One last flight with the Kodiak

Toward the end of September, the Kodiak was to make one last flight to complete it's summer tour. The last stop would be Centralia, WA, which is south of Seattle. The flight from Spokane to Centralia took us right past Mt. Rainier. It was very beautiful from 12,500 ft. I am very thankful for the opportunity I had to pilot the airplane that was created for the use of continuing the spread of the Gospel.

It's about time I make an entry

So it's been over two months since I have written anything. I guess that means time is really going fast, or I am a big procrastinator. I am going to attempt a try at catching you up a bit.

Wonderful time

We had a great time in Connecticut with family and friends. And we wish Milton and Sheila the best. They work so well together, I know they will have a wonderful marriage. We hope this will not be that last trip out to Connecticut

Local wildlife

I love walking the coastline looking for different creatures. While Amanda likes to look for neat rocks and shells. And Abigail, well, I think she just likes to eat the sand.

Grandpa and Grandma

Abigail got a good dose of Grandpa and Grandma.

Shoulder rides

On this trip she learned how to ride on my shoulders. It made carrying her easier for me, and she loved it, every once in a while she would let out a random giggle. As a Dad I loved spending more time with her. I am still staying pretty busy, working on getting my flight instructors license as well as providing for the family. So to have nearly a week of time together was great. I even taught her how to growl.

Abigail enjoyed the coast also, though we didn't allow her to eat it.

Light houses

Amanda has always been intrigued by light houses. So you can bet we spent some time looking at different light houses along the coast. This one was at a place called Watch Hill, Rhode Island.

Amazing history

OK, I will be honest, in high school, history was a dreaded subject. But as time passes its becoming one of my favorites. And the east coast is full of some pretty awesome history. We were able to walk around some towns that were established in the 1700's. Beautiful homes, narrow downtown streets, and some very old war artifacts. It was great, I could have spent a lot more time touring.

Time with family

While in Connecticut we were able to spend some time with Mom and Dad (right), Uncle Mike and Aunt Mary (left), and Aunt Darlene (not shown).

Wedding on the beach

Our family recently had the privilege of witnessing my sister's wedding in Connecticut. The setting was perfect. They chose to be married at Harkness Memorial State Park overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The call for an outdoor wedding was a risky one, being that there was rain all day on Friday and then more on Sunday. But the day of the wedding was dry with overcast skies.

Baby on the move

The day after I got home Abigail decided to start crawling. I was so glad that she waited for me. I took this video shortly after she did it for the first time. She grew so much over the two weeks I was gone. On top of crawling, she has gotten very good at eating food. She loves squash and chicken, but then again she likes to stick anything in her mouth. The day after spending some time on a beach she had a diaper full of sand. That had to be tasty!

Trains, planes and automobiles

I had an 18 hour day on Monday the 18th, traveling from Reedsville, PA to Spokane, WA. About an hour in a car, 4 hours on a train and the rest in the air with a few layovers. It is so nice to be home after being away for a month.

Fasten your seat belts

After I have everyone sign their waiver form and run the weight and balance I take them out to the airplane and explain the seat belts and other safety related items. Then I help them get seated and close up the doors. We do about one ride every 45 min when it is busy.

Want a ride?

I am here holding down the fort. Lining up rides and answering the many questions that people have about the Kodiak. While it is slow I get a chance to post a blog or two. That is precisely what I am doing in the picture above.

A visit to Jersey Shore, PA

We got to visit New Tribes Mission while in Pennsylvania. This was the location of the Missions Institute before they relocated to Missouri. NTM kept the property and is now using it for week long camps, offered to churches, schools and the general public. The program introduces tribal missions and the reality of a lost world that just needs to hear God's Word. I was very impressed with what NTM put together. Visit their website at: www.ntm.org/wayumi

Head in the clouds

The cloud formations have been so beautiful. There were a few scattered thunderstorms on our way to Pennsylvania, but very easy to avoid. So far on this trip we have had beautiful weather. We haven't canceled any flights due to weather, which is uncharacteristic of the east in the summer.

A crew of three

Ed Robinson and myself are in the front, and Steve Ottaviano is behind Ed. Steve will be taking over for me as I leave
in three days. Steve is a missionary pilot with JAARS. He has many years logged over seas and has been back in the States now foundraising for the Kodiak.

Somebody's got to do it

Yeah, that's me under the belly of a Kodiak. To begin each day we get do a preflight to ensure the aircraft is in good condition to fly. We also clean the airplane every morning. Even though this is a rugged mission plane, we attempt to keep it clean for our guests.

Take off

This was a take off on a 2,200 foot runway, with a slight incline, loaded to it's maximum weight. As you can see, there is plenty of runway left after lift off. He lifted off in about 800 ft.

Many stops

We have been to thirty cities so far, some stops involve visiting a flight school, other are events put on my mission groups such as NTM, JARRS and MAF. Some places have been very busy, others have been pretty relaxed. We are giving rides on an average of thirty per stop. That puts us up to around 800 rides that we have given. I do all the loading and signing up of our passengers and also give them a briefing similar to what you would hear on an airline, though I try to make it a little more interesting.

My new friend

At one of our stops in Moxville, NC I had a little helper named Harmony. She helped me organize papers and enter our riders information into the computer.

Partners

Ed Robinson is on the left, and Micheal Stroh is on the right. He helped organize the Florida tour. In 2001 I spent some time in Indonesia with Micheal. He gave me a very good look at the life of a missionary pilot. His wife and three children will be serving in Arizona where we will be in roughly two years. I look forward to getting to know them better.

Very hot

We had some very pretty cloud formations in Florida, but I was rather disappointed that we never got a good thunderstorm. The weather was very hot and humid, which is not my favorite combination.

I don't get it

I don't know why that last picture didn't flip on it's side. I am a little confused now. If any of you know what I am doing wrong shoot me an email please

The rough life

This was one of the hangers we stayed at in Sanford Florida. I have honestly never seen anything like it. The hanger had tile floors, fans that were made out of old airplane blades, a bar, and a very large table in the middle with a chandelier hanging over it.

Lots of rides

I am not sure what happened to my other picture, it was right side up when I entered it. I guess I will chalk it up to inexperience:)
We have given over 700 rides on this tour so far. Ed Robinson does all the rides, while I do all the point to point flying. This picture was of me flying to Florida with a ride along passenger. He wasn't paying so I could still fly the route.

Stormy ride

I was able to spend a week with my family and friends in Wisconsin half way through the Kodiak tour. Amanda and Abigail also flew out at the same time. We had a great time and it was a much needed break from the tour. On our way out we had a bit of weather to work around. The picture shows us just skirting the edge of a thunderstorm. We saw a lot of lightning and a lot of black clouds, but were able to stay clear of it. We got through just in time, because about a half hour later it really closed in and covered the bottom half of Wisconsin. The picture above shows the sattalite image in our cocpit as we flew through it. The flight was only four hours, from Oshkosh, WI to Bermingham, Al. After the initial storm we had smooth flying the rest of the way.

Starting our blog

Well, we finally decided to start a blog page. We hope that it will connect us that much more with all of you.