Category Archives: Thursday Flyer

Adrenaline High

In almost 70 years of service, MAF has gained a worldwide reputation as a First Responder.

The call came at a bad time. We’d loaded the airplane and buckled in three passengers. I was just climbing into the cockpit.

Pancho hurried up. “Capitán, emergency in Bufeo! Snake bite. Pregnant woman.”

I stopped mid-climb. “How long?”

“Two, maybe […]

The Ability to Go Anywhere

Praying before a flight to Kikwit, west DRC, with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

The beauty of serving with MAF is the ability to go anywhere. You’re probably thinking, “Well, yes, that’s why you have small airplanes,” but that’s not exactly what I mean.

As pilots of MAF aircraft in a developing country we gain […]

Flight Training Beyond the Airstrip Name

Badly Airstrip

On the corner near the MAF headquarters, there’s a firehouse with a reader board out front that says, Plan your Fire Escape. It’s a good reminder to be ready for the unexpected. As MAF flight trainers, we train our pilots for the “expected” but to also plan for the “unexpected.” We train […]

Training Flight Part 3 – Lava Fields, LASSOs, and Wild Horses

This post is part of a series in which a new MAF staff person tags along (quite bravely, he is a true hero really) on an MAF training flight. These training flights help prepare MAF pilots for their field assignments overseas. Past posts include Preparing For Takeoff and Engine Failure.

Inky black filled the windows of […]

How To Convince Yourself It’s Safe To Fly

Talking myself down … or up, rather.

I’ll admit it—I get a little nervous flying.

I’m not scared of flying per se, but every time a plane I’m on starts to make its descent, I start going over everything I know about physics (which is not much)—thinking about how fast we are going, how high we […]

Head on the Ground – Feet in the Clouds

My name is Chris and I am new to MAF. I’m not a pilot. I’m not a mechanic. The only things I know about aviation, I learned from Top Gun. (I still have trouble working out in my head how a heavy thing made out of metal can get off the ground.) And while I’ve […]