Mexico Aviator

Current News

2009-10-23T22:43:00.001-05:00

For the latest info on where we are at and what we are up to with MAF, check out my other blog by clicking here, thanks for stopping by.

Speaking Engagement

2008-08-29T14:58:00.002-05:00

We have been off and on busy these last few weeks as we get closer to our departure date this coming Monday. Now, it seems a lot easier as our "big" household shipment finally made it out the door yesterday. The only thing left to pack is our airline baggage, which shouldn't be to hard.

A few nights ago, I went out for coffee...(no not at Starbucks)...with a friend from language school. We met and enjoyed classes together while in Costa Rica. It was fun to finally sit with him and see what has been happening in each others lives since we all left Costa Rica a few years ago.

After talking with me, he realized that I know some of the Waorani Indians in Ecuador that are mentioned and even shown in the movie End of the Spear and the documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor. My friend works at the local Baptist Seminary with Mexican church planters. They were all inspired by the account of the 5 missionaries in Ecuador, but were left wondering how things are going now with the Waorani people.

I was able to fill in the gaps last night. After we all watched either the documentary or the movie, I spoke and answered questions to a group of around 45 people for around 30 minutes. It was a fun time to be able to encourage these young Mexican church planters with some of the stories from Ecuador. Some time around 11pm I finally made it back home and fell into bed...dead tired.

Just About There

2008-08-25T06:34:00.003-05:00

We are still here....and doing just fine. We have exactly one week left here in Oaxaca. We leave for the USA next Monday. Our packing is going well, as well as our plans to get everything else sold. Nothing much to report...just checking in.

Backyard Critters

2008-08-17T08:54:00.003-05:00

Walking past our sunflowers this morning I saw that someone had already made their breakfast. I guess having a stinger on your tailpipe doesn't make you invulnerable to the predator world. Just check out those spider legs...sexy eh?

From the Logbook...Last MAF Flight?

2008-08-15T20:03:00.004-05:00

Being that we are fast approaching our "two weeks left in Oaxaca" mark, today was my last day of planned flying. We are going to work hard next week getting things ready once again for an international move. It was a very bittersweet feeling to be "hanging up my hat" today, but it only means we are that much closer to our next season in life as well.

The photo above is from Wednesday when we had two airplanes in Amoltepec. I had landed first and about 15 minutes later our other airplane was landing. I was thankful to be able to get some shots of an airplane landing while in Mexico. As I stated earlier, we usually don't have two airplanes in the same place here in Oaxaca, so it was special to have experienced it right before we leave.

From the Logbook...Interesting Cargo

2008-08-14T21:42:00.003-05:00

(Due to very poor internet this week, I have been unable to post very much. Keep scrolling down to see what we have been up to this week. Don't worry...I am still here!)

While in Ecuador I had the opportunity to fly a few cadavers, and today was the first time I have seen it here in Mexico. I was going to fly this young man of 19 years back to his village be buried. At the last second, I asked a co-worker to do this flight for me because of some things I had to take care of in the office.

Supposedly, the young man left his home in the Sierra to come and work in Oaxaca just one week ago. This morning, his photo turned up on the front page of the newspaper in a very gruesome way. According to the news account, he was stabbed to death. Without being crude, remember that in most countries embalming a body is either impossible or too costly. Therefore bodies are usually in the ground less than 24 hours after the persons death. This is a good thing, because this poor young man was starting to "smell of death." Not something I recommend experiencing.

From the Logbook...Another neat experience

2008-08-14T21:20:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I was able to see a small glimpse of something special. I was waiting in Amoltepec for some passengers to complete some work in the pueblo. Every Wednesday the pueblo has a mid-week church service. I was able to accompany my Mexican boss, another pilot and his family, as well as our visitor from Texas to the church service. I was unable to stay for much of the service due to my previous comitments to my passengers but it was neat to see this small group of Christians in a VERY hostile community. This is the same community where the pastor was murdered over a land dispute just a few weeks ago.

While walking back to the plane, I returned to one of my favorite photo spots to see the airstrip with the both airplanes on it. It is rare to have both airplanes on one airstrip at the same time in Mexico, so it was fun to be able to take a picture of it. Because there isn't much room to turn around in Amoltepec, I flew the most uphill airplane into AMO, and flew the other one out while my co-workers stayed for the church service and returned in the airplane I flew in. Confused? Just think musical airplanes.

From the Logbook...A Special Passenger

2008-08-14T18:22:00.002-05:00

Finally, this past Tuesday, I had the chance to take along my most favoritest passenger...my wife. After all these years of flying a little Cessna to Latin America's remotest places, she was finally able to come along just because. It was a fun time to be able to show her where we go and what my "job" looks like on a daily basis.

