2010 Conference Images

Here are some of the images from the 2010 IAMA Conference

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Survival Training

Missionary Aviation Aircrew Survival School

Course Information

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Survival Training Extraordinaire

This is as good as it gets, folks.  Every once in awhile, a special offer comes along that simply can’t be ignored, and that’s what we have here.  Thanks to a cooperative effort between MSI, Moody Aviation, and especially a dedicated team of instructors from Emergency Response International (ERI), some top-notch survival training is being made available to the mission aviation community at an incredibly low price.  Trust me, these ERI guys are good.  They train many of the world’s best—be it military, special ops, industry executives, or the like—and now they are using their talents to serve the mission aviation world.

The initial training session will be held June 14-18, 2010 at the Moody Aviation facilities at Felts Field in Spokane, WA.  By design, this training will be broad spectrum, covering a wide variety of topics and environments.  Class size is limited and priority will be given to Safety and Training staff who can multiply the effectiveness of this course by incorporating what they learn into their own organizational training.

The training is being provided at cost with those costs being divided equally among participants.  Estimated costs per person for the week are between $250-300.

Course Detail

This is a pilot program specifically designed for mission aviation aircrews that operate in some of the most remote regions of the world.  It is presented by Emergency Response International (ERI) in cooperation with Mission Safety International and Moody Aviation.

The course will be held 14 – 18 June 2010 at Moody Aviation, 6719 East Rudder Ave, Spokane, Washington 99212.  Classes begin at Moody at 0800 on Monday, 14 June and will conclude by 1700 on Friday, 18 June.  Contact information is included at the end of this list.

Students are responsible for their own transportation to Spokane, all meals and lodging, and transportation to and from the field training.  Car pooling is recommended.

Training will consist of classroom discussions, field activities including an overnight bivouac, and water training in a swimming pool using the Shallow Water Egress Trainer (SWET).  During field students will construct their own shelters and will spend the night in them.  Certain materials will be provided to assist with shelter construction.  A  Survival Handbook will be provided and will be used as the course text, along with numerous handouts.

The following list of clothing and equipment will be needed for the various labs and the field portion of the survival course, adjusted as needed for weather and environment.  However, we do not recommend that you buy a lot of new gear for this training.  This is an opportunity to try out what you have and to find out what really works and what does not.

Pool Lab

Swim suit and tee shirt are acceptable. Old tennis, beach shoes or dive booties recommended. No leather shoes, boots or belts. Bring a towel and dry clothes to change into after the exercise.

Field Training

The field training will be conducted in a wooded area within an hour’s drive of Spokane.  Weather is typically warm and dry with a chance of thunderstorms.  The nights may be cool.

Student Clothing and Equipment List

Pack: Large enough for the items on the equipment list.  A water proof cover, such as a large trash bag, is recommended.

Clothing:  For 1 day and 1 night of field training, suitable for the terrain and anticipated weather conditions

Boots: Suitable for the terrain and anticipated weather conditions

Gloves: Leather recommended for shelter construction and other tasks

Water proof shell layer: Includes jacket with hood and pants, either Gore-tex or coated material.

Head protection: A hat with a brim for sun/rain protection.  A large bandana to augment sun and wind protection is recommended and a stocking cap may be appropriate for cool nights…

Personal survival kit: Bring any items that you might normally carry for outdoor activities.  This is a good opportunity to try out clothing and equipment

Sunscreen and Chap Stick: Essential!

Sun glasses: Wrap-around for maximum sun protection are recommended.

Base-plate type compass: Basic orienteering style compass such as a Brunton or a Silva.   Lensatic compass acceptable but not recommended.

Multi-tool: Gerber, Leatherman, etc

Headlamp and Flashlight: A headlamp for working at night is recommended along with a backup flashlight and extra batteries.

Canteen, water bottle, Camelback, or other water container:

Cup: Metal cup that can be heated over a fire recommended.

550 Line: Also known as parachute cord or para cord, 7-strand, minimum of 50’

Signal Mirror: Glass with aim hole recommended

Whistle: Plastic, not metal

Fixed-blade knife: Durable full-shank utility knife for general use and wood splitting.

Saw: Utility saw such as the Pocket Chain Saw or Gerber or Buck folding saw

Food: Enough for 3 meals (1 day and 1 night) in the field.  MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) recommended, or other high carbohydrate foods

Sleeping Bag: A light-weight bag or a bivouac sack should be sufficient.

Sleeping Pad: A closed-cell foam pad or a self-inflating pad such as a Therm-a-Rest recommended.

