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...