It's been a while

Now that I'm flying again I think it's about time I got back to this flying blog!

We had a great time with family and friends on Home Assignment and now we are back in Nairobi again. The MAF flying in South Sudan is continuing, although at a reduced level while the pilots and their families are still based in Nairobi. I'm now doing some flights here in Kenya and spending each third or fourth week up in Juba to fly within South Sudan.

I'm not going to write about each flight individually for now but, since our return just over two weeks ago, I have done 8 days of flying which was made up of 33 legs, 24 of those up in South Sudan. In those 8 days I flew 35 hours and customers have included Dan Church Aid, AIM, ZOA, Toposa Team South Sudan, ECS, Medair, Tearfund, Sudan Evangelical Mission, Action Africa Help International, Seed Effect and International Medical Corps.

It has been great to get back to some of the familiar old airstrips and to work with the South Sudan team again, along with flying here in Kenya. South Sudan remains very tense so please pray for peace to be restored in that troubled country.

All change!

Well, a lot has changed since I last blogged. Tensions in Juba had been rising and on Friday night 8th July fighting broke out in various parts of the city. On the afternoon of Saturday 9th July, by God's grace, there was a window of opportunity to get to the airport and I flew one of two MAF aircraft which evacuated all the MAF international staff families and children to Kenya, leaving only a handful of MAF staff in Juba. The remaining international staff members were successfully evacuated to Kenya the following Tuesday on another MAF flight.

We are now living temporarily in Kenya and I have been doing some flights for the MAF Kenya programme. Tomorrow we will travel to the UK for home assignment so there will be no flying blogs here for a while.

Weather

Yesterday the weather was bad. At least that was the way the guy in the tower described it when asked on the radio by some pilots trying to come in for landing! It was a grey rainy day, which is quite unusual for Juba, and it certainly made for some challenging flying conditions.

I was booked to fly the Western Equatorial Shuttle to Kajo, Yei, Juba, Maridi, Ibba and Yambio. Due to the bad weather my departure was significantly delayed in the morning and the knock on effect of that was that Ibba and Yambio had to be cancelled later in the day. On my return to Juba after the first rotation the weather was particularly nasty and I flew the instrument approach down to minimums in cloud and heavy rain which is not something we have to do often here in Juba.

I carried 23 passengers representing ECS, AMREF, AIC, Tearfund, Carter Centre and International Medical Corps.

Food supplements for Motot

Today seemed to be a busy day in Motot. Chris, one of our other pilots, flew a double rotation to Motot and I did a third, while WFP seemed to be doing a major food distribution as there were hundreds of people gathered at the southern end of the airstrip.

I took one ton of 'supercereal' food supplement for Tearfund and brought back one passenger.

Loki shuttle and thunderstorms

Yesterday I flew the shuttle to Loki via Torit, Kimatong and Kapoeta on the way out and via Kapoeta and Torit on the way back. Passengers represented War Child Holland, ZOA South Sudan, Carter Centre, New Kush Foundation, American Refugee Committee, NIRAS Water for EES Project, UNIDO and Rural Action Against Hunger.

Apart from the passengers I also carried pipes and solar panels to Kimatong for a borehole project and 100kg of medicines from Loki back to Juba for Medair.

The weather was typical for the rainy season in Eastern Equatoria with small cumulus clouds in the morning building into thunderstorms by the afternoon. On the return legs we had thunderstorms close to Kapoeta and Torit but fortunately we were able to get in and out before the heavy rain reached the airstrips.

Loki shuttle and thunderstorms

Yesterday I flew the shuttle to Loki via Torit, Kimatong and Kapoeta on the way out and via Kapoeta and Torit on the way back. Passengers represented War Child Holland, ZOA South Sudan, Carter Centre, New Kush Foundation, American Refugee Committee, NIRAS Water for EES Project, UNIDO and Rural Action Against Hunger.

Apart from the passengers I also carried pipes and solar panels to Kimatong for a borehole project and 100kg of medicines from Loki back to Juba for Medair.

The weather was typical for the rainy season in Eastern Equatoria with small cumulus clouds in the morning building into thunderstorms by the afternoon. On the return legs we had thunderstorms close to Kapoeta and Torit but fortunately we were able to get in and out before the heavy rain reached the airstrips.

Another 4 in 1

Well, we had an excellent 2 week break in Kenya and since getting back on Monday, have hit the ground running (or should that be flying?).

It's been a busy week with flight times averaging a bit more than 5 hours a day. I haven't managed to keep up with blogging each day so here is a break down of the week:

On Tuesday I did the run up to Renk for Medair. Four pax on the way up with 400kg of freight, empty on the way back.

On Wednesday I flew a ton of medicines to Yida, via Rumbek for fuel, for Far Reaching Ministries.

On Thursday I carried a mixture of freight and passengers for Christian Mission Aid. We stopped at Jaibor, Keew and Lankien before coming back to Juba.

Today turned out a little differently to the way it was planned but in the end I flew a double rotation for Tearfund. The first rotation was to Yuai with a ton of CSB (Corn Soya Blend) food supplement. The second was to Motot with a ton of water purification kits and dry food items.

And now it's time for a weekend...

4 in one

It's been quite a busy week so I have not managed to get around to blogging about my flights. Tonight I'll just write one blog to cover the four previous days:

On Monday I didn't actually fly the aeroplane, although I was on the shuttle as 'co-pilot' carrying out an annual proficiency check for one of our other pilots. We had stops in Kapoeta and Kimatong on the way out to Loki and Kapoeta and Torit on the way back home.