From the Logbook...Plauged by the Wind

2008-08-07T16:35:00.002-05:00

The mountain airstrips that we fly into are already challenging enough, but when the wind sock looks like the picture above, it can make for an interesting approach. Thankfully, it was right down the runway today blowing from north to south in San Mateo. If it would have been south to north, I might not have been able to land due to some very mean terrain in the vicinity.

While waiting for a wind report from my next destination of Amoltepec, I just sat around near the airstrip to see what was happening. In most places, the airstrip is also a multi use road, for cars, animals, and of course airplanes. About 45 minutes later, I received a call from AMO saying that the wind was calm enough to attempt an approach to land. We made the landing there just fine, where I boarded 5 teenagers coming out to attend a Christian conference.

From the Logbook...How Many?

2008-08-02T08:31:00.003-05:00

That was the question as I took off from Amoltepec yesterday and reported my ETA, amount of fuel, altitude and people aboard on my way back to Oaxaca. I anticipated having 3-4 people to pick up upon landing, but it was 3 adults...and 6 kids...and 1 in the hopper. All told, including the pilot, we were 10.5 (remember the hopper) people in a six seat aircraft. It made for a fun flight with a lot of laughs. Obviously this would not be possible with adults. Because of the size and weight of the children, I was able to bring out a lot more people than a typical flight, and I was still under my maximum takeoff weight.

Date Pics

2008-07-31T10:48:00.004-05:00

I finally posted some pics here and here from our date. Great day!

From the Logbook...More Bad News

2008-07-27T16:52:00.003-05:00

Earlier last week I had the privilege of taking 4 Germans into the community of Amoltepec. One is a bible translator, another was his young son, and two other were visiting from Germany. The plan was to be in the area of AMO for a few days and I would pick them up Saturday morning.

Yesterday morning I took off into crystal clear skies en route to AMO. On final approach to landing I almost aborted due to the wind but was able to still make it in safely. After shutting down and opening the door, I was once again greeted by hysteria, just like the previous night with the 3 patients. Now that I was back on the ground, all those family members of the 3 patients wanted to leave still, at least 8-10 people, or two flights worth. This wasn't even including the 4 Germans I was there to pick up.

As I looked around at the mob of people, I realized only 3 of the 4 Germans were there. Standing right next to me was the German missionaries son. Luckily he speaks English (as well as German, Spanish, Mixtec, and who knows what else). I asked him where his dad was and he began to tell me that "he would be coming out Monday now because the pastor of the community was murdered last night and he wanted to go to the funeral." This blew me away! I don't even know the pastor. All this killing and fighting is so normal to these people. It really shook me that one of our own was murdered. I don't think it was related to what happened with the three patients from the previous night, and I don't think it was directly related to his faith, but once again I didn't ask questions.

Because of the squirly winds I had on final approach to land, I anticipated takeoff being the same and it basically "closing" the airstrip for the day. I didn't want to tell the mob of people while still on the ground that I didn't think I would come back. Also, due to the fact that they had homes to go to, and the 3 Germans did not, I told everyone that the 3 Germans were leaving with me and 2 more people of their choosing. They sorted 2 more out from amongst themselves and soon we were finally loaded up and ready to takeoff.

Sure enough, the takeoff was a right at my limit for fun and I called the community back on the radio and told them it was too windy to return. I assume most of the people that thought they would leave by airplane soon left over land...arriving in Oaxaca some 12 hours later instead of 27 minutes.

The fact that the pastor of the community was murdered really got me thinking on the flight home. You don't read about martyrs in Mexico very much, although they are VERY common. It makes you dig deep to question yourself whether you would really die for your faith if it came to that. I don't know that anyone can answer that until the moment is right in their face. It also reminded me to pray for those that are persecuted for their faith around the world, at whatever level. We are definetly fighting a war against "this present darkness."

From the Logbook...At War Again

2008-07-27T16:23:00.003-05:00

Although I am the on call pilot this weekend, I thought things would be a little more relaxed this weekend. Around 5pm Friday night our secretary called and informed me that there were 3 severely injured people in Amoltepec. I have blogged before about the ongoing feuds and lack of forgiveness in this community. I quickly changed gears from winding down on a Friday night to spooling up to do a flight.

The surrounding weather was threatening with thunderstorms and by the time I took off at around 6pm things were looking dark. Thankfully the mountian passes and valleys were mostly open, and I made my way to AMO quickly with little in the way of diversions.

As I overflew the airfield for landing I could tell a mob of people awaited the airplane. Sure enough, as I turned the airplane around and shut the engine down, I opened the door to hysteria. There were 3 patients and at least double that in family members that wanted to go to the hospital. I only had 5 open seats and due to the tailwind I would have for takeoff from the already marginal airstrip I told them I could take 4 people...period. They all complained about how mean I was, but I told them I had a family that I wanted to see again as well. Finally, they renigged after I told them I was about ready to leave with or without my 4 people. That seemed to get there attention and soon we were boarding patients.

