As the spouse of a pilot, one of the things that drew me to MAF was its reputation for safety. But when I was required to sit in a day-long flight safety seminar at headquarters, I was less than excited. When I asked why I had to attend, I was told, “Safety is a team […]
I loved flying Ecuadorian jungle kids. They reveled in life, not yet acquiring their elders’ stoicism. At the village airstrips, girls moved in tight, giggling knots. Boys ganged, separated, then ganged again at each new wonder. They spoke whisper soft, peering, pointing, touching tentatively, watching me for any sign. In the midst of adult conversations, […]
Circling the remote mountain airstrip I see both windsocks standing straight out, indicating lots of wind. My onboard GPS is talking to me and I don’t like what it says. Around 20 knots crosswind, I calculate. My heart is thumping and my palms are sweating. My hopes for landing are not high.
The day’s scheduled flights […]
Every once in a while, I like to get all technical. So for those of you who yawn when others start talking about widgets and how they work, you may want to jump ahead. For the rest of you, read on. I like to think of airplanes as having a Body, known as the airframe, […]
MAF pilots wear two hats—that of pilot and mechanic—and they come in handy when it comes to problem solving their aircraft.
A man was working on a roof in the northern Congolese town of Karawa when it suddenly collapsed from under him. His sternum broke and breathing became difficult and painful for […]
In talking with one of our aviation maintenance instructors here at MAF headquarters, I discovered that some tips could be applied to life as well. Here are four things I’ve learned about life via plane maintenance.
#1 The Tootsie Roll Theory. Talk to the guys in the maintenance or safety divisions here at MAF headquarters […]