The Porter is Back...

... and now looks like the two it will join in southeast Asia. Great to have it home and on schedule -- pictured here as it looked when we took delivery on Wednesday in San Angelo , TX, and then as we pulled up to the JAARS hangar on Thursday evening, after over eight hours of flight. After a bit more maintenance and avionics work, we'll begin disassembling it to put in the container a month from now, for the trip halfway around the globe.

The Porter Sports its New Look!

Latest shots from the paint shop reveal the outcome of four weeks of work. I'll be heading out to Texas tomorrow to bring it back to JAARS.

Smoketown was Smokin' !

The new Missions Fest at Smoketown airport on Saturday and Sunday afternoon was a great success, with at least 3,000 visitors on Saturday alone. Four aircraft, including the Kodiak, were kept busy the entire time giving rides. Steve Saint demonstrated his father's "bucket drop" technique. The Kodiak nearly reached the mark of 1,100 people given rides for the summer tour. The weather was beautiful, but the sun was also intense.

Gettin' Ready for the Big One

Rochester, Schenectady, Ft. Washington (Philadelphia) -- all pleasant preludes to the Saturday-Sunday event at Smoketown Airport near Lancaster, PA. The International Association of Mission Aviation "Missions Fest" is expecting around 3,000 attendees. JAARS is here with two smaller airplanes and the helicopter. We'll all be very busy giving rides and telling the story. The Kodiak will be of particular interest to folks who have prayed for and supported the project for years.

Steve Saint is here, and will displaying and demonstrating his little Piper Family Cruiser, identical to the one his father, Nate Saint, flew in Ecuador before that fateful encounter with the Waorani tribesmen in 1956 (read Through Gates of Splendor, or see the recent movie, End of the Spear). Steve will demonstrate the "bucket drop" procedure that his father developed to lower gifts to the Waorani via a long line from his circling Piper.

Meanwhile, back in San Angelo, TX again....

The Pilatus Porter has gotten its white paint, and is taped off for the blue. Plans are on track to pick the plane up in San Angelo on Thursday August 28 and bring it back to JAARS for preparation to ship to southeast Asia.

Come Take a Look

Not everybody is taking rides in the airplane. Many are very happy to take a close look from inside and out, especially the new high-tech instrument panel. Zoom in on the Multifunction Display (center screen) and you'll see that the Kodiak is sitting near Philadelphia (actually Ft. Washington, PA), facing southwest.

More Tour Stops

Leesburg, VA, Lock Haven, PA, Reedsville, PA, Rochester, NY, and today in Schenectady, NY. People from all walks of life come out to see this new airplane, and many take rides -- so far over 900 people have ridden in the airplane on this tour.






















Landing on the grass where the Kodiak loves it, in Lock Haven, PA -- original home of Piper Aircraft Company.



Ben briefs the next eight passengers before boarding them on the Kodiak.
















A new graduate of Moody Aviation, Ben went on the tour to get more experience in the airplane, and did most of the flying between cities, with Ed in the Captain's seat. In case you think he's flying straight and level here, take a look at the Garmin Primary Flight Display in front of him -- it's showing a turn to the left which is why Ben is looking in that direction.

More people take in the Kodiak

Liberty University aeronautics students get a good look at Kodiak 001.








Employees at Dynamic Aviation at the Bridgewater, VA airport.


















The Spokane Turbine Center display, Ben Rauk attending. Would you like a ride in the Kodiak?

Kodiak at Lynchburg

Home of Liberty University, and their relatively new aviation program, this school is gearing up to be a signficant source of mission pilots in the coming years.

Kodiak on Tour

I joined the Kodiak in Elizabethton, Tennessee on Saturday morning. Ed Robinson has been flying it with the help of one of the recent Moody Aviation graduates Ben Rauk. Saturday and Sunday were busy giving rides, along with a JAARS airplane and helicopter. Today we're in Mocksville, NC at the Missionary Aviation Institute (MAI), associated with the Piedmont Baptist College. Tonight we will camp in Lynchbug, VA for a couple days.

The Porter is Primed

Got these in just today -- the primer coat is on, ready for the color topcoats. It's coming along!

Kodiak makes a Bee-line

Caught N491KQ on this flight from Sanford, FL to Knoxville, TN. Saturday it will be in Elizabethton, TN, at Moody's old location, for a JAARS Missions at the Airport event. I'm looking forward to meeting up with it there on Saturday, and helping Ed Robinson out for the next two weeks with the Spokane Turbine Center's promotional tour. Check out the tour at http://www.spokaneturbinecenter.com/.

Thanks to http://www.flightaware.com/ for this great shot. You can track the Kodiak at any time by going to this website and typing "N491KQ" in the "FLIGHT TRACKER -- Flight/Tail #:" box.

The Porter Stripped

Not a pretty sight at the moment, but a very important step in the process of changing colors. The metal skins will be inspected for damage and corrosion, and treated before the primer coat and color are sprayed on. This job is on target for the end of the month when we will go back to fly it home.