From the Logbook...Sunk by Children

This was the scene a while back when I finally found a suitable dock in the village of Dadahup.  Because the airplane hasn't been in this village for YEARS, many people dropped what they were doing and came to see what all of the noise was about.  When I opened the airplane door I was greeted by ONE adult and many children.

I didn't grasp how many children were actually coming to see the airplane until I climbed on top of the wing to take a picture.  WOW!  There were more than 60 kids, and they began pouring onto the little dock my airplane was tied up to.  So many kids showed up on the dock that it sunk about 1 foot under the water.  Needless to say, I got wet feet that day, and the relentless supply of curious kids never stopped.  It continues to amaze me how many different types of experiences I can have in this job.

Smoke Town

This was the scene a few weeks ago here in PalangkaRaya.  Very dense smoke, down to about 300-500 meters of visibility.  Due to this fact, flying was out of the question and I was able to accomplish some other tasks on my to-do list in the city.  The above photo is full color by the way.

Smokey season reaches it's zenith obviously due to lack of rain water.  The potential river water level is obvious when looking at these nearby buildings and seeing the huge stilts they are built on.

The smoke doesn't slow down boat commerce much, but the low river levels can.  Many boats were seen here at our main city dock awaiting their cargoes.

I always have a good time when I have a reason to enter the "bowels" of PalangkaRaya.  As I become more and more acquainted and familiar with our host city, I'm always reminded how little I still understand and know about how many, many people live their everyday lives.

From the Logbook...Naan Training (pt.4 of 4)

...continued from the previous post.

Because a float-plane's landing and takeoff environment is obviously water, it is hard to get good data on "runway" length, water depth, obstacle locations, and climb out angles.  So, we took the opportunity in Naan to obtain all of that data for future use, with the goal of operating safer in and out of places like Naan.  Above, I am measuring the angle to the trees at the end of the river.  We know that our airplanes climb at 1.5 degrees when fully loaded.  We need to ensure that the obstacles at the end of the river do not exceed that.

I also took the time to point out to Isaac obstacles in the water.  The things poking out of the surface are easy to see.  But, being able to read the water to see the obstacles just inches under the surface is important as well.

Sand and gravel bars are a continual challenge for us in float plane flying.  Knowing where they are located and how wide they are is always helpful to our continued safe operations.

I'm seen here with Pastor Nyunting.  He is a faithful servant of God and always ready to help us out.  It's a pleasure to get to know him deeper every time I'm in Naan and continue to partner together.  Thanks to Isaac Rogers for many of these photos in the previous 4 posts.  Having another "photo-dork" like me on the program has turned out to have some fun perks.

From the Logbook...Naan Training (pt.3 of 4)

...continued from the previous post.

Taking the boat ride to the village of Naan from the airplane dock is always a thrill.  I always just sit there in awe and remind myself that I call this my "job."  The forest is huge and the river is full of all kinds of fun kinks, bends, and obstacles.

The structure on the right is a gold mining outfit.  While totally illegal, gold mining like this is extremely popular, especially on the big rivers near my home in PalangkaRaya.  Despite the obvious environmental devastation that comes from this type of mining, I can also relate to the families trying to eek a living from this type of vocation.  There is little else to support them in these interior locations.  If I were faced with the decision to break the law and look for gold in order to feed my family, I think it would be an easy decision.

When we arrived at our hosts floating house, we opened up the buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pepsi that I had brought from PalangkaRaya.  KFC is really popular around the world.  We had a great time in fellowship and laughter while in Naan.  The pastors that serve there live a TOUGH life, and their dedication to God and to serving Him is admirable.  It's a pleasure to serve alongside them at their remote location.  (side note-KFC tastes really good when you have been working hard and sweating a lot while on the Equator)

After lunch, we still weren't done with training.  We were going to use our friends boat to survey the river, measuring it's length, look for obstacles, ect.  Above, I'm putting on my mean flight instructor face.  It's important to keep things real.  Stay tuned for the last post from our day in Naan...

From the Logbook...Naan Training (pt.2 of 4)

...continued from pt. 1

Have I ever mentioned that float-plane flying is awesome?!  After Isaac completed his solo takeoffs and landings in Naan, I needed to cool off.  What better way than to climb on top of the wing and jump in.  Yee haw!!!

Since I was already wet, I had to do it again.  There is just something special about jumping off of your airplane into a cool river nestled on the equator.

Flying float planes on equatorial rivers is the most challenging flying I have EVER done.  However, it comes with sweet perks as well.

After cooling off, we all loaded up in boats to drive 10 minutes downstream to the village of Naan to eat lunch with the guys we serve there.  Ogasto, seen in the blue shirt on the left, is carrying our picnic lunch.  I had previously arranged with the guys in Naan to do some training on that date, and then planned on eating together with them...I would bring the food and drinks.  More pictures in a few more days...

From the Logbook...Naan Training (pt.1 of 4)

After Isaac completed his first solo flight, we still needed to work at some of our more challenging places together.  We revisited the village of Naan right on the equator and practiced takeoffs and landings.  After he proved to me that he was ready to handle the takeoff and landing challenges by himself, I had him drop me off at the dock and turned him loose to practice a few more without me while I took pictures and video.  Above Issac has just landed and is coming around the "S" turn in Naan.  Float plane flying is awesome!