Tuesday was a busy Equatorial Shuttle with stops in Yei-Kajo-Juba-Maridi-Ibba-Mundri and home again. 23 pax in total from 10 different organisations.

Wednesday was a charter for Open Doors. The destination was Yida, with a stop for fuel in Rumbek. On the way out I carried freight only, mostly tarpaulins (!), and on the way back two passengers.

Today I flew up to Keew, Old Fangak and Jaibor for CMA (Christian Mission Aid). We had not flown for CMA for some time and it was good to meet some of the people I recognise from last year and to go back to some familiar old airstrips. It was not an easy day, with a delayed departure from Juba due to paperwork issues and a lot of weather to contend with in the vicinity of the airstrips.

It's been a tiring week and I must say I'm looking forward to a holiday :)  Tomorrow morning we'll be off for a two week break so I'll be back here at the end of the month...

Motot, Mabior and Mundri

3 Ms today.

My first rotation was to Motot for Tearfund (yes, with more wood and cement) with a stop in Mabior to collect some paperwork on the way back to Juba.

The second rotation was to Mundri to collect 8 of the AIC passengers who flew out to Mundri on yesterday's shuttle.

A busy Equatorial Shuttle

Today I flew our shuttle to Central and Western Equatoria with stops in Kajo Keji, Yei, Mundri, Juba (again), Maridi and Yambio. I carried 30 passengers in total representing 12 different organisations (I'm afraid I'm too tired to type them all out though ;)

Very pleasant weather for flying again, although we really could do with some more rain in Juba.

More wood for Motot

Today's flight was to Motot for Tearfund. I had a ton of freight on the way out, mostly timber, cement and dry foodstuffs, and two pax coming back down to Juba.

I was a little taken aback at the amount of wood we are taking up to Motot these days so I asked the Tearfund representative up in Motot what it was all for. He told me they are making benches for the feeding centres, and evidently there is more wood to come as they have quite a few feeding centres...

Doro/Maban

Yesterday I took 2 passengers and 600kg of freight up to Maban for Medair. The freight was mostly medicines and medical supplies.

An uneventful flight with good weather on the way our and on the way home.

Loki shuttle

Today was another Loki shuttle with the usual stops in Torit and Kapoeta both on the way out and on the way back.

We carried 10 pax on the outward legs and 10 on the return legs, serving 10 different organisations.

More timber and food for Motot

Yesterday I was back in Motot for Tearfund. We took another ton of freight up, consisting mainly of timber and dry foods like flour, and I brought one passenger back to Juba.

Motot is one of the airstrips which we go to regularly but which can be affected badly by the rainy season. This time I noticed that the airstrip at Pieri, about 15km to the south of Motot was very wet and yet Motot itself was dry. The Tearfund guy on the ground receiving the freight told me that there was rain all around Motot a few days ago but it didn't actually rain in Motot, so we'll make the most of the conditions before 'rain stops play'. Last year there was a period of about 3 weeks when Motot airstrip was unusable as it was partly under water!

Timber and cement for Motot

Today I flew a single rotation to Motot for Tearfund. I had one passenger on the way out, plus almost a ton of freight, and one passenger returning to Juba.

The freight for Motot was mostly made up of timber and cement, but also included PVC pipes and fresh food or the team based out there.

Loki shuttle

A straightforward Loki shuttle today to swap aircraft with our MAF Kenya colleagues. Stops in Torit and Kapoeta on the way out to Loki and again on the way back to Juba. Not many passengers today, just five in total representing Caritas Switzerland, Carter Centre, Make Way Partners and the Redeemed Christian Church of God, plus 6 MAF Juba international staff family members returning from R&R.

What has 27 legs and carries 68 people plus 3.1 tons of freight

Answer: my schedule last week.

One busy week of flying

Yesterday I had another double rotation, starting with a run up to Motot for Tearfund and followed by a shuttle to Kapoeta and Torit.

The Motot flight had two pax on the way out with just over 800kg of freight, mostly timber, and one passenger back down to Juba. The second rotation, to the east, was passengers only.

A delayed Western Shuttle

Thursday's Western Equatorial Shuttle had stops in Mundri, Yei, Kajo Keji, back in Juba, Maridi and Yambio. There were 30 pax in total representing ECS, the Catholic Church, International Medical Corps, Reconcile International, the British Council, Sudan Evangelical Mission, Malteser International, Food for the Hungry, Seed Effect, Action Africa Help International and AMREF.

It was going to be quite a long day, but it needn't have been as long as it was! In the morning there was a strike over unpaid salaries at the airport so no aircraft could start up until that was resolved. We did eventually get started at about 10:15 but it made for another late end to the day, landing back in Juba shortly before 6pm.

Quite a day

That was quite a day! Over 7 hours of flying, almost stuck in the mud, bitten by a tsetse fly...

The first flight of the day was out to Pagil for Christian Mission for Development with a load of 17 School in a Box kits plus some tarpaulins. While unloading the metal boxes (40kg each!) from the back of the aeroplane I was bitten by a tsetse fly, which is rather uncomfortable. Unfortunately the one that bit me was not alone. I think I provided some amusement to the locals when I climbed into the cockpit to prepare for departure and sat for quite some time trying to swat as many of the tsetse flies as possible before starting up.

The ones that didn't get away

From Pagil I went to Gorwai to collect some more freight and then on to Jiech. In Jiech I collected one lady and eight children for the flight back to Juba. The airstrip in Jiech was quite wet, thanks to rain a couple of days ago, and I came very close to getting stuck in the mud while I was backtracking the runway before departure. Thankfully there was a small dry patch at the end of the runway which meant I could turn around without getting stuck and we continued back to Juba with a rather muddy plane.

