Brad Hopkins, base manager at MAF’s Palangkaraya floatplane base in Kalimantan, is really excited about the new addition to their fleet:
“I think the biggest reason I’m looking forward to the arrival of PK-MEE, the amphib KODIAK, is because of its usefulness. When we integrated the Caravan into the East Kalimantan program in 2008, it was able to go to about 30% of our airstrips—and that only with very experienced pilots. When we integrated the KODIAK into the East Kalimantan program, it was able to go to about 85% of our airstrips.
“In Central Kalimantan, we estimate that the amphib KODIAK will be able to go to all of our current waterstrips, and then expand our reach to new areas as well. So you might say we are estimating that this new airplane can go to 130% of our waterstrips/airstrips.”
PK-MEE is going to make a difference for people like Pastor Welson, who, for the last five years, has recruited kids from a very spiritually dark area (Jujang Parit) to go to Bible school up in North Kalimantan at a village called Long Bawan. Getting to Long Bawan is complicated.
The village doesn’t have a river, so in order to get to the school, Pastor Welson and his students had to go by boat from Jujang Parit to another village down river, then by road to Balikpapan on the coast, then by commercial plane to Tarakan, and finally by MAF airplane to Long Bawan.
It’s a long and expensive circular route to get to the school, but with your adopted KODIAK, MAF will be able to take Pastor Welson and his students directly from his home village on the river directly to Long Bawan and land at the airstrip there.
“Instead of a several day trip to get the kids to and from the Bible school, we can do it in a two-hour flight. There are many exciting possibilities like this one!” said Brad.
PK-MEE is just as excited to meet her future pilots as they are her, and to be able to expand the range of service at the floatplane base. In the meantime, she is still awaiting permissions from Indonesia and has a minor installation project coming up, which we’ll tell you about next time.
If you’d like to support this airplane that will one day carry the love of Jesus throughout Central Kalimantan, please consider adopting it through a one-time or recurring monthly gift. And please pray for any roadblocks to be removed so she can begin serving the Lord there.