The smell of Jet A1 fills the air - again.

Good News.

Our helicopter flew at 10:30 local time today (see pics below).


This was the first time since last March when we took it apart for its 12 yearly 'C' Check. It now sports its new colours and some safety and performance upgrades.

Its first mission trip to Moz is this coming Friday!

Paul

Wings of love to people in need

Please click on the article below to find out about Mercy Air's plans to help provide an affordable aviation service to those who need it most.

Birthday on the go

Wow, what a hectic birthday.

Technically I spent the day at work but it was a work day I wouldn't have wanted to miss. I was up at death o clock to fly up to Botswana to pick up our friendly Spanish family. After a splash and dash for fuel in Francistown, we headed north to find the Smoke that Thunders.

It turned out to be just where the GPS said it would be, and ATC allowed us a sneak peak...

We landed, put the plane to bed, just beat an airliner full of people to the Immigration queue, and drove 20mins to the hotel...

A quick-ish lunch and then we all headed straight for the border so that we could leave the country... for Zambia, to have a look from that side...

An hour later we were back in Zim to see how different it looked from there...

You can get quite close - and quite wet!

Then it went dark, so we went back to the hotel for more food.

Up early again the next morning to fly all the way south again. About 1500 miles total round trip. I pick them up Monday again to take them to a school in Maputo which they helped set up, after which I will drop them in Jo'burg so they can get back to Spain in a big plane.

Paul

Another Long Day in the Saddle

Just got back from a 750 mile (1200 km) day, a lot of which was spent in clouds dodging thunderstorms. I got back to White River just before dark and just before it started hoofing it down with rain.


I went to Jo'burg International pick up a Spanish family and drop them off at a dirt strip near the Moz/Zim border. I will pick them up again on Friday and take them on up through Botswana to Zimbabwe.

On the way to Jo'burg I was able to help another mission family who work in N. Moz and who had been down in SA over Christmas to have a baby. This baby became my youngest ever passenger at just 6 weeks! This saved Anne and the kids a five day 4x4 drive back to N. Moz which her husband was having to do.

Always worth looking right, left, and right again at T junctions at Jhb.

Not too obvious in this next pic but at the dirt strip where I droped them off, I had to chase away an Elephant before I could safely take off again.

Paul

Here's one for all you digit heads - so just Paul really...

Just about the only exercise Cathy and I get these days revolves around two wheels (joke), and we try to get out at least three times a week before work A careful list of all bike rides and races is kept and last year's biking achievements were as follows:

Total distance 4350 km (2704 miles) - which is 12 km a day.

Not too much to shout about but that also included:

69064m (226588 ft) or 43 miles of ascent.
This is equivalent to cycling up Everest almost 8 times or up Snowdon 64 times.

All this took a total time of 235 hrs or just under 10 full days - ouch!

Sometimes it rains...

and sometimes it it doesn't...
but whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not, whatever the weather we've got to put up with the weather we've got!

Not to worry, the clock has now started ticking on the new year and we'll have to see how much puffing and panting can be achieved in the next twelve months between flights.

Talking of which... Paul's next flight is on Monday 4th January, picking a group up from Jhb and dropping them on the Moz/Zim border. On the 8th (his birthday) he will collect them in Botswana and take them up to Victoria Falls for the night for a spot of sightseeing. Not a bad birthday present but pitty the plane is full and that Cathy could not come.

Cathy has an ever increasing diary of potential deliveries in January and Matthew has some weddings lined up to photograph in the next few months also.

P n' C