My second rotation was to Tonj for Don Bosco and I carried 5 passengers and 450kg of freight, mostly food. Although the weather was building up by the afternoon, I was able to divert around the thunderstorms and the flight was pleasantly uneventful.

Western shuttle

Today I flew our Western Equatorial Shuttle, with stops in Nimule, Kajo Keji, Yei, Ibba and Maridi before returning to Juba. Our 14 passengers represented eight organisations including Winrock International, ECS, AMREF Health Africa, International Medical Corps, the British Council, Seed Effect and UNFPA.

Along with our other paying customers, we had on board LuAnne Cadd, our 'roving MAF reporter'. LuAnne spent most of the flights hard at work interviewing passengers for stories which will end up in various MAF publications.

LuAnne interviewing a passenger en-route from Yei to Ibba

Yesterday on the flight to Aweil I was also accompanied by LuAnne, but without a plane load of passengers I was the one being photographed and interviewed! I find it surprisingly difficult to keep a straight face and to 'act normally' with a big camera lense a few inches from my face so I think I make her job quite difficult, but she takes some great pictures so the results are always worth it.

Plumpy Sup for Aweil

Yesterday I flew up to Aweil in the north west of the country, with a stop in Rumbek on the way out for fuel. I carried 2 passengers and nearly 800kg of freight.

The flight was booked by Medair and was in response to an urgent need for Plumpy Sup in their child nutrition programmes. While we were on the ground in Aweil we also heard that Medair is responding to an outbreak of Measles in that area and are in the middle of a campaign which aims to vaccinate 45,000 children! MAF also played a part in that response when we flew an aircraft load of measles vaccines up to Aweil last week.

The MAF staff shuttle to Loki?

Yesterday morning when I departed Juba for our regular shuttle to Lokichogio there were 12 people on board (including me) and everyone was a MAF employee or family member! It really was a MAF shuttle!

Two MAF Juba international staff families were travelling to Nairobi for R&R while our roving reporter, LuAnne Cadd, was on her way to Kimatong to work on some stories about the work being started out there by some of our partners. Next to me in the front was a visiting pilot/programme manager from the MAF base in Arnhem Land, far northern Australia.

We did collect a few more passengers along the way, representing Carter Centre, St Patrick's Missionary Society and Presbyterian Relief Development Agency with stops in Kapoeta, Kimatong, Loki and Torit...

Medicines for Renk and a flooded taxiway

Yesterday's flight was to Renk for Medair and I carried a full load of medical supplies plus fresh food for the team up there. The flight back down was empty and the timing was good as I had a clear run home before the weather built up with heavy rain in the north east of the country yesterday evening.

Juba airport has been going through some big changes over recent months including resurfaced taxiways and runway and improved drainage, so I was a little surprised to find that one of the newly surfaced taxiways was actually flooded yesterday morning after a night of heavy rain. I think some modifications may be required to the drainage system...

Helicopter vacating the runway via the flooded taxiway.

Yei, Motot, a Base Check and an update on Leer

Yesterday was quite a busy day. In the morning I took two passengers to Yei for the Baptist Convention of South Sudan, accompanied by one of our pilots from Nairobi. After dropping the passengers in Yei we flew for about an hour and a half in that area and en-route back to Juba to complete my Base Check. Base Checks are assessments which we all need to do twice a year to check proficiency in handling the aeroplane and in dealing with emergencies.

After we landed back in Juba we had another flight up to Motot for Tearfund. We took a ton of freight up to Motot and returned with one passenger to Juba.

For those who read the blog about bicycles to Leer and wondered what all those bikes could be used for: they will be given to Medair Nutrition Assistants to enable them to do home visits as part of their community malnutrition management programme.

14 Bicycles for Leer

Today's flight to Leer was for Medair and carried one passenger and about half a ton of freight. The freight was made up mostly of fresh food items and bicycles, with a mattress thrown in for good measure!

How do you put 14 bicycles in a Caravan? Carefully...



Leer is not a particularly friendly place and so we off-loaded the bikes and other freight as quickly as we could in order to get going back to Juba with as little hassle as possible.

Loki again

Today I was back in Loki again for the shuttle. One stop on the way out in Kapoeta and two stops on the way back home in Kapoeta and Lohutok.

The 9 passengers represented Dan Church Aid, Goal Ireland, SIL, Carter Centre, MSF and AIM.

Loki shuttle

Today's shuttle to Loki stopped in Kapoeta on the way out and in both Kapoeta and Torit on the way back to Juba. We carried 14 passengers in total from 5 organisations which included MSF, Carter Centre, SIL, Presbyterian Relief Development Agency and the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism.

Medical flight to Maridi

Today I went to Maridi to collect an old man who had broken his leg and needed to come to Juba for treatment. I asked how the injury had occurred and apparently the man was pulling a goat when he fell and broke his leg.

The flight was organised by Doctors for Africa and I carried the patient plus another man who came along to care for the patient.

Elia and Tito en-route back to Juba

It was a beautiful day for flying with a high overcast which kept the day cool and the air smooth after a night of refreshing rain.

Jiech for CMD

On today's flight to Jiech for Christian Mission for Development I carried one passenger from Juba plus close to a ton of freight. The freight was mixed but included 9 'School-in-a-Box' boxes (see http://www.unicef.org/supply/index_40377.html).

On the return leg I had 8 passengers, more than half of them children, plus several dozen flies! Fortunately flies get a little sleepy up at altitude and stop flying around quite as much as they do near the ground, but they're still rather annoying.