Negotiating the "S" turn with the right amount of engine power and rudder control takes some practice and finesse.

Check out the water trails coming off of the floats as Isaac goes airborne!  Sweet!  Driving the float-plane through the "S" turn takes a lot of concentration to be done correctly.  If you do it wrong, you loose too much energy for a successful takeoff and you have to abort around the second turn and return to the bottom of the river for a second takeoff attempt.

Naan is far away from my home in PalangkaRaya and it still has a lot of unspoiled bio-diversity.  While standing in one place taking pictures of Isaac's takeoffs and landings, God's creation was all around me, buzzing, humming, singing,and flying.  This dragonfly one just one of the things nearby that I saw.

After several reps by himself, Isaac and I were going to head to the village of Naan in boats to eat lunch with they guys we serve there.  Stay tuned for more pictures of that...

From the Logbook...Kuala Kurun

Recently during a training flight, Isaac and I visited Kuala Kurun to specifically practice docking.  The landing and takeoff at KRN are "easy," but the docking is very challenging due to large, narrow, steel posts in the river.  Before practicing some docking reps, we needed to add some gas, a common occurrence in our little float planes.  The boys on the dock put on a good show while I was fueling.

So the airplane is balanced, I need to add an appropriate amount of fuel in the right side as well.  In the course of a full flight day, I can put a full 55 gallon drum worth of fuel in my wings, 5 gallons at a time.

Here comes Isaac maneuvering the airplane for a successful docking.  Sometimes flying the float plane is easy.  Docking it is the hard part because we don't have brakes or reverse, and our wings are made of fragile aluminum.  Praise God for His protection during our flying operations!

From the Logbook...Flying in the Milk

This time of year in Borneo means dry season.  With the dry season also comes smoke.  Due to massive forest clearing and naturally occurring peat moss, smoke is a reality here.  At times, the forward visibility is reduced to zero, while downward visibility is still okay.  Recently, Isaac and I had a flight request to the same destination.  We joined up in formation and he shot these pics of me.  The picture above shows the unique look of flying through white smoke...we compare it to milk.

However, if you look down, it almost looks normal, and you can sometimes differentiate between the clouds and the smoke, which often look VERY similar.  Unfortunately, the smoke has become so bad lately, that I have suspended ALL of our flying until consistent rains begin; snuffing out the fires and raising our rivers to safer levels.

From the Logbook...A Unique Flight

Recently we were asked to pick up some passengers at an interior location run by the Kalaweit Foundation. Kalaweit is the local word for gibbon.

When we arrived, the founder offered to take me and Isaac around his property for a few minutes.  Sweet!  He had over 175 Gibbons at his location.  Due to the gibbons susceptibility to human disease, we were asked to wear masks to help prevent the transmission of airborne sicknesses.

 We learned a lot of neat facts about the gibbons and we loved watched them effortlessly swing around in their enclosures.  

It wasn't only gibbons at his location.  Reptiles were to be found as well.  The crocodile above can live in salt or fresh water and is the same species we transported for him recently.  Click here to read about that.  Next to this one was a HUGE crocadile, measuring over 20 feet long!  Supposedly he is the friendly one...I didn't stick around to shake his hand.

Above is a fresh water crocodile, indigenous to Borneo.  It's narrow snout was something very unusual to see.

Sun bears, also indigenous to Borneo, were also present at his facility.  Due to deforestation and illegal pet trading, he had many bears that he was trying to rehabilitate for future release into the wild.

The horn-bill is also unique to Borneo.  This one was rescued by him when it was a baby.  It is 100% healthy and still considered wild.  However, I was told that they are basically like chickens; i.e, stupid.  Because he had a reliable food source and familiar surroundings, flying away to another location is unlikely.

As we walked back to the airplane, the river suddenly appeared from the dense jungle.  What a treat from the "normal" type of flying to see all of these animals.

We walked back down to the airplane sweaty but feeling very fortunate to have seen such animals.  You never know what a day may bring in this "job."

From the Logbook...Dead Body Flight

A few weeks ago, we were asked to help transport two college aged boys that had died that same day after being hit by a car while riding their motorcycle.  They were traveling overland from a village far interior to study at a university in PalangkaRaya.  Tragically, they never made it to school.

The two bodies were traditionally wrapped in cloth and then wrapped in plastic to keep any body fluids from leaking out during the one hour flight.  Bodies are usually buried withing 24 hours here in Indonesia because embalming isn't available.  Body fluids are also very corrosive, especially to aircraft aluminum.  I was grateful to be able to serve the grieving families this way, but I hated to see such young life snuffed out by a traffic accident.  Flying dead bodies never gets normal.

When we arrived at the interior location, many family members were already there in order to take the bodies from the airplane to an awaiting car.

The family members all pitched in to carry the bodies across the puzzle of half floating wood and bridges.

Then, they had to climb a 30 foot set of stairs that finally put them on the river bank.  Despite the oddity of this type of flight request, the alternative was a 16+ hour overland trip to return the bodies to their hometowns in an honorable fashion.  Even though the families were grieving during this time, I was honored to be able to help them take one thing off of their minds by being able to quickly transport their loved ones bodies back home.