The Maiden Flight of N500MF

We had a busy day yesterday.  Not only busy, but with the temperature over 100, and out in the sun all day, it was HOT!!!  Two MFI planes came in, one of them being N500MF, our new turbine aircraft.  Before I share photos, I want to share just a short part of what MFI's president, Dick Snook, shared last Friday.  After explaining the almost 5 months of waiting on the US government to certify the aircraft, that certification came last Friday morning.  Here is just a short clip of what he wrote....

     "...On Tuesday, September 13th, N500MF will make her maiden voyage to Haiti and the Dominican Republic hauling a work team, mission cargo and mail.  I suppose you might guess who will be at the controls.  I do not pull rank very often at MFI but I did this time.  Pray for a great flight with the "new" (68 year old) DC-3 being flown by a 64 year old captain. (With a big smile on his face.)..."

Yes, he did have a big smile on his face when he arrived.  It was a great day for everyone.  A bit of a note Dick sent out today follows...

   "....This airplane carries more weight than our other aircraft and does it in style.  Going to Haiti, we cruised at 17,000 feet at an average of 240 mph.  On the flight home to Fort Pierce, we averaged 235 mph.  Today, with fuel costs so high, efficiency is very important for MFI.  We moved nearly 7,000 pounds of mission cargo to Haiti yesterday and brought 7 passengers home including a badly injured motorcycle accident victim.  A special thanks to everyone who has prayed and given to this aircraft project..."

You can see Dick, along with everyone else at MFI, is really pleased with the performance of this new aircraft.  A little side note here...all of our other DC-3's have a rest room, as does N500MF, but the new aircraft has a FLUSH toilet.  The others have a bucket below, with a normal seat on it.  (This is a real point of note for the passengers who fly regularly with us.)  It doesn't seem like a big deal to many, but it's an upgrade that many of the missionaries will enjoy.

Now, it's on to the pictures.  I hope you enjoy them.  Keep praying for MFI and for their aircraft to keep performing in the normal great way!!

 You will note that our pilots (yes, even the president of MFI) do the loading and unloading of the cargo, with the help of our Haitian workers. (A side note here, that is OUR aluminum they are unloading, to help stop the leaks in our dorm roof!)

 There are the two aircraft on the ground at Cap Haitian.  Between the two aircraft they hauled well over 10,000 pounds of cargo yesterday.  N500MF alone had almost 7,000 pounds, some of which was destined for Pignon.  N200MF had passengers and the remainder of the cargo, some of which went to the Dominican.

 Can you believe our pilots look so good after unloading all that cargo?  It's a lot of HARD work for our crew.

 I took this one when they took off....I loved the Citadel in the background.

 This last photo is an added bonus.  Having animals walking around at the "international airport" is a common site.  But the Haitians do not like getting very close to those horns.

 We hope your day today is special, like ours was yesterday.  But even if God's blessings are small, they are there every day for all of us to enjoy and grasp on to.  Look for YOUR special blessings from the Lord today.  It may be something as simply as a cool breeze on a very hot day, or something bigger, like our new aircraft finally making it's maiden flight to Haiti.  Either way, God bless you, and we'll see you soon, either here, there or in the air!!!