Jiech is still dry, as you can see from the dust being blown around by the helicopter in the picture below, but as I was departing for Juba there was a line of thunderstorms just to the east so it looks like they may be getting some rain this afternoon.

A couple of showers to the east of Jiech

To Renk and back

Today's flights were quite straight forward. A three hour run up to Renk for Medair with 2 passengers and nearly half a ton of medical supplies, tools and stationery.

The return leg was about 20 minutes shorter, since I had a good tailwind, and I was on the ground about 15 minutes before the arrival of the leader of the opposition who has been expected here in Juba for the last week. That was good timing since VIP movements can often cause quite a lot of disruption at Juba airport.

Please join us in praying for peace in this country.

Juba-Lohutok-Lokichogio-Kapoeta-Juba

Today I once again flew the shuttle to Loki to meet one of our MAF Kenya colleagues and to swap aircraft with them. We had a slightly earlier start than usual to try to avoid security hassles at the airport with the expected return of the Opposition leader to Juba. When I arrived back in Juba this afternoon there was a heavy military presence at the airport but we managed to get through without any trouble so the timing worked well.

Our passengers represented the following organisations: Carter Centre, ECS, MSF and Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron.

With talks of another possible VIP arrival tomorrow it might mean another early start...

Loki via Lohutok

Today's flights were for the Loki shuttle. I stopped at Lohutok on the way out to collect one man who has been doing Bible translation in that area, and on the way back to Juba had stops in Kapoeta and Torit.

Passengers were from Wycliffe Associates, UNIDO, Carter Center and War Child Holland, with a couple of hundred kilograms of freight for Medair coming back to Juba too.

A day of prayer and another Western Shuttle

Yesterday we did not have any flights and closed the office for the day so that we could get together as a staff team to pray as part of the MAF International Day of Prayer. We do this twice a year and join MAF staff all around the world in praying for MAF and the world we operate in.

Today was another busy Western Equatorial Shuttle, although not as many passengers this time. I had stops in Yambio, Ibba, Maridi, Mundri, Yei and Kajo Keji and carried a total of 12 passengers plus about 100kg of freight. Organisations represented include UNFPA, Seed Effect, ECS, Bible Society, World Relief, Catholic Diocese of Tombura, Light for the World, AMREF, International Medical Corps and Sudan Evangelical Mission.

Western Equatoria

Today I flew to Kajo Keji, Yei, Maridi, Mundri and back to Juba for our Western Equatorial shuttle. We had 14 pax in total and the organisations we served were the ECS, Sudan Evangelical Mission, Development and Literacy Partners International, Action Africa Help International, ZOA and Seed Effect.

Today was a beautiful day for flying with smooth air and amazing visibility. Quite a morning for wildlife too, with a small snake found hiding under one of the aeroplane's tyres and a frog resting in a puddle near the other wheel!

Loki shuttle

Yesterday's flights were out to the east to meet our Kenyan counterparts in Lokichogio. I stopped in Kapoeta on the way out to collect an American family of 5 who were travelling to Nairobi for a week or two, and returned via Kapoeta, Lohutok and Torit.

Due to expected VIP movements we had to deal with a lot of extra security on the roads to the airport but fortunately the flights were not disrupted.

Werkok

Today's flight was a short 40 minute trip up to a village called Werkok for an organisation called Partners in Compassionate Care to collect a team of four people. 

The team I collected included a pastor from the USA and an Indian doctor who lives in Bahrain, and they had spend the week in the village of Werkok supporting a hospital project out there.

Thursday's flights were not easy ones for several reasons. In a sad reminder of the hatred and violence which plague this country we received a call from an International NGO on Tuesday requesting a flight to Yei, south west of Juba, to collect several staff members and the bodies of two of their colleagues who had been shot that morning.

A group of national staff members of this INGO had been travelling by road to/from Yei when they were ambushed by about 30 armed men. They were taken into the bush and assaulted, during which two of the staff were singled out because of their tribal background and shot dead. The others were then told to put the bodies in their vehicle and take them away.

One of our other pilots did that flight down to Yei on Tuesday afternoon to collect the five people plus the bodies of their colleagues.

On Thursday we had been chartered to fly the bodies of the victims up to their home areas to return them to their families, and that was my flight. There had been some miss-communication between the INGO and family members which resulted in a slight delay in the morning as we worked out the details. Fortunately the weather was much better than the day before, which made things a little more straight forward and I was glad that we could complete the flights to allow the families to grieve such a sad and senseless loss.

Thunderstorms

My logbook entry for Wednesday looks rather odd as it shows a flight from Juba to Juba which lasted over 3.5 hours. The picture below explains why. This is a picture of my weather radar screen as I was approaching Leer (the end of the purple line is my destination) and the red and purple areas represent heavy rain and thunderstorms.

I was booked to take a ton of freight to Leer for Medair and most of the 1.5 hour flight was spent dodging thunderstorms. I had been forced to divert nearly 70km off track to avoid them, and as I was nearing my destination the weather overhead Leer was deteriorating quickly.

I did arrive in the vicinity of the airstrip but was unable to land due to the heavy rain and severely reduced visibility. It was rather a long way to go for nothing but I guess that is just part of flying in the rainy season...

A busy Western Equatorial shuttle

Today's shuttle was a busy one with stops in Mundri, Maridi, Ibba, Kajo Keji and Yei. I carried 35 passengers in total, representing 12 different organizations including the ECS, Sudan Evangelical Mission, East African Ministries, Light for the World and SIL.

