The American division of the Mission Aviation Fellowship has donated two new Quest Kodiaks to be used in Indonesia by the local arm of the international Christian mission agency.
The 10-seat Kodiaks, made by Idaho-based Quest Aircraft Company, were given by two anonymous donors to US arm of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Each Kodiak costs around $US1.7 million.
“I know the excitement the sound of these planes will generate in places with names like Kiwi, Bomela, Langda, and Koropun,” MAF US director of Aviation Resources, Dave Rask, said.
“These are places that have never seen a car. Places so remote that the only way to reach them is a long trek through the jungle, or by plane. In these areas, the missionaries, the medicines, books, Bibles, even the nails for the buildings and the aluminium for the roofs are delivered by MAF.”
MAF has been ministering in the isolated areas of Indonesia – mostly Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua – since the 1950s. Today, MAF has 48 missionary staff and 102 national employees serving in Indonesia with 22 aircraft. In 2011, MAF carried out 14,735 flights across the region, delivering 51,918 passengers and over two thousand tonnes of cargo.
“The needs in Indonesia are so great that MAF’s capacity has never been able to meet all the demands,” Rask said. “The Kodiak is a larger, faster plane that is able to land on most of the small airstrips we use. One pilot can double his output and goods can be delivered for much less. Will these planes change lives? Absolutely!”
Over the next two years, MAF (US) hopes to acquire seven more aircraft to replace aging planes and meet growing demands for service. All seven are earmarked for service in Africa.
Globally, the MAF currently has a 142-strong fleet that ranges from six-seat Cessnas to Cessna Caravans and DHC6 Twin Otters.
An MAF Quest Kodiak on an airstrip in Papua (Indonesia). (MAF)
