“One lady told how she had lost three boys and two daughters to malaria, another man spoke of the three children that he had lost to malaria . . . the stories went on and on.  One chap said that until the missionaries came to Malamaunda, they had no access to any medicine due to their remote location, and the death toll each year was in the thousands.  Even now, the villages “close” to Malamaunda are a number of days walk away, and Bob Kennel told how a man had tried to bring his child sick with malaria to the village where Bob was - a three day walk.  After a day’s hike, the child died in the man’s arms and all he could do was return home to bury his little child.  This is happening right now.  As I write this, people here in PNG are dying from malaria . . . only a very short flight away from Australia.  This should not be happening . . . this must not continue to happen.”

Imagining myself as that father carrying his sick child rammed home the impact that malaria has.

Lets not ask “What would I do?

Ask “What can I do?“

MAF Pilot Clint Smith with the GA8 Turbo Airvan in Toowoomba

Toowoomba’s airfield received a special stopover from an aircraft on a mission yesterday.  A newly developed turbo charged airvan or GA8, designed and manufactured in Gippsland, Victoria, was on its way to Papua New Guinea to take on the world’s most difficult flying conditions.

The plane was built for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to carry out medical and missionary work in developing PNG.  MAF pilot chief Clint Smith said PNG was a country of difficult terrain with few sound roads.

“PNG is a struggling, developing nation hindered by isolating terrain and there are places where there are no roads or where the roads can only be used for a few months each year,” Mr Smith said.

“Some of the airstrips are shocking and weather patterns can be really, really unpredictable.”

The $775,000 plane will take pride of place in MAF’s PNG fleet alongside 15 other aircraft.  The big difference with this latest edition is the addition of a turbo-charger that will allow the plane to soar to greater heights faster.  Mr Smith said a United States military assessment of flying conditions worldwide found the standards required to fly safely in PNG are the highest in the world.

And MAF will be one of only two organisations to benefit from funds raised by the epic journey.

Ken Evers 33 and Tim Pryse 51, will depart from Bendigo Aerodrome on a day to be determined in May bound for Norfolk Island.

They will continue their journey across the Pacific to California via Hawaii then on to Arizona and New Orleans. From there they will touch down to refuel in Jamaica and Barbados before heading south to Brazil, then due east across the Atlantic to Africa, on to India, Vietnam, the Philippines, PNG and back to Australia.

The history-making flight commemorates Australia’s Centenary of Flight when the famous contortionist Harry Houdini conducted Australia’s first controlled, powered flight in March 1910, changing the landscape of flying in this country forever.

Ken and Tim will fly a GA8-TC Airvan over 26,740 nautical miles in 230 flight hours. The eight-seat Airvan is manufactured by Gippsland Aeronautics in Morwell (Vic).

The flight aims to draw attention to malaria, the world’s most common infectious, mosquito-borne disease, claiming over a million lives annually. Most victims are those least able to afford preventative drugs or treatments.

The pilots hope to raise one million dollars

to combat the global impact of malaria by inviting donations via the millionsagainstmalaria.com website to two nominated charities - Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and Pacific (AFAP).

People in many of the tropical and sub-tropical areas the pair will fly across suffer from malaria including Papua New Guinea where Ken Evers grew up as a teenager and was deeply impacted by the Work of MAF.

“MAF pilots are my heroes”

“For me, MAF was the epitome of aviation. MAF pilots are my heroes,” he said.

“Living in PNG and watching the work of MAF taught me the lesson that you can use the gifts you have been given to do the right thing. And of course in the case of MAF it is using the gift of flight to help people.

“I watched what MAF did in PNG. I saw my friend’s life saved (by a MAF flight) and now I want to offer my support. I think MAF is such an unsung group. People fail to see that MAF is saving countless lives every year. ”

For further details about Ken and Tim’s epic journey and an opportunity to donate online to MAF, go to  www.millionsagainstmalaria.com

The new MAF Hangar - Gove Airport, Arnhem Land, NT Australia

The fly-past of a helicopter for some overhead photography heralded the start of proceedings which took place before a gathering of about 200 people under the new hangar roof.

And what a roof!  Around 37 metres long, 26 metres wide and three times higher than the old hangar still standing a few minutes walk away at the edge of the runway.

The new dimensions are more than mere statistics for the engineers and pilots who will begin to occupy the new hangar this week. In essence it’s about space: the room to store aircraft and equipment and the ability to maneuver planes in and out speedily and comfortably for maintenance and repairs.

In the old hangar that simply wasn’t possible. In addition, engineering staff had to cope with excessive heat under a low roof, flooding during the wet season, antiquated facilities and cramped offices.

Funding for the new hangar was provided by numerous donors, the largest of those from the Collier Charitable Fund, MAF United Kingdom and MAF Netherlands.

