Summer 2015 Update

People up here are raving about how nice of a summer it has been. Temperatures have been above normal and precipitation somewhat below normal. No one is complaining though! 70 degrees is a hot day on the Kenai Peninsula. It has gone over that many times this season. This past May was the second warmest on record.

Summer time is also the busy season up here.  The sun only goes down for a few hours. The population quadruples. The salmon are running. The skies are buzzing with planes.

Honestly I thought this past year would go very differently than it did.  We should always be looking ahead and planning but usually despite our efforts things end up changing. Sometimes we loose our sense of direction. Sometimes God closes a door. Sometimes He opens a window. Sometimes we think we should go through that window but circumstances prevent us from doing it. What should hold us back?

Earlier in the season I was able to visit with an Aviation Ministry Group that operates in Central Alaska. Little to my knowledge they were pleased for me to visit and had been praying that someone with my skills would come to help with a few things. Within 5 minutes they put me to work. It was neat to learn about what they do and actively be a part of it at the same time. Their primary purpose is flight training for young people pursuing Missionary Aviation.

In June while visiting family in the lower 48 I visited another Aviation Ministry Group that happens to be from my home state of Ohio. They train aircraft mechanics for future missionary service and repair/restore missionary aircraft for many Christian organizations. Although I am already a licensed and experienced technician, they have a need for full time staff to work on big projects.

Although right now I do not see myself being directly involved on a career basis with these two ministries it was nice learning about what they exist for and sharing what God has done in my life. In return I get to make new contacts and gain insight into where I may end up down the road.

A while ago at Church we had an interesting series on what one may sense to be divine promptings, spiritual whispers. They could be small or big. Examples could be a simple inspiration to send someone a "thinking of you" card or complex as sensing a strong calling to pursue a specific life purpose.  The presenter/author emphasized 5 test points that people should put these senses through to see how far they get. If they pass all 5, chances are it may be significant.

1.  Ask God if He is the source of the prompting.
2. Is it scriptural?
3. Is it wise?
4. Is it in line with my character and personality?
5. What do those I trust think of it?

Try applying these tests in your own life. It may help in making decisions. It has helped me.

You - my family, friends, and spiritual supporters are in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your encouragement!

How to stay busy for the winter

 I have been waiting for winter to arrive but thus far it has been significantly more mild here than Ohio. The coldest temperature has been about -10*F. Not too bad considering it can get down to -20 or -30 here. Most of the time it has hovered somewhere between 0 and 40 with averages in the 20's and 30's. Very unusual for up here. Almost all the snow is melted too. The biggest storm only dumped about half a foot in places. Winter up here can last until May so it could still get messy.

For years I have worked as an aircraft mechanic. My first job in aviation was as an electronics technician, or avionics tech for short. That is what I currently do in Alaska. I actually am more suited and prefer the avionics side of things while most mechanics hate to touch the stuff. Lots of wires and connectors to keep track of but we make it all work.

They use aircraft like trucks up here; about 75% of the work we do is on commercial operators. It keeps us very busy given the high demand for cockpit and equipment upgrades but there is not enough man power to do it. We are so busy to the point that I am unable to take time off to be part of the Missionary Aviation Repair Center in any major way.

With the weather being what it is I have not been able to do much of anything outside. The trails are too icy with all the rain and freeze-thaw cycles. There is not enough snow to ride snow machines or go cross country skiing. There was only a short window to go ice fishing; all the lakes are frozen but too unstable to be safe on with the recent warm up. Lots of new things to experience but not enough winter or time to do them.

Hope all is well to my friends and family down south. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Driving The ALCAN

The trip from Ohio to the Kenai Peninsula is about 4000 miles one way. We had one week in September to drive it.

For the most part I can honestly say the entire journey went smoothly with no surprises (but we did hit some bumps in the road - no pun intended). The most stressful part was crossing the border and dealing with customs. Second was estimating fuel stops in remote stretches of northern Canada and Alaska.

• Ohio: Boring as usual.
• Indiana: Boring.
• Illinois: Very boring.
• Wisconsin: Mildly pleasant to boring.
• Minnesota: It was getting dark and we did not see much of it.
• North Dakota: Flattest place I have ever been. You can almost see the curvature of the earth!
• Manitoba: Pretty flat, different money, fuel now priced in cents per liter.
• Saskatchewan: Big chunk of the Great Plains.
• Alberta: Also a big chunk of the Great Plains but with mountains in the west.
• British Columbia: Combo of hilly plains, mountains, and wilderness. Start of the ALCAN.
• Yukon Territory: Desolate. No man's land. Nice mountains. Rough roads.
• Alaska: God's Country. Kinda like Yukon but bigger, taller, icier, and more populated.

The Alaska-Canada Highway starts in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. The end is 1400 miles in Delta Junction, Alaska. This stretch of road is the most desolate and isolated stretch I had ever been on (some parts of Utah come in a close second).  And despite the name it is just a two lane road. Due to the constant maintenance needed from harsh winter and frost heaves, it is not even paved in some stretches.

List of animals we saw on the ALCAN:

• Elk
• Porcupine
• Black Bear
• Dall Sheep
• Mountain Goat
• Bison (actually an entire herd right in the road...)

Since we arrived in Tok, AK on schedule and had two days to spare, we made a little spontaneous trip further north and drove to the Arctic Circle, about 200 miles north of Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway. Not too often a little SUV from Ohio drives across an entire continent to the Arctic!

