Good News!

The TE is officially over and I passed!  The next step for us to serve with AIM-Air will be for me to complete a mentoring program here at JAARS sometime in the near future before I can go on to the Technical Orientation.  We will know more about that in the coming weeks.  For now we are resting and preparing to drive back to MN once the roads become passable.  Currently there is a winter storm dumping snow, sleet, ice and rain on this whole region so we are staying put in Waxhaw for another day.

Thank you so much for praying for us these past few weeks and especially this last week.  It was a stressful time for all of us.  God is good and has seen us through this phase of the process and we thank Him for the clear direction He has given us regarding the next phase.

Intro to the Helio Courier

Over the past few days I have been studying the Pilot's Operating Handbook and was hoping to take my first flight in it this morning.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and I have another day to keep on studying!  Here are some pictures of N61JA, the Helio I will be flying over the next few days.

Slats are one of the many features of the Helio that set it apart from other aircraft in STOL (Short TakeOff and Landing) performance.  They automatically deploy once a certain angle of attack is attained and help sustain lift to much slower speeds than a conventional wing.

From Ironton to Waxhaw

We left Ironton early Monday morning and made our way to Manchester, TN, where we met up with Nathan and Ruth who happened to be there for a missions conference at their home church.  They let their church know we were coming through who then put us up in a very nice hotel for the night.  Thank you Temple Baptist Church!

One amazing thing about this journey we are on - people have been incredibly kind and generous.  I cannot put into words how humbling this is and how this affirms God is watching over us and is taking care of us.

This morning we left Manchester and made our way to Waxhaw, NC.  The following picture does not do the scene justice.  We drove through the morning fog in the TN mountains along some very still lakes.

Sunset from our front door at the apartment where we are staying at JAARS in Waxhaw, NC.

More on our time in Ironton

Here are a few more pictures from our time in Ironton.

Can you find the airplane?  This departure required a turn to the right through an "escape" route to clear terrain and trees.

Hard at work...

At Elephant Rocks State Park

We met Nathan and Ruth Cain and their son Jeriah.  Nathan has been doing his flight training with Lionel at CWW in preparation for mission aviation.

Miriam and Jeriah

Ms Sara cooked up a breakfast for us at 6:30am before we departed Ironton on Monday.

Profound

I saw this quote today on IAMA's website and have been pondering it's profundity (is that a word?)...

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light."     -John Keith Falconer

 

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I really apologize for the audio ads that have now started to play once this blog is opened.  If any of you know how to remove them please let me know!  For now, just turn your volume down so you can read in peace.  Unless you like hearing about vacuum cleaners or cough syrup.

-Jonathan

CWW Training

We are now at the halfway point in our time at CWW.  There are two primary reasons why we came here.  First was to obtain the necessary tailwheel training that I (Jonathan) need.  Up to this point I have only a couple of hours in a tailwheel airplane but no formal training or tailwheel endorsement.  Second was to polish off any rough edges before we head to JAARS next week for the TE.  The training provided here has been invaluable and I feel that Lionel has been able to accurately point out my weak spots and help me work through them to become a better pilot.  This in and of itself has been a humbling yet much needed process, especially this close to the TE.  I ask for your prayers for the rest of our time here in MO and for next week as the TE starts on Friday!

N7668K, the C180 I am flying.  What a great airplane...

There are two runways here at Dove Field.  This is taken on the very east end looking west down Runway 9/27.  The northwest/southeast runway intersects this runway just before the big tree in the left side of the picture.  There is a picture of this same view taken during the summer here.

Nani and I walking southeast on Runway 15/33

We are staying in the basement apartment of the Smith's house.

Nani after rubbing her head on the couch...a shocking moment was in store for whoever picked her up next!

Ironton, MO

We arrived in Ironton, MO at about 6pm yesterday evening. The entire way we were threatened with a winter storm warning for most of the region but God kept the snow to our west as we made our way south from Des Moines where we stayed with our friends Julie and Julian on Tuesday night.

You would think we were heading in the right direction from Minnesota in winter, right? Just as we arrived in Ironton it started snowing and temps dropped to MN levels with sub-zero windchills! Nevertheless we were warmly welcomed by Lionel and Sara Smith who founded and run Christian Wings for the World, a missionary pilot training center. Sara had prepared a great meal for us after which we were made to feel very much at home in their basement apartment.

Today the weather was less than ideal for flying so I spent some time becoming familiar with Dove Field and met with Lionel for a few hours in ground school. I can already tell this time is exactly what I have needed to focus my thoughts on aviation in preparation for the TE. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will get some flying time in starting tomorrow.

I'll try to take some pictures of Dove Field to post soon. In the meantime...


This picture was taken a few days ago in Minneapolis when my brother-in-law Ryan and I were tossing cups of boiling hot water into the -15F air!


Somewhere in southern IA.


A happy camper. Well...most of the time anyway!