008 All Tanked and Ready to Go

Expectations are high tonight as the FAA is coming out to the JAARS hangar tomorrow (Saturday) morning to sign the final approvals for the ferry permit to get 008 across the Pacific to Papua New Guinea. Provided that happens early enough in the day. I will depart immediately for the west coast, probably spending the night somewhere in the middle of the country.


Then on to the California coast from which we will jump off to Hawaii on our first 12-hour nonstop leg. The winds have been favorable for this hop, and we pray they will continue through Monday. If there is a change of wind, we will be forced to consider alternate routes with shorter legs, such as along the Aleutian Islands to Midway Island.





The 350 gallon "ferry tank" sits in the cabin of Kodiak 008, basically doubling the range of the airplane. The passenger seats have been removed, and we will be carrying the bare essentials with us for the five-day trip.


We will have a satellite phone on board, and hope to even be able to send information and images to JAARS that will be posted on the website at http://www.jaars.org/. I hope to be able to keep this blog going as well, provided I can get internet access at our ground stops, or even over the sat phone.


We will welcome your prayers every mile of the way as we bring this new aircraft to its intended place of work -- serving the people of Papua New Guinea, and bringing them the good news from God of reconciliation and salvation intended for every person on Earth.


After we get there, I am planning to spend another month, flying with our JAARS field pilots who will be putting this aircraft into service. My wife Debbie will be joining me the week after I arrive, and will spend the month with me there.