We then scrambled to get down to Kenai so my friend could fly back.

Let me just say that there is no reason to have tremendous fear about driving the ALCAN. It just takes some planning. Driving at night in the warmer months is not recommended because there are too many animals in the road. Manage your time, fuel stops, and fatigue wisely. Bring snacks because there are no food stops for long stretches. Bring tools and some spare parts (thermostat, fuel pump, relays, solenoids, serpentine belt, etc). Top off your fuel tank every chance you get, the next pump 100 to 200 miles down the road may be out of service or shut down for the season.

It is worth the drive. I wish we would have had more time to enjoy it. One could spend months exploring areas near the highway and beyond.

Alaska 2014 - Part 2

Most probably figured there would be another sequel to my experiences up north. To make a long story short, an interesting variety of situations and circumstances allowed the following to come together for Alaska 2014 - Part 2:

1. A place to stay for the winter
2. A job at a local airport
3. A different vehicle to survive the 4000 mile journey
4. A good friend to share that journey with
5. A certain level of insanity to actually do it

So what is one to do? Pack up some gear and drive north to Alaska before arctic winter strikes.

Intermission

I did not want to leave. That sums up how I felt when making arrangements to go back to Ohio. My purpose for being at MARC had been fulfilled. I could have stayed longer at more expense but there is always more work to be done no matter how long someone is there.

As hard as it was to leave new friends, experiences, and a place I consider my other home, it was best to stay with the plan and come back on schedule. About the only thing that went nearly exactly as I planned was getting there and leaving on the predetermined schedule. Everything else in between falls into place in ways we cannot always envision ahead of time.

God works in mysterious ways. We just have to trust Him, even if situations seem to go beyond our understanding. If we take a step back and look at the big picture, we will see that some strange things that happen are not coincidences; there is something else much deeper happening and we are only seeing the bubbles on the surface. That is how this trip went for me.

Sometimes when air traffic is busy we enter a holding pattern before being cleared for approach and landing. Figuratively speaking, I am in that holding pattern and "Air Traffic Control" is calling with an amended clearance.

To be continued...

Aircraft Maintenance - what really keeps them flying.

As the name suggest, one of the Missionary Aviation Repair Center's main functions is aircraft maintenance. Mandatory inspections, servicing, modifications, repairs, and lots of paperwork are just part of what is required to keep an aircraft flying.

MARC performs maintenance on many aircraft:
1. The MARC Fleet (2 Beechcraft King Airs, 1 Piper Navajo)
2. Aircraft operated by other missionary groups in the region
3. Personal aircraft in the area (revenue used to help offset MARC's operational costs)

Many of the pilots are also mechanics but usually there are not enough mechanics for the amount of work that could come in the hangar doors. More mechanics means more aircraft maintenance that MARC could take on and help offset the costs of their primary purpose: flying and maintaining missionary aircraft.

That is why they need more people. More staff would allow MARC and affiliated groups to further enhance air transportation logistics in support of the Christian Church and in effect God's Kingdom in remote road-less Alaska.

It has been a very rewarding experience being able to put my skills as an aviation maintenance technician to work for such a worthy cause and purpose.

King Air progressive inspection and servicing

Kodiak 100 hour inspection and servicing

Flat tire on a Cessna Caravan at a gravel airstrip in the boonies

Weighing a local aircraft on digital scales to compute weight and balance info

Fueling aircraft

My specialty: aircraft electronics and wiring

A day in the life of a Missionary Pilot in Alaska

Time flies when you are working hard and having some fun. And working up here can be fun. We have been so busy I have not had much time to keep track of everything going on. So while I may not be able to update here as often as I would like, I try to take pictures of the action as it is happening to share later.

A couple of times recently I have had the opportunity to ride along for the day with a MARC pilot to gain a better understanding of how they serve the remote areas of this land.

We start at 8:00 AM for a short time of devotion and prayer. This allows us to share with each other, connect with God, and focus on what we are working towards.

Shortly after, we preflight, retrieve and load the aircraft full of groceries, two push lawnmowers, and even large heavy pressurized propane tanks (that was kinda unnerving at first...).

The first day we were gone about 12 hours from base and made the following flights:

1. Groceries and propane tanks from Soldotna to Tanalian Bible Camp at Port Alsworth (1hr flight)
2. A load of Bible camp kids from Port Alsworth going home to Dillingham (1hr flight)
3. A load of new Bible camp kids from Dillingham to Port Alsworth (1hr flight)
4. Another load of Bible camp kids going home from Port Alsworth to Dillingham (1hr flight)
5. Another load of new Bible camp kids from Dillingham to Port Alsworth (1hr flight)
6. Another load of Bible camp kids going home from Port Alsworth to Dillingham (1hr flight)
7. Pick up some more new Bible camp kids in Manokotak going to Port Alsworth (1hr 15min)
8. Drop off our last load going to Tanalian Bible Camp in Port Alsworth and head home to Soldotna (1hr flight)

We got back to base in Soldotna around 10PM. Nine flights, hundreds of pounds of groceries, hundreds of pounds of propane tanks, two lawnmowers, and dozens of Bible camp kids.

That was just one day of the week. There are other flight crews with other aircraft flying similar missions in other parts of the state at the same time. Summer is busy up here.