The weather was great for flying with a high overcast keeping the temperatures down a little and making for less turbulence. The rainy season is definitely here and there are plenty of thunderstorms around, but we are still waiting for a proper big rain here in Juba...

Make that a single

Today I was booked for a double rotation, initially to Torit to collect a team of 7 working with Petros Network, followed by a trip to Motot for Tearfund.

The first flight to Torit went as planned, but due to a technical issue with the aircraft I was unable to continue to Motot. Fortunately for Tearfund one of our other pilots was back in time from his first rotation and was able to do the Motot flight this afternoon.

Open Doors to Yida

Today's flight was to Yei to collect a team for Open Doors and take them up to Yida in the north of the country, with a stop in Rumbek for fuel.

It's always good to fly for Open Doors and to support the work that they do, but today's flight was also special in that I had the opportunity to fly with an old friend. Before starting work with MAF, I worked as a flying instructor in South Africa and one of today's passengers was one of my fellow instructors at that time. He continued to instruct for a few years after I left to fly for MAF but then he stopped flying and went back to work for Open Doors in South Africa.

It was great get the chance to fly together today and to have a chat as we made our way up to Yida.

A damp runway in Motot

Yesterday's flight to Motot for Tearfund was delayed for a few hours in the morning due to rain showers and a wet runway.

After pre-flighting my aircraft we heard from our contacts in Motot that it had begun raining. They reported that the airstrip was wet and we should delay our flight until the weather cleared and they could re-assess the airstrip condition. I came back home and got on with some other administration tasks while we waited for an update.

Mid morning we heard that the weather had cleared and the airstrip was drying well. I returned to the airport and was able to complete the flight without any trouble. The rainy season is definitely here now...

Hot and dry in Renk

Today's flight was the weekly run up to Renk for Medair. Two pax and half a ton of freight on the way out and one passenger on the way back down.

On the ground in Renk it was 40 deg. C and the surrounding countryside is looking very dry indeed. Evidently the rains have not yet reached that far north.

Loki Shuttle

Yesterday I flew the shuttle to Lokichogio via Torit and Kapoeta. Although we've only really had one rain in Juba so far, Kapoeta has had more than that and the airstrip is a little worse for wear now. As I arrived in Loki there was a big rain shower passing just to the north of the airfield, but only light rain in Loki itself as the storm passed.

It was a fairly empty shuttle with only two passengers for Carter Centre, two for MSF and one for ZOA South Sudan.

A medevac and a little more of Western Equatoria

I had two rotations to Kajo Keji today, starting with a medical flight to collect a man who had received 2 gunshot wounds and needed to come to Juba for treatment. Medevacs are always a little more complicated than normal flights, with large crowds and plenty of people who want to be involved and try to help. Fortunately we have a good working relationship with the people who were involved in this flight and, although there was a large crowd, things went fairly smoothly and we were able to complete the flight without much too much trouble.

The second rotation was to collect 5 men from Kajo and take them to Mvolo and Maridi in the west, where they will be doing surveys for potential boreholes. The men work with an organisation called East African Ministries (www.eamafrica.org) and they told me that their organisation drills and manages boreholes for remote communities as part of their ministry.

A long day, but rewarding to be playing a small part in such exciting ministries.

... and another Western Equatorial Shuttle

After a relaxing Easter break it was back to flying today with another Western Equatorial Shuttle. I landed at Mundri, Maridi, Ibba, Yei and Kajo Keji and carried 15 pax in total representing 9 different organisations including Baptist Convention, Sudan Evangelical Mission, American Refugee Committee, Call for Ministry, ECS, Charlotte Baby Home, World Relief, Winrock International and AMREF Health Africa.

At one point it looked like a rain shower was going to prevent me landing in Yei but fortunately the weather cleared enough and I was able to complete all the flights as planned.

Western Equatorial Shuttle

I had a fairly long day today with a shuttle stopping in Yei, Yambio, Ibba, Maridi, Mundri and Kajo Keji. We had 20 passengers in total representing organisations including ECS, Christian Horizon Global, American Refugee Committee, Reconcile International, International Medical Corps, Living Water Ministry, UNFPA and Sudan Evangelical Alliance Partners.

In the afternoon the rain arrived in Juba, conveniently while I was flying to Kajo Keji. By the time I flew back in to Juba it was wonderfully cool(ish) and there was absolutely no turbulence. A great way to end the week. Tomorrow we are off to Nairobi for some R&R so there'll be no more flying blogs here until after Easter...

Medair to Maban

Yesterday's flight to Maban for Medair was a mixture of passengers and freight on the way out but empty on the way back down to Juba.

Some mist/fog up in the north of the country made the arrival into Maban a little bit more interesting than usual, with visibility ranging from mediocre to very poor as we flew the last 40km or so. Fortunately the visibility in the immediate vicinity of Maban was good and we were able to complete the flight as planned.

Another of our flights was bound for Wau in the north west (more than 600km from Maban) and had to divert to another airfield because the visibility in Wau was reportedly down to 200m.

More soap to Motot

Another double rotation today starting with a short half hour hop down to Yei to collect two passengers.

The second flight was up to Motot with a ton of soap for Tearfund. Both flights went smoothly (if you ignore a bit of turbulence) and still no rain, although there was rain further to the north today and Motot was a little damp so it seems they have had their first shower.

Open Doors back from Yida

On Friday I returned to Yida to collect the Open Doors team which we had flown up a week and a half previously. It's always good to fly the return leg for a team when you've flown them out into the field, and it was good to see some familiar faces and hear the positive reports of their work.

