MAF’s newest KODIAK is visiting Florida, Arizona, and California before heading to its final home in Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Paul O’Brien.
March 20, 2014—Mission Aviation Fellowship’s newest aircraft, a Quest KODIAK, will be visiting several areas of the U.S. before heading to its final home in Papua, Indonesia.
“This remarkable airplane will be used to deliver food, medicine, building materials, and Bibles,” said John Boyd, president and CEO of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). “It will transport medical teams, missionaries, and relief workers. It will carry children to school and the sick to the hospital.”
Before it heads to Indonesia, friends of MAF can see the KODIAK in Florida, Arizona, and California. Airplane rides will be available for $30 at the Arizona and California events: reserve your seat at http://www.maf.org/connect/events.
Florida: April 1-6, SUN ’n FUN airshow, Lakeland, Florida. Airplane dedication ceremony Saturday, April 5, at 10:30 a.m. You’ll find the MAF exhibit at the southeast exhibit area, corner of Doolittle and SUN ’n FUN roads.
Arizona: Wednesday, April 9, Wickenburg Municipal Airport, Wickenburg, AZ. Airplane rides offered 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dedication ceremony 1:00 p.m.
California: Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12, Riverside Air Service at the Riverside Airport, 6741 Gemende Drive, Riverside, CA. Plane rides will be offered Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Dedication event 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
“The KODIAK is an amazing aircraft, and is uniquely suited for MAF’s work in Papua,” said Boyd. “Hundreds of small villages lie hidden in the jungles and mountains of this rugged land. There are very few roads. A 20-minute flight in an MAF airplane saves an entire day of travel by foot.”
MAF currently has 13 airplanes in Papua, including four other KODIAKs. For many years the Cessna 206 was the workhorse of the fleet, but in recent years MAF has been replacing the 206s with KODIAKs.
Boyd explains, “Avgas is very expensive and difficult to obtain in Indonesia and many of the isolated places MAF works. In some countries we pay as much as $21 per gallon! But the KODIAK runs on jet fuel rather than avgas, and it can use most of the short, rugged airstrips served by the 206. It can fly farther and carry more cargo less expensively. It was created specifically for this kind of work.”
As a non-profit, MAF relies upon many generous supporters to keep its planes in the air. The new KODIAK was purchased entirely with gifts.
“We give thanks to God for the gracious friends whose generosity allowed MAF to purchase this plane,” said Boyd.