Applications and course coordination

Stephen Quigg, Mission Safety International
Phone:  717.284.4788

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Email:  CaptainQuigg@netzero.net

Questions about schedules, activities and equipment

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Ralph Wilfong, Director of Operations, Emergency Response International
Office:  509.443.1377
Cell:  509.993.0092
Email:  emtspec@comcast.net
Web Site:  www.eri-online.com

Questions about Moody and the Spokane area

Allison Pfening, Moody Aviation
Office:  509.535.4051 Ext 256
Email:  Allison.Pfening@moody.edu

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Baby Born at 2,000′

“Sixty seconds later I looked back to see a little blue-faced baby passenger lying on the floor”

Date: 6 August, 2001
Jack Sluiter

Ya’ know, it started out like any other day. Up at 5:00 am to get the airplane ready and off the water by 7:30. Everything was going as planned and nothing was going to set this day apart as anything strange or unusual. That was until I called in to our home base at noon. I was sitting in a little jungle village (five or six houses) eating my lunch while I waited for passengers. They were coming by canoe from someplace unknown and would maybe be another hour before they arrived.

So I called Lisa on the radio to update what was happening. When I contacted her, the flight coordinator advised me that there was a medical emergency in Atsakus, another small jungle village (as if there was anything other than small jungle villages around). It happened that there was a women who had been in labor for three days and still had not given birth. They needed to get her to a hospital today or she may not live through the night. Since Atsakus was a river village without a runway, and I was sitting in the only float plane flying in Peru, it dawned on me that I might have to change my schedule.

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Meet IAMA Volunteers Rob & Teena Ray

Meet IAMA Volunteers Rob & Teena Ray.

Rob (also and more commonly known as “Smokey”) and Teena both work for Southwest Airlines.

Rob, a former Air Force F-16 pilot,  is now Captain up front on the flight deck of a Southwest Airlines 737.  Smokey’s flying career spans from his teens logging hundreds of hours towing banners over Florida beaches to one of the most advanced cockpits in aviation, an F-16.  He is also an A&P.

Teena does her thing as a senior level flight attendant in the passenger area of a Southwest Boeing 737.  Before this career she taught school many years in a Christian school.

Both love the Lord and wanted to serve Him in a tangible way.

They’re connection to IAMA began at Oshkosh a while back when they visited the IAMA, JAARS, and MAF booths there.  They were hooked!

Then last year it was decided [by EAA] to make Public Benefit flying a major focus for the 2009 EAA AirVenture.

It is being called Fly4Life

Public Benefit flying was a broad term coined that would convey the idea and cover the worldwide plethora of non-profit aviation activities that have as their goal of purely serving your fellow man.

IAMA was tapped as the logical organization to represent the mission aviation side of public benefit flying.

At that point, Rob & Teena came forward and volunteered to head up the massive effort of fleshing out and organizing the thousands of puzzle pieces that will make the face of mission aviation come alive to the nearly one million visitors to this years 2009 edition of EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI.

Rob, as an A&P, is also an avid Experimental builder having owned an RV-4 and today, Teena and Smokey hop around the country in his Harmon Rocket.  Rob also has a consulting business for prospective RV owners called R2 Aviation.

Would you like to get involved in missions and aviation as a volunteer but need a place to hang your hat?

IAMA and other mission aviation organizations need YOU!  Your lifetime experience and skill-set may be just what is needed right now  somewhere.

Contact IAMA if you are interested and we’ll point you in the right direction!

You are cleared for take-off!

First term missionary family adventures

Guyana

Adventure (verb):
1.  an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks
2.  an exciting or remarkable experience

There is no question that our family’s first year in Guyana met all of the definitions of the word adventure. By God’s grace we (the Wickwire Family) have come through relatively unscathed.  As for exciting and remarkable, we could write a book, and perhaps almost have if we look back at the stories posted on the website.

So what are some of the highlights and challenges?  Waking up with a rat sitting on the headboard six inches from my head; chasing a snake down the stairs and out of the house with a broom; discovering that by closing our eyes and using our imaginations, a lot of local foods can taste a lot like something familiar at home.  For example: breadfruit fries = French fried potatoes; cooked ripe plantain = apples in oatmeal; soursop = sorbet; whipped coconut milk = whipped cream; dried five finger (starfruit) = raisins and so on.

Making close friends among the local people takes time.  This has been particularly difficult for Jacob and Zack as they interact with the local boys.  We come from such different life experiences and world views. The people are wonderful though; nearly everyone knows us and greets us cheerfully. We struggle to learn everyone’s names or at least recognize who they are.  They assume we remember everyone. I will often get phone calls that start like this: “This is the mother of the girl that fly with you in the yellow plane, she ready to go outback.”  Often it can take quite some time to ascertain who they are talking about, where they are, and where they need to go.

The monthly AWA boat trips 30 miles up the Barima River to the village of Blackwater have been very rewarding. We have watched the villagers become a more cohesive group as they grow in the understanding of the message of salvation. They now meet every Sabbath with the guidance of a resident Bible/health worker we placed there. Just this week we took delivery of a brand new 24-foot dugout canoe that will be used to transport the Bible worker to homes as well as collect people for meetings at the church.

