Know Thy Pilots

A lot of my life is lived in airplanes. Not as much as some people I know, though. One coworker averaged a flight every two days last year, another friend has been on nearly 40 flights since the beginning of this year. I think at last count I have taken about 30 or so flights since January of this year. Its enough to wish "airlines" such as Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), Avions Sans Frontiers (ASF) or United Nations Humanitarian Air Services (UNHAS) offered frequent flyer miles. They do not. However, there are many other benefits that come with piling into a Cessna Caravan or 206 with cargo and pilots you know by name. Among the many tricks of the trade I have picked up during my time in Ango, one of the most important is to know your pilots.

février2012

"... s'il vous plaît retourner à une position normale." I have sprawled out over not only my two seats, but the seat across the isle and have been mouth open passed out the entire flight. The two ASF pilots are both looking back at me laughing as one shakes my leg telling me to return to a normal position and put my seat belt back on before we touch down on the hilly "runway" from which goats were running as we circled.

mars2012

Is it something that should concern me when the pilot of our little Cessna jerking across the border between Uganda and the Eastern DRC plugs into his oxygen ? From my seat in the very rear, it seems like he is asleep, but I can see his elbow move, so will just assume he is writing something rather than dreaming of winding a jack-in-the-box. Good thing I trust these guys.

avril2012

Story time over the Congo today! Sitting up front is always entertaining, even if only for time to chat with some of the MAF pilots that I only have windows of opportunity to talk to while they are delivering cargo or on the other side of the volleyball net. A month or so ago, while chatting with Jon over the head sets, I learned that his family is friends with the family of my last boss at Crossroads in Hong Kong. Once I got over the initial shock that my most recent boss's mom was currently staying with my bush pilot's mom in the States, I realized that this actually did make total sense. You see, the Cadds and the Begbies are on the same caliber of legendary and once you get to that level and you are in the international aid work circle, it would be weird if your moms were not besties. When I skyped Mal (former boss) about this, he gave me a list of stories to ask Jon about. Jon has been a bush pilot for more than 30 years, holds the highest level hunting safari licence you can get and is basically the best monotone underspoken story teller you can find. This made for a good flight today.

mai2012

Everyone always wants to fly with Jon because he gives in flight flight lessons. Yes, slowly but surely, I am learning how to fly a in the skies over the Ituri Forest. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am pretty sure he is making be believe I am doing more than I actually am, but each time I fly with him it is more and more fun. This last time in particular was fantastic. As much as flying during rainy season around here is more dodgy, it is far more fun. This time of year the patches of savanna tucked within the jungle are bright green and woven throughout by rust red rivers, the sky is a vibrant blue with big puffy clouds… nearly impossible to catch up on your Outlook Inbox as planned when you get to steer around clouds and down through rainbows! Have you ever flown through a rainbow? It bends down away from you as you approach it until it forms a full circle around you. The shadow of your airplane is the center of the vibrant rainbow circle and if it is a day like today, then it is a double rainbow - yeah, a double full circle around you as you fly. Dude, forget pots of gold! 

juin2012

One of my coworkers who will remain unnamed for the purposes of this post helps us out in Ango in countless ways. A particular way is her party going, especially with the ASF pilots. It is these vital networking gatherings she attends that make possible things like the pilot pulling me aside to sneak me a bottle of wine as everyone else is unloading cargo. 

july2012

We have been looking for hippos because you might as well when you have to fly between 150 and 500 feet above the forest floor for a few hours. And when you can't stay on route due to storms, you might as well fly over the rivers, right? I can see the leaves of the vines between the trees that cover the jungle floor. Jon is pointing out what kind of animal tracks we are seeing - water buck, elephant, hippo, cows. This time of year they are not out of the forest often. I asked if I could catch a ride along next time he does game counts over the reserves. He laughs, I hope that means yes. On the landing I nearly crash the plane because I think Jon is landing but at this point he seems to expect me to just take the initiative when it comes to the flaps, lining up to the runway, keeping the nose up... Other highlights of this weather induced tree trimming flight included several Pygmy villages and gold mines. Viva la Congo!