on the island of Kalimantan is the ever growing Palm Oil plantation (vegetable oil).  The owners will clear the forest, burn it, and then plant the palm oil trees in order to harvest their fruit a few years later.  The plantations are truly expansive and their smoke due to clear cutting can be repulsive, even stopping our flight ops like they did earlier this year.  They do make for an interesting pattern on the ground though.

Canoe Trip

While waiting for my passengers to complete their business, I saw a canoe tied up to the same dock as my airplane and asked if I could take it for a paddle.  The owner quickly obliged, although he thought I was crazy since he didn't have his motor installed in it.  Why would anyone want to paddle for fun?!  The river current quickly took me downstream, and it took me a while to learn how to paddle the long canoe and I eventually fought my way upstream for about 30 minutes.

As I finally arrived on the side of my airplane I snapped a quick picture.  I couldn't put the paddle down for too long because I was already going backwards.

On my way back downstream, trying to get back to my airplane before a torrent of rain began again, I took one more picture.  It didn't take long to realize how hard it was to paddle a canoe against the current and why almost all canoes now have motors attached to them.  Living interior is HARD!  Once I arrived back at my airplane I laid down inside and took a nap.  Nothing like a rain shower and the rocking waves to put you right to sleep.  Shortly thereafter, my Javanese pastors arrived back at the airplane and we flew one hour back to PalangkaRaya.  It sounds like their time was successful and we will potentially be seeing a lot more of each other as we, MAF, continue to serve the interior church.

Woman Black and White

Just as with the older men, there were plenty of older women sitting around socializing.  I'm sure most of their morning work was already done, and they were just catching up before finishing the rest of their chores.  These women are tough and work really hard.