The impact of AWA’s yellow, Cessna 182 airplane on people’s lives has been immeasurable. I would love to post a list of how many lives have been saved, but that is impossible to know. However, this is what we can state for certain: 207 patients were transported to advanced medical care, 63 of which were critical cases where loss of life or limb was probable; 107 Guyana Ministry of Health personnel were taken for clinics, vaccinations or patient care; 131 patients who had completed treatments were returned to as close to their home villages as we could take them. Church workers, ministry and outreach personnel and AWA’s Wings for Humanity staff accounted for 110 seats. In total for the last 12 months (August 2007 to August 2008), we carried 763 passengers on over 450 flights logging just over 400 flight hours, all with one Cessna 182 and two pilots.

One recent case involved a 12 year-old boy named Godfrey Rammit from a village called Red Hill. He had a compound fracture of the radius and ulna, and it is common to see people here with permanent disabilities from fractures that don’t get properly set.  Godfrey was being sent to Georgetown alone. He had never been to the city before and was ill-equipped to deal with getting through the system of complete treatment. Our AWA Guyana Project team was concerned that he could simply fall through the cracks.

Laura LaBore, AWA’s Guyana Project pilot/nurse, asked for permission to send him to Davis Memorial Hospital under Davis Interior Medical Emergency Service (DIMES) program, which provides free treatment for patients from remote communities. The initial attempt to set the fracture was unsuccessful so he had to have surgery to have pins and screws put in place and then a cast.  He spent a few days at the hospital before we could take him back to Mabaruma, where he spent a few weeks hanging around the local hospital very patiently.  We then flew him back to Georgetown where he spent another couple of weeks at the Amerindian Hostel until he was able to get the pins removed. At that time, AWA’s Guyana Project team and its yellow Cessna 182 took him back to Mabaruma where he was able to catch a boat back home. It was a long process, but in the end our team sent a boy back home fully recovered and able to live a normal life with no disability.

After one year in Guyana, we are looking forward to God’s plan for us and his work here.

Short Term Missions Trips – Africa

From the four corners of America to the mysterious reaches of East and Central Africa… Professionals, students, moms, and every variety of church lay-people pack their bags and brave the vaccinations. They come to Africa on a mission.

For some it is a repeat journey, but for most it is the very first time. Their mission is often well planned and clearly defined, but what lies ahead is pretty much unknown. Maybe that’s part of what draws them here each summer, the teams of volunteers, coming to give something of themselves to a land they know very little about. The uncertainty, the apprehension, and lack of control are part of the package. But, even at the onset, there is a suspicion that what a person takes away from two weeks in Africa will be much more than what he leaves behind.

At some point in time, all of the planning and packing comes to a juncture on the ramp at Wilson Airport in Nairobi – as the team circles around the airplane for a group photo, and the bags (minus the three that British Airways sent to Australia) are weighed. The team will gather here bewildered and jet-lagged – so far from home, but so excited for what’s ahead. It’s a mix of joy, fatigue, and some small concern that the pilot for this harrowing flight into the African bush looks like he’s sixteen and just got his pilot’s license yesterday.

As I meet them at the plane, the tool of my ministry, I introduce them to the idea of a pilot who is really a missionary.

We work together to get all the baggage aboard while I entertain questions… “Yes, I’ve been here awhile… I’m actually thirty-three… from New Jersey… Well, I haven’t lived there recently, so that’s why I don’t talk funny. Yes, I’m married… Here’s a picture of my wife and kids. It’s a Cessna… About 700 horsepower. No, the weather won’t be a problem.”

In the process I find out that they are from a church in west Texas, or that they are students from different schools across the country brought together for this trip. I discover that some of them are still a little apprehensive, and I try putting their fears to rest with a confident word and a pre-flight prayer. The copilot seat is then offered up, as a bonus of sorts, to someone in the group who has always wanted to learn to fly, or to the one most unsettled about small airplanes. The front-seater gets a photo at the controls, a headset, and a new friend from north Jersey.

I am optimistic for these new acquaintances and kindred hearts because I know some things that they do not yet know.

For instance, I know that the plane will indeed pick them up in two weeks from the little unreachable corner of Kenya or Sudan that we dropped them off at. And I know that they will most likely come back a different person. They will be appalled, and amazed at what they see there. They will lose some sleep under a mosquito net, imagining every manner of creepy crawling thing in God’s creation. They will sit with lifelong missionaries and discover that they are not all that different from themselves. They will come to love the African people there, and the children will especially capture their hearts. They will cry because of the world that these children grow up in — for the first time in their lives having a picture of “what it means.” What it means to need, what it means to suffer, what it means to fear. They will take a moment sometime in those weeks to examine their own lives and their own faith. And they will inevitably fall short.

