It feels like I’ve only just begun flying here in the Philippines, but by the time we head to the States for home assignment in November I’ll have flown almost 300 hours, nearly 1,000 landings and 600 flight legs. It doesn’t sound like much, but under these conditions and on these short flights, that is a lot of flying and loading and unloading! We’re now working with Joel and Missy Davis to hand responsibilities off so that they can run things by themselves while we’re gone. It is also important that Joel and I be able to fill in for each other when we are both working together after we return from the States.
This means that I have been flying as a flight instructor once again and working with Joel to get him ready to fly into our jungle airstrips. We have some very challenging weather with thunderstorms, typhoon winds, fog, haze and afternoon rains putting together an unpredictable cauldron of nastiness. Joel has been riding along on my normal flight routes and learning about the weather patterns and various routes and methods of dealing with the ever-changing weather conditions.
One day he told me he was actually praying that we would get bad weather so that he would have a better “learning experience.” I almost pushed him out the airplane door! God in his sovereignty has granted Joel’s request and we have had some very challenging weather to deal with – it couldn’t be a better environment for Joel to learn the idiosyncrasies of our small region of the South Pacific.
This week, Joel will take his check ride with an examiner from the Philippines and he will acquire his permanent Philippine pilot’s license. With that in hand we will polish up some of Joel’s techniques and skills and head for the tribal airstrips. It will be the most challenging thing I think I’ve ever done in my life. I am confident in our ability to carry out the flights safely or I wouldn’t be doing it. However, I would appreciate your prayers as we land on some of the most difficult Cessna 185 airstrips in the world. Pray for safety, good weather, good decisions, and if necessary that I’d have good and appropriate reactions as Joel lands on these airstrips for the first time.