Eight of the ten passengers I collected were going back down to Yei, while two were coming all the way back to Juba to connect to an international flight. We needed to stop in Rumbek on the way down from Yida in order to refuel but fortunately we were able to make it a quick stop and we made it back to Juba just in time for the international flight...

ACROSS to Rumbek

Well, Thursday and Friday were long days and, with the weather as hot as it's been, I was rather tired by the end of each day. So there's my excuse for only blogging a couple of days after the fact... ;)

I had a double rotation on Thursday, starting with a flight with 3 passengers out to Boma in the east, where I collected another 4 passengers for the next leg to Rumbek. The team, from Tearfund in partnership with Across, was visiting projects in each of those places to report on the work being done.

After returning to Juba I continued down to Kajo Keji as part of our Central Equatorial Shuttle. I had 3 passengers on the way down with just 1 returning to Juba. Our four shuttle passengers represented four separate organisations: Never Thirst, Windle Trust, Christian Horizon Global and ECS.

Soap to Motot

Today was a much more relaxed day, flying wise. I did a single rotation to Motot for Tearfund with just over a ton of soap. The aircraft was loaded last night so I was able to get away early in the morning and I was home by lunch time, having enjoyed a 25 knot tail wind on the way back.

Equatorial shuttle

Today's flights were for our Central Equatorial Shuttle and I had stops in Torit, Nimule, Kajo Keji, Juba (again) and Yei. Of the six legs flown, all were half an hour or less so it was rather a hot day with temperatures on the ground ranging between 35 and 40 deg C.

We had 19 passengers in total and the organisations we served included ECS, Confident Children out of Conflict, Tearfund, CMA, Christian Solidarity International, Pioneers International, Make Way Partners, Scripture Union, UNFPA, American Refugee Committee, and Seed Effect.

No rain today but it's not far off...

Here come the rains

Today I flew the shuttle to Loki, via Kimatong and Kapoeta on the way out and via Kapoeta on the way back. During the time on the ground in Loki we had a short rain shower and then again in Kapoeta on the way back to Juba there was short but heavy shower.

In Kapoeta it started to rain as I opened the door after landing, and by the time I had begun removing the passengers' bags from the pod under the aircraft the rain had become quite heavy. Initially I thought we'd just get the unloading done quickly and then shelter from the rain, but I got wet so quickly that after a few moments it hardly seemed worth seeking shelter as I was so wet already.

I'm not sure I would have been much wetter if I'd had a couple of buckets of water emptied over me and what made it seem even worse was that it stopped raining almost as soon as we had unloaded the baggage! Mental note to self, next time sit in the plane and wait for the shower to pass rather than trying to beat it...

One patient and two patient passengers

Yesterday morning I was all set to take 2 passengers and 600kg of freight to Pochala, on the Ethiopian border, for the Presbyterian Church (USA), but then plans changes a little.

We received a request from Medair early in the morning to collect a sick member of their team from Leer, in the north, and bring them down to Juba so that they could travel on to Nairobi for medical care. We asked the Presbyterian Church passengers, who were already at the airport checking in to go to Pochala, if they would be prepared to delay their flight by four or five hours so that we could help Medair with the medevac. Graciously, the passengers agreed to the delay and we were able to accept the Medair flight. The flight to Leer is just over 1.5 hours and I was accompanied by a Medair doctor who would assess the condition of the patient and look after him on the flight back to Juba.

On returning to Juba our dispatchers loaded up the 600kg of freight (mostly metal pipes and pump equipment) for Pochala and I met our two patient passengers. I was interested to hear that they were going to be manually drilling for water (down as deep as 39m apparently) to provide a water supply for a school which the organisation has built. If they are successful with the manual drilling it will mean the cost of a well could be as little as $1,500 compared to $15,000 or so using heavy drilling equipment.

Open Doors and a little bit of difficulty closing a door

Yesterday I flew four passengers up to Yida, in the north of the country, for Open Doors. I really enjoy flying for organisations like Open Doors as they are so clearly involved in spreading the Gospel and building up Christians in areas where it is not easy for Christians to live.

I took two pax out of Juba in the morning, leaving one in Yei and collecting another 3, before the long 2.5 hour flight up to Yida. We were also able to carry half a ton of freight for the team which included sacks of sugar and flour and other food items.

Open Doors team in Yei

In Yida there were a lot of people crowding around the aeroplane and a lot of requests to fly down to Juba, something we get quite often in some of the places we fly. Open Doors requested us to carry one couple, but the answer for all the others had to be 'no'.

As the two authorised passengers boarded the aircraft another man in military uniform tried to follow them onto the plane, and I had to place myself in his way to stop him climbing the stairs. He was very determined and refused to take his foot off the bottom step, although I was telling him that he was not allowed on board the aircraft. After a very short and slightly comical standoff I physically removed his foot from the step so that I could close the door, after which he placed a hand on the step as I lifted it. Fortunately he did not resist further when I moved his hand and finally closed the door and we could get going back to Juba...

Back from Doro to Kajo

Today's flight was the return leg for the team I flew up to Doro/Maban last week from Kajo Keji. I always enjoy collecting a team who I've taken on the outward leg of their journey so it was good to do today's flight and to meet the team from Empower One and the Baptist Convention of South Sudan again.

The weather is still very hot and the turbulence is reaching right up to levels where usually we expect to find smooth air. I flew at 12,000 foot on the long leg from the north of the country down to Kajo in the south, but even up there it was a little bumpy. The only consolation was that we had a good tail wind so the flight was 20 minutes shorter than it could have been, but I'm not sure that was much of a consolation to the passengers who felt air-sick...