MAF International Asia Pacific Director and Vice President, Bill Harding, expressed deep gratitude to the large donors but also acknowledged many who had given smaller amounts of money, professional skills, materials and time. These included businesses, churches, local people and volunteer workers from Mobile Mission Maintenance and churches from all parts of Australia and New Zealand who had “personally paid a big price.”

“It’s been quite a journey,” he said. “We had long delays during fundraising, massive cost increases due to the price of steel and fuel and all sorts of other setbacks from transport to termites.

“But finally it is finished, it is fantastic and we really can rejoice and give thanks. God provided all the funding one way or another and a number of people put in monumental efforts.

“Many sacrifices have been made. It has been an incredible and personally costly effort but something great has been achieved.”

Both Mr Harding and MAF Arnhem Land Program Manager Ian McBride paid special tribute to young MAF airman Hadleigh Smith who died on October 16 2008 when the GA8 Airvan he was piloting went down in nearby Buckingham Bay enroute to the mainland. To this day, the aircraft has not been located.

A framed series of photographs of Hadleigh, a brass plaque and Bible passage will hang in the staff room of the new hangar as a memorial to the young pilot.

Mr McBride said Hadleigh’s story would forever remain a part of MAF’s story in Arnhem Land.

Regarding the new hangar, he said that, to really appreciate it, visitors needed to go down and take a look at the old hangar which was prone to flooding, had a leaky roof and was a victim of termite damage.

“But the biggest problem,” he emphasised, “was the shortage of space.”

“With this new hangar we can look forward to the future and begin to achieve the level of professionalism that we want.”

Mr Banambi Wunungmurra representing the local indigenous (Yolngu) community, acknowledged the long journey that MAF had been on in Arnhem Land, standing alongside aboriginal people, learning the Yolngu Matha language and being sensitive towards cultural issues.

Mr Wunungmurra, Chairman of the Uniting Church Yirrkala Parish and President of the East Arnhem Shire Council, said he wished to thank his “MAF brothers” many of whom were his good friends, for maintaining good relationships with the Yolngu people and providing services to Yolngu (Laynhapuy) Homeland communities.

“They have become adopted (into Yolngu families),” he said. “A unity has developed between us. MAF has helped our people to move back out to their homelands, they work with us in a spirit of unity and I thank God for that. I really do.”

The new MAF hangar in Gove, a wonderful testimony to the provision of God, the hard work and dedication of a vast army of people and the generosity of donors large and small, is nearing operational status. It will enhance and increase the ability of MAF to serve the indigenous people of East Arnhem Land.

The old hangar will be retained as a storage facility and workshop.

via www.maf.org.au

GA8 Turbo with pilot Nick Swalm in PNG

The brand new 8-seat aircraft left Mareeba bound for PNG on April 21 following a ferry flight up from Victoria. MAF took delivery of the plane in February but the actual handover was delayed by certification approvals and modifications.

By all outward appearances, the turbo-charged (TC) Airvan is identical to its normally aspirated cousins, 11 of which are currently operating with MAF in the PNG lowlands, Arnhem Land, Cambodia and East Timor.

The big – or little – difference only becomes apparent when the engine cowling is removed to reveal the addition of a TC converter about the size of a 2-litre soft drink bottle tucked away neatly and almost out of sight. But big things can often be achieved by small objects. That small device will allow PNG pilots to soar with ease over mountain ranges and greatly reduce flight times between highlands airstrips. It will give them additional power for rapid climbing through breaks in the cloud.

Aviation Resources Manager, Stephen Charlesworth, explains that it is all about the ability of the TC Airvan to convert or compress – via the turbo-charger – the thinner air taken into the engine at altitude.  ”To date, (non-TC) Airvans have been particularly useful in the lowlands of PNG, Indonesia, Cambodia and East Timor where MAF has a number of Airvans operating,” he said.

GA8 Turbo Airvan in flight, PNG Highlands

“But they have been less successful in the PNG highlands. As you go higher, air pressure reduces and the air is less dense. Therefore, the higher the altitude, the less power becomes available to a normally aspirated aircraft. There is less energy for the engine to burn. ”The turbo-charger or compressor overcomes that problem by compressing the air prior to it entering the engine enabling more power for greater rates of climb. As a result, the aircraft is better able to move from valley to valley in the PNG highlands.”

Mr Charlesworth said the new Airvan would readily climb to heights of 10,000 feet and above, had a greater load-carrying capacity than the Cessna 206 and required less maintenance. The Airvan GA8-TC 320 is powered by a Lycoming turbo-charged fuel injection engine turning a Hartzell three-blade propeller.

Worldwide, 135 of the Victorian-manufactured Airvans are flying in 32 countries. MAF has the second largest fleet of Airvans after the USAF Civil Air Patrol.

MAF Australia – www.maf.org.au