Before continuing with their flight training, Sean and Isaac shared lunch with some of the pastors they serve at Naan. This is the second post in a series. You can read the first one here.
When we arrived at our host’s floating house, we opened up buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pepsi that I had brought from PalangkaRaya. (KFC is really popular around the world.) We had a great time in fellowship and laughter while in Naan. For the pastors that serve here it’s a TOUGH life, and their dedication to God and to serving Him is admirable. It’s a pleasure to serve alongside them at their remote location.
After lunch, it was time for some more training.
Because a float-plane’s landing and takeoff environment is obviously water, it is hard to get good data on “runway” length, water depth, obstacle locations, and climb-out angles. So, we took the opportunity in Naan to obtain all of that data for future use, with the goal of operating safer in and out of places like Naan. We know that our airplanes climb at 1.5 degrees when fully loaded, so we need to ensure that the obstacles at the end of the river do not exceed that.
I also took the time to point out to Isaac obstacles in the water. The things poking out of the surface are easy to see. But, being able to read the water to see the obstacles just inches under the surface is important as well.
Sand and gravel bars are a continual challenge for us in float plane flying. Knowing where they are located and how wide they are is always helpful to our continued safe operations. I’m walking up ahead with Pastor Nyunting. He is a faithful servant of God and always ready to help us out. It’s a pleasure to get to know him on a deeper level every time I’m in Naan, as we continue to partner together to reach the lost.
Side note: KFC tastes really good when you have been working hard and sweating a lot while on the Equator. And in case you’re wondering, Isaac is missing from the pictures as he was busy taking them … or flying the plane. Thanks, Isaac.
