From the Logbook...

One of the funnest aspects of flying float planes is the takeoff.  Look at that cool trail of water spray from the prop blast!

Once flying speed is nearly achieved, you can lift off one float to accelerate faster and then off she comes.  Flying float planes is fun!

From the Logbook...Sunny Rain

Often times in the jungle, I encounter heavy rain while at the same time being in the sunshine.  It can feel a little weird.  In the above photo I was in the rain for only about 30 seconds during takeoff and then I flew through the last of it into bright, sunny, dry skies.

From the Logbook...Rice Paddy

Compared to the island of Java, where we went to language school, Central Borneo doesn't have as many rice paddies.  But, where they do exist they are still pretty to look at.

From the Logbook...Hauling the Mail

One of the important items that I find myself transporting daily is mail.  Often the contents of various mail items can mean a lot to the person that it is sent to.  The envelope in the picture above has over $600 in it which is more than a months salary for the average Indonesian.  No doubt that it was important that I transported that little envelope to the middle of Borneo.  Mail is so important to what we do, we even include it in part of our pre-takeoff checklist to make sure we don't forget it.  

An Office Visitor

While taking care of office work this past week, I was visited by this little beetle.  He wasn't very dangerous, he just looks that way.

Longnecks and Other Interesting Things

On our way back to the airport in Denver to begin our long trip back to Borneo, we decided to break the trip up with a trip to the museum.  It was a great time, and Paige even got to try on a pair of Mule Deer ears.

The highlight was definitely seeing all of the dinosaur bones, complete with longnecks and meateaters.  Paige started in this picture but quickly fell backwards off of the railing and began crying.  Saying "we told you so" didn't seem to help, but it was still pretty funny.

Helping with the Chores

Our girls always like helping grandpa Ron feed his steers, chickens, horses, mules, and dogs.  It's always good to see my girls getting their hands dirty with things outside.

Madison's addition to the feed pile isn't as big as grandpa's but it was still put there with love.  Those steers make good steaks!!!

A Fun Joyride

Shortly before we left the USA to return to Borneo, me and my girls took a short flight around my old stomping grounds.  We had to make an unplanned stop at the strip above in order to rearrange how the girls were sitting.  My youngest didn't like sitting in the back.  What's amazing is the 7700ft. altitude of the airstrip above, an altitude that I very rarely see flying the Cessna 185 floatplane here in the swamps and small mountains of Borneo.

Southern Colorado Safari

Over the next few days, I 'll be showing a few pictures from our time in the USA.  Above, we came across a herd of about 300+ elk crossing the road.  This group of young bulls looked like a bunch of lost teenage boys.

 While visiting the local wildlife refuge, we weren't disappointed.  At sunset, thousands of geese, ducks, and sandhill cranes took to the air almost simultaneously.  It was a special thing to see and hear.

What would a trip to our home state be without a picture of the glorious Rocky Mountains?  Now that we are back in Borneo, it seems like a dream that only a few weeks ago we were freezing, wearing jackets, and looking at snow.

From the Logbook...Finally Back

After a wonderful and long 6 weeks in the USA for training and vacation, we arrived back in Central Borneo a week ago.  After a little bit of flying, it was already time to perform a 50 hour inspection on MCD.

Before we take an aircraft back into the air after a maintenance inspection, we test everything first on the water.  But, since we don't have brakes, we can get going pretty fast on the water as we test the engine.  It's pretty fun, but the airplane looks kinda funny without it's cowling.