After fourteen days or so, the airplane will arrive overhead a mixed blessing. For it is the sound of relief… the sound of a good meal, a hot shower, and a decent night’s rest. But also the signal that this is goodbye. In sweat and time and love they have given everything they had to give. And now they know for sure that they could never give enough. The flight back to the city is different from the one out. My passengers are looking tired. Most are quiet; gazing out the windows, writing in a journal, or fast asleep.

One is up front with me on the headsets again. I query him about the trip and am encouraged. And then I hear him say it – words I have heard so many times, in so many ways… “I come away with so much more than I gave.” I smile and nod and think, “I know what you mean.”

_______________________

AIM AIR website: www.aimair.org

New Tribes Aviation to the rescue again

When a Palawano woman’s medical condition was beyond what the missionary clinic could handle they called for a flight to transport the patient to another medical facility.

After missionary pilot Ben Hart landed Wednesday, close to the small remote village in the Philippines, he heard a fascinating story about the couple he was transporting.

While Ben helped the woman and her youngest daughter into the plane he noticed that her husband did not look like a typical mountain person. He looked more like a person from the coastal area.

Asking the missionary about this, Ben was told how the couple met.

Her husband of many years is a former rebel from another area. During one of his raids on a village in years past, he spotted a girl and attacked her, smashing her mouth with the butt of his rifle and taking out several teeth. He dragged her off into the jungle and she became his prisoner.

The young woman, about 30 years of age, and her husband now have nine children.

As the plane taxied to the other end of the runway, Ben saw that the woman had her eyes covered with the barf bag. He didn’t see her eyes open again until the plane was safely on the ground at their destination.

During the flight he also noticed something that seemed unusual to him.

“Her husband was patting her in a comforting way the whole flight,” Ben wrote. “Well, comforting of some sort. He was thumping her chest with his hand. It seemed ironic to me that this man, in particular, would be showing a public display of comfort to his wife. I have flown out many sick tribal people and have never seen that before.”

This young mother is now scheduled for surgery and Ben believes he will soon be flying her back home to recover.

“Maybe this year she and her husband will be introduced to Jesus,” Ben wrote.

________________

Story by David Bell (04/09/2009)

New Tribes Website

IAMA Spotlight: Spokane Turbine Center

The mission of the Spokane Turbine Center is to provide high quality, cost effective turbine training in technically advanced aircraft to the mission aviation community. We strive to train the current and next generation of missionary pilots to operate these new technically advanced turbine aircraft safely and efficiently. The centralization of missionary turbine training will allow mission organizations to realize significant financial savings.

For more information visit their website at www.spokaneturbinecenter.com

Contact:

5629 East Rutter Ave
Spokane WA 99212

Office: (509) 535-4051
Fax: (509) 535-7077

Gaston Ntambo-National Missionary Pilot-Congo, Africa

Gaston Ntambo is a national missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries (United Methodist Church) assigned to work in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the North Katanga Conference of the United Methodist Church.  Based in Lubumbashi, Gaston serves as a pilot and mechanic with the Wings of the Morning flight ministry.

Gaston shares a rather dramatic story about one of his flights:

“The Wings of the Morning aviation ministry provides vital transportation to many of the hard-to-reach areas of Congo, which is especially important in emergency situations. I believe God is using me as a tool to often reach out and save lives, but there was one time in particular that was especially memorable.

During the recent Congo civil war, I flew to the village of Kafakumba in southern Congo to rescue missionaries stranded there when rebel troops cut off road access.

I didn’t realize when I landed that the rebels had already taken the village, but it didn’t take me long to find out. The aircraft was immediately surrounded by soldiers and I was put under house arrest with the very missionaries I had come to rescue.

The situation was looking very grim and we were seriously wondering if we were going to survive the ordeal.  Two days later, it just “so happened” that a new commanding officer arrived in the village.

Figuring there was nothing to lose, I took a gamble and forced my way out of the house to go appeal to the commander for our release. The commander questioned me sharply to find out just who I was – and then smiled and introduced himself as an uncle who I had never met.

He secured our immediate release and I was able to fly the missionaries out of the war zone to safety.”

This is just one example of the protective cloak the Lord provides over our brotherhood of missionary aviators around the world.

Iama Spotlight: LeTourneau University

LeTourneau University’s School of Aeronautical Science offers a broad degree in aviation from a Christian perspective in five majors and 14 total degree concentrations, including mission aviation.

We offer a study of aviation that includes all the elements from design, electronics, air traffic control, computer science, mechanics, technology and flight.

Our solid, hands-on degree concentrations teach the skills and knowledge students need to be successful in the aviation industry. Our state-of-the-art airplanes and labs use the very latest technology: electronics, composite materials, computer software and jet engines. LETU’s aviation program is primarily designed for those who wish to become experts and leaders in the aviation industry.

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