The first patient was a 14 year old girl with a severe gash below her left buttock. Blood everywhere! The second was a 20 something guy with a huge gash in his leg which left it inmobile...blood everywhere! The third was a 42 year old woman with a huge gash in her right ribcage, right below the armpit...blood everywhere!

I didn't ask about the details of who was mad at who, why it all happened, etc, etc. I know it would be the same old story, one that only the power of Christ can change.

When we arrived in OAX it was a little unnerving to imagine this tiny little Cessna parking on the ramp to the awaiting THREE ambulances...lights ablazing. Only two ended up being used as the blue one was for reserve and is meant for the airport. The ramp was just as crazy as the scene in Amoltepec. There were at least 5 policemen, a reporter, 6-7 medics, and our secretary. Everyone was asking names, what happened, how old they were etc... It was a proud feeling to be able to help these people late Friday evening, despite my disgust for why I was helping them. I guess that is part of the job.

Happenings

2008-07-22T18:10:00.002-05:00

I have been a little wiped out these last 5 days or so with a severe case of Montezuma's Revenge. For those of you who know what that is...enough said! For those of you that don't, that's why there is Google.
Finally found tickets to a sweet event for next week that I am taking my wife to. It's going to be a date. It's going to be sweet!
We do have some big news. Most may already know. Read Rebecca's blog to read it for your self.
I haven't been flying for a while due to my "problem." Now that things are on the mend hopefully tomorrow will see me boring holes in the sky.

From the Logbook...More "Welfare" Flying

2008-07-14T20:33:00.004-05:00

I had two flights today, the second of which took me to a "new to me" airstrip. I had never been on the ground in Tlacotepec but I had seen it from the air numerous times. Because I had never been there, I flew there with our instructor pilot. We dropped off the two government "welfare" workers and their 150 lbs of money. We were both too afraid to ask how much money we were really carrying.

While it may not appear like it in the picture above, this airstrip poses many challenges like rising terrain in the vicinity, a large and hard to see antenna right off the runway, and of course...slope. Thankfully, the wind was really calm and the weather was beautiful, although the morning started out with a lot of clouds and moisture in the state of Oaxaca. Some of it was due to the current Pacific hurricane that eventually made a more northern course thus avoiding landfall with us.

From the Logbook...A Little Exploring

2008-07-12T17:15:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I had a mid-day flight to take a few people back into the Sierra and then bring a few government workers out. We had taken the government folks in a few days before with boxes full of Pesos in order to distribute to the communities, kind of a welfare type program. They had forgotten some important paperwork which I delivered. While they drove into the community to have they papers signed and finish their work, I had about an hour to explore around the airstrip as I waited for them.

Looking to the North in San Mateo you'll see a huge valley with an impressive plateau on the other side. Taking off that way is usually dramatic as well due to the way the ground falls away from you as you fly over the drop off seen in the picture.

While climbing a nearby hill, I came across the community graveyard. Cemeteries have always been of special interest to me. No, I am not morbid. I have just always found it interesting how quickly they remind you of how mortal we are, and that life is truly short. That regardless of beliefs, race, nationality, gender, age, etc; we all share the same destiny. It is also interesting to read the epitaph on some of the headstones. Most that I saw yesterday were very simple, but occasionally you will find some very interesting poetry, and I don't like poetry.

Another Photo Collection

2008-07-07T20:42:00.002-05:00

I have debated for a while whether or not I should put up pictures of my "job" on my Flickr album. I finally decided to go ahead and do it and put a little over 100 photos showing what it is to be a "missionary pilot." For those of you who follow this blog some, you will recognize a lot of the photos. Regardless, you can get a big picture idea of what my everyday life entails while at the "office" by clicking here.

As Requested...

2008-07-06T11:48:00.002-05:00

Que Rico!

2008-07-06T09:44:00.002-05:00

A few weeks back we found this great restaurant about a 30 minute drive from our house out in the country. Their food is awesome! The have an incredible menu for very cheap prices. Most of the things on the menu we don't recognize, but everything we have had has been very good. I'm not one for caring much how my food is presented, but yesterday I couldn't help but take a picture of my dish. It was a stuffed poblano pepper topped with cream, minced nuts, and pomegranite seeds. It tasted as good as it looks, and it sure made us already want to go back.

Flight School Crash Update

2008-07-05T15:20:00.004-05:00

The following day after the flight crashed their Cessna 152 due to running out of fuel, the airplane was back on the ramp, but in a sad state of affairs. As a coworker and I walked around the thing it is definitely totalled for all but the most experienced sheet metal shops.

An interesting thing did happen that same afternoon. As I went to go turn in my flight plan, the gentleman said there was an ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) broadcasting on the emergency frequency. Due to it's strength, it sounded like it might possibly be on the ramp. Everyone's first thought was the newly placed and totalled flight school airplane, but the signal was just now being received. The crash happened the day earlier. