A Few Hours in Michigan

After a trip to Rena's parents near Reading Pennsylvania in the middle of last week, Friday morning I was back at MMS Aviation.  I wouldn't be there most of the day so I returned some phone calls and checked on progress of various projects in our hangars.  At 9:30 am, a Cessna 172 RG arrived to take me to the Ionia County Airport in Michigan near Grand Rapids.  I'd been asked to speak at the School of Missionary Aviation Technology (SMAT) graduation ceremony.  Sixteen aircraft mechanic students and nine pilots were the graduating class of 2011.

SMAT flight instructor, Terry, did the piloting duties.  He began by giving me a safety briefing.

It was a beautiful day for flying.

SMAT is moving into their new building on the Ionia County Airport.  The hangar which housed the mechanic school will become the maintenance shop for their flight training fleet (I stood behind that hangar to take this picture of the new part of the facility).

It's usually a challenge to make a really nice aircraft hangar into a good auditorium, but the SMAT staff did pretty well.  It was a pleasure and an honor for me to deliver a challenge to the graduates.

Oh yes, Terry got me back to Coshocton at 5:30 pm.

Visitors from India

It has been great to have my (Rena's) brother, Bill, and sister-in-law, Deborah visit us for a few days before returning to their ministry in India.  They are dorm parents at Hebron International School. In addition, Bill is head of the Alumni Department and Deborah also does some tutoring.

Bill and his big sister, Rena

We enjoyed an evening at Jen and Jason's home

Javin and Chanelle show their Uncle Bill and Aunt Deborah the finer points of a Wii

Chanelle shows Deborah a craft that Deborah's Dorm girls might like to do.

Javin challenges Bill to a Chess game

"Bringing in the Sheaves"

Later in the week, when Dwight returned from Air Venture in Wisconsin, we took an evening to go to Holmes County into the Amish communities, to have supper in the little town of Charm.




Bill thought he would help with the harvest!

Deborah enjoying the cows behind a fence. (They are not kept inside fences in India))

Local traffic

As we publish this, they have just arrived back in India. You can follow their activities on their blog

Better-Late-Than-Never AirVenture Update #3

After a rainy middle of the week, it was another beautiful sunny day.  There are lots of aviation things to see and do but we're here to work representing MMS Aviation.  Tim, our AirVenture crew chief, assigned four and a half hour shifts to the MMS team here.  It's enjoyable to talk to people about mission aviation and our part in it, but it requires a lot of standing.  It doesn't take long for one's legs and back to complain a bit (my age might have something to do with it).

About twenty organizations have displays in the middle tent in the mission aviation complex.  Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has the south tent and JAARS has the north one.

There's been a fairly steady flow of AirVenture attendees through the mission aviation tents.  Quite a few people have been appreciative of learning about MMS.

Tim and I have worked together this week and are pretty much able to finish each other's stories.  All our MMSers are doing a great job and I'm very pleased.

Better-Late-Than-Never AirVenture Update #2

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is the largest aviation gathering in the world.  Typically, 500,000 people visit and 10,000 aircraft fly in during the week-long event.  There are lots of wierd and wonderful flying machines, many of them built by their pilot/owners.

One of the factory built airplanes caught my eye by virtue of its paint scheme.  This one is a Kodiak built by Quest Aircraft.  The Kodiak was designed with mission aviation in mind, but it has wide appeal in the larger aviation community.  I have no idea whose this one is, but assume it is privately owned.

This is one expensive paint job!

The Better-Late-Than-Never AirVenture Report #1

Last Saturday Scott Grote, Dave Shelly and I traveled to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to represent MMS Aviation at AirVenture 2011.  A local organization, Mission Aviation Support Association, arranges housing, meals, transportation, and speaking engagements in churches for mission aviation personnel who come to AirVenture.  I spoke in both morning services at Valley Baptist Church in Appleton.  The 8:00 AM service, along with a fifty minute drive to get there, made me be an early riser.  Later in the day we gathered in Oshkosh with representatives of all the mission aviation organizations for a meal together and an orientation session for the week ahead.  It was a great time of seeing friends again as well.

Valley Baptist Church

Today was a beautiful day here in Oshkosh.  Tim Obarow and I worked the early shift at the MMS Aviation display.  Monday morning crowds are generally light, but we talked to several people who showed interest in MMS.  In the afternoon Tim and I looked around to see what was at AirVenture this year. 

The main "street" of AirVenture will be much more crowded later in the week.

Tim and I visited the Maverick flying car exhibit.  The Maverick is being developed by Steve Saint and the folks at ITEC.  It was fun to talk to Steve for a few minutes this afternoon.

Encouragement

It is so encouraging to receive a "pat on the back" once in a while. Recently, MMS received a "pat on the back" in the form of a letter to the Editor of the Coshocton Tribune. Thank you.
Click here to read the letter.