En-route to Kajo Keji we received a request for a 'medevac' (technically a medical evacuation, although this would more accurately be described as a medical transfer) from Kajo to Juba. Since the aircraft was going to be empty on that leg I was able to collect the man and his carer and bring them to Juba where they will hopefully receive better medical care than is available in Kajo Keji.

Western Equatorian Shuttle

Another shuttle today out to the west. First stop was Yambio, followed by Maridi, Juba (again), Yei (pronounced yay!) and Kajo Keji.

15 passengers in total from organisations including the ECS, Windle Trust, Carter Centre, AMREF and Action Africa Help International.

Doro Maban

A longer day yesterday with a charter for the Baptist Convention of South Sudan from Kajo Keji to Doro/Maban. I had three joiners in the morning out of Juba to Kajo Keji for International Medical Corps and Scripture Union. After collecting the five charter passengers from Kajo I then returned to Juba to collect a further two pax and to add some fuel before flying the 2.5 hours up to Maban.

The weather is very hot these days, up to around 38 deg C most afternoons, and it is always a relief to climb up to the higher altitudes on longer flights to get away from the heat and the haze.

Today is a non-flying day as we had to go to renew our 6 monthly visas...

Loki shuttle

Today I flew a very straightforward shuttle to Loki, mostly for the purpose of swapping one of our aircraft with MAF Kenya for maintenance. I was empty on the way out of Juba, flew direct to Lokichogio and returned to Juba with just 2 pax. One passenger for UNIDO (Universal Intervention and Development Organisation) and one passenger for MSF Holland.

Stand by...

I've endeavored to blog each time I fly. Today I didn't fly, but I came pretty close so I think it qualifies for a blog anyway.

Yesterday evening we received a request for a security evacuation from Malakal. There has been fighting within the UN POC camp (Protection of Civilians) and the situation in the town is rather tense. This morning I went to the airport to prepare an aircraft for the flight while our Ops department continued to liaise with the charterer and tried to get the required permissions to fly.

For security reasons Malakal airport was not an option for the flight and the team were prepared to drive a couple of hours to another airstrip to the east along the Nile. We would need a security clearance to fly to that airstrip though and while we waited for the clearance I sat at the airport and waited at the aircraft.

Unfortunately the charterer was unable to get the clearance in time and so, at midday, we locked up the aircraft and returned home. Fortunately the team has a safe place to stay and we will see what we can do next week to get them down to Juba...

Kajo Keji

I had a very short flying day today with just a short hop down to Kajo and back. Three pax on the way out and one on the way back, representing International Medical Corps, ECS and Christian Horizon Global.

The weather is getting very hot now and, together with the haze and the bumpiness, is making short flights rather uncomfortable. At least on longer flights we can climb higher and escape from the heat and haze for a while... Probably another month or so before we can expect any rains which will cool things down a little.

3 Pax and a lot of timber to Motot

Today I had 3 passengers plus 750kg of freight to go to Motot for Tearfund. The freight was mostly long timbers plus some fresh food for the team based in Motot. An uneventful flight so not a lot to report here.

Renk and back

Today I took 650kg of freight to Renk for Medair. The freight was made up almost entirely of food supplements for their feeding programme.

On the way back down I had one passenger who had to put up with turbulence for almost half of the 3 hour flight. It's definitely bumpy season...

A bumpy shuttle to Loki

It seems we're into the bumpy season. Yesterday I flew the shuttle to Loki, with stops at Torit and Kapoeta both on the way out and on the way back to Juba, and the conditions were hot, windy and bumpy. Not a pleasant combination for most passengers unfortunately.

Only eight passengers in total, from organisations including Carter Centre, Dan Church Aid and AIM.

I.R. Renewal

It was a cool and rainy morning in Nairobi last Thursday and I found myself getting rather wet doing a pre-flight inspection on a Caravan outside the MAF hangar. Cool weather and rain are both a bit of a novelty when you're living in Juba in the dry season, but I could have done without the rain on this occasion.

To fly the Caravan in MAF we need to hold an Instrument Rating, and in order to keep this rating current we need to do a Check Ride (a bit like a driving test) once a year with a Civil Aviation Authority authorised Examiner. Since I needed to renew both my Medical Certificate and my Instrument Rating I had travelled down to Nairobi for a two night stop over to get these done.

The rainy weather did delay our departure by about an hour, but thankfully we were able to complete the flight and I'm signed off for another year. The doctor also deemed me to be healthy enough to fly a plane, so all in all a successful trip. I guess that means you can expect a few more blogs from me...

A link with London

Today's flights were all passenger flights with stops in Kapoeta, Yei and Kajo Keji. Pax were from Samaritan's Purse, Carter Centre, Holy Trinity Peace Village, Zoa, American Refugee Committee, Comboni Missionary Sisters, and Tearfund.

One of the Tearfund passengers was a friend of ours from our home church in London and it was a real highlight for me to be able to fly her down to Kajo Keji. This was the first time in our six years with MAF that I have had the opportunity to fly somebody from one of our home churches so I was really pleased that it worked out today.

Torit and Motot

Yesterday I had two rotations, one was all passengers and the other almost all freight.

Until Sunday evening I was only expecting one flight out to Motot for Tearfund. On Sunday evening a request came in to Ops for a flight to take eight people from Torit out to Lokichogio in Kenya and that flight was slotted in before the Motot flight.

The flight from Torit to Loki was for Caritas Switzerland and was uneventful.

The freight for Motot consisted mostly of plastic water pipes, bags of cement and plastic chairs and tables. After offloading the freight and before departing again for Juba there was a bit of a commotion in the village and a single gunshot rang out, followed by armed men moving out from the village towards the bush. We left rather promptly after that! I've since learned that some cattle raiders had been seen some distance away and the shot was a sign to the youth of the village to mobilize to intercept the raiders. Another day in South Sudan...

