We spend a lot of time looking forward right now. We try to see what life in Papua New Guinea will be like and try to find examples of the many ways that MAF impacts lives there. In this post I want to look back a bit, and tell you about the journey I have been on to be able to even apply to be a missionary pilot with MAF.
To begin this story we need to go back to 2008. I was in Calgary working in an unrelated field and was more and more convinced that aviation, specifically mission aviation, was where I wanted to invest my energy. I was aware of the flight training program offered at Prairie Bible College through the (then named) Prairie School of Mission Aviation. I applied and was accepted into the program and arrived on campus in January 2009. The program is a two year diploma, but since I had a year of Bible school credits from my time at Peace River Bible Institute, I was planning on spending one year there, focusing on the aviation elements of the course.
After finishing my training at Prairie, I had my Canadian commercial license with Multi Engine IFR. The next step was arguably the hardest part of this whole process: finding that first flying job! It took a long time, countless resumes were sent out to anybody who I thought might look at me. During this time I needed to keep working, and got a job working on the ramp at Calgary International with Air Canada.
This is what the cargo hold of an Air Canada 777 looks like
They even let me drive the push back tractors. This would have been either Calgary to London or Frankfurt.
Working for Air Canada was not without benefits. With Laura's teaching schedule we were able to spend a fair bit of time traveling on the standby employee passes that were available.
In November of 2010 I visted Dallas Derksen (PSMA Instructor and friend, now with MAF in Mongolia.) in Northern Alberta. Since I always had a stack of resumes in the car, I dropped one off at the airport in Peace River on my way home. About two weeks later I received a call from the Chief Pilot saying that they needed a ramp worker, with the intention of being moved up to the flight line in due time. I called Laura at work, we talked about it a little bit, and I gave notice at Air Canada the next day. We were off to Peace River.
At the beginning, my work with Northern Air was not a glamorous affair. Very early and very cold mornings, the smell of Jet A fuel on everything I wore, and living on my own until Laura was able to join me a few months later were all things to deal with. But I knew I had made a commitment to the company and it would be worth it in the end.
Whether it be snowing...
Or clear mornings which would easily reach -30C
The sun would rise...
And you could choose how to deal with it.
It did take a while to get on the flight line. It wasn't always fun or easy, but there was so much more to life than just work. Laura and I had our first home in Peace River, we enjoyed a full life in that community. Laura was by my side the whole time, for which I am eternally grateful.
On December 10, 2012 I did my first real flight as a commercial pilot. It was the daily YPE-YEG-YPE scheduled flight (that is Peace River to Edmonton and back). I was in a King Air 100 C-GNAJ. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and the captain I was with probably felt the same.
King Air 100 cockpit.
The good thing about being put on this plane was that we would fly a lot! Back and forth to Edmonton twice a day all week gives you lots of repetition and chances to improve and hone your skills quickly. After flying "the sched" for a few months I had enough time to be put on the company's contract with Alberta Health Services, flying the bigger King Air 200 and flying to points throughout Alberta at the drop of a hat. I enjoyed this type of flying and the clear sense that we were able to be part of helping people who needed it at that very moment.
In total I flew about 1250 hours in King Airs, and in 2015 Laura and I started the process of becoming part of MAF, the goal from the very beginning. The long process of interviews and assessment culminated in my going to the MAF base in Mareeba, Australia to do my TE (technical evaluation). This was a great experience, and I was so happy to leave with a successful result.
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