Out west again

Another shuttle to Western Equatoria today with stops in Maridi, Ibba and Nzara. 8 pax out of Juba with another 4 joining along the way. Passengers were for Action Africa Help International, Christ's Disciples, World Relief, Don Bosco, Windle Trust and the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECS).

Old Fangak

What a great name :)

It's been almost a year since I last flew in to Old Fangak so it was good to go back again. In the rainy season it can be a challenging airstrip as it gets quite soft and muddy but at this time of year it is a nice airstrip to go to. The village is on the other side of a bend in the river and the boats which transport people and goods to the airstrip park right at the threshold of the runway. It's a beautiful place.

Today's flight was for Presbyterian Relief Development Agency with 2 pax and 750kg of freight, mostly sacks of beans and maize.

Western Equatoria Shuttle

Today I flew a shuttle out to Western Equatoria, stopping in Maridi, Ibba and Mundri. No freight today, only passengers (18 in total), and organizations included World Relief, Don Bosco, Amref Health Africa, Sudan Christian Mission and UNFPA.

Jiech for CMD

Today I flew a single rotation to Jiech for Christion Mission for Development. Freight on the way out consisted mostly of food items and tarpaulins, and on the return leg I had 7 pax for Juba.

Marabou Storks in Mabior

Yesterday I flew a charter for Tearfund to Motot and Mabior. The flight out from Juba was freight only, mostly steel water pipes, and then I collected three pax in Motot, one to go to Mabior and the other two for Juba.

The team loading Tearfund freight in Juba

The flight was quite uneventful until we arrived at Mabior where there was a high concentration of large birds. The visibility at this time of year is very bad with smoke haze covering most of the country and in many places there are large numbers of kites, storks and vultures, particularly in the vicinity of large towns.

On short final approach into Mabior I hit a large Marabou Stork just before touching down. Fortunately the bird only hit the main gear leg and although it caused a fairly large dent, no structural damage was done (well, not to the aeroplane anyway, the bird might not agree!) and I was able to continue with the planned flight back to Juba.

The unfortunate Marabou Stork

The unfortunate gear leg

Aweil and beyond

On Friday morning I was to fly a charter to Maridi for UNFPA with Just 2 pax plus a large printer.

Plans changed slightly on Thursday when a couple of American men, working with a small organisation called Answering The Call, came in to the office to make enquiries. They chartered the aircraft to continue up to Aweil, in the far North, where they have plans to do the work of evangelism among some nomadic people groups in the area.

Friday morning brought some more changes, in the form of a couple of hundred kilograms of extra freight for UNFPA. Fortunately we were able to fit everything in (with about 20ks to spare) and the flight was a success for all parties involved.

Pray that over this coming week, up in the north, those hearing the Gospel will have receptive hearts and that many will turn to follow Christ.

Aeroplanes, quad-bikes and donkey carts

Shortly after landing today in Kodok (north east of Malakal along the Nile) I was met by my passenger for Juba, riding on a quad-bike (I confess I did feel a little envious;)). With help from some local men we off-loaded the 700kg of freight for IMA World Health (mostly medical supplies and soap) and then a couple of donkey carts rolled up to transport the goods to IMA's compound.

A brass band in Kajo Keji

When we landed in Kajo Keji this morning we were welcomed by a brass band! That was a first for me!

The flight was for a Norwegian organisation called the Stromme Foundation. The 10 passengers visited several projects and then attended a graduation ceremony, along with the Bishop, before returning to Juba in the afternoon.

Solar panels for Motot

It was off to Motot today for Tearfund, carrying about a ton of freight. Half of the load was made up of solar pannels while the remainder included pump parts and fittings for boreholes, plastic chairs and electrical cable.

Typical dry season weather today: hot with clear blue skies, although still hazy with all the smoke hanging around in the atmosphere.

Loki shuttle again

Another Loki shuttle to finish the week. Today we stopped in Torit and Kapoeta on the way out to Loki, and then in Kapoeta again on the way back to Juba.

I carried 15 pax in total and their organisations included the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan, Presbyterian Relief Development Agency, Universal Intervention and Development Organisation, PACT Sudan, Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Dan Church Aid and Carter Centre.

Doro Maban for Medair

Today I took a load of freight up to Doro/Maban for Medair and brought 3 of their field staff back down to Juba. The freight on the way out was mostly food items for the team working in Maban: boxes of fresh fruit and veg and quite a lot of beans (about 300kg!).

Loki Shuttle

I flew the Shuttle to Lokichogio today via Torit and Kapoeta, stopping again at Kapoeta on the way home. 13 passengers in total with just a small amount of freight. Bumpy going into Loki, as usual, but not a lot else to report :)

Better late than never

Oops, I nearly forgot. After a couple of weeks off I nearly forgot that I'm trying to blog each time I fly...

Yesterday I had an afternoon departure and took a group of eleven people from Juba to the towns of Maridi and Ibba for the Episcopal Church. The passengers had come all the way from Northern Ireland and will be involved in various projects in those two dioceses over the next week or so, ranging from agriculture to women's hygiene.

First flight for 2016

It's a new year and we're back to work after a two week break. Yesterday I did my first flights for the year, down to Yei and Kajo Keji for a mixture of customers including: ECS, Medair, Carter Centre, Baptist Convention of South Sudan and War Child Holland.

It's good to get back into the cockpit after a break and it will be good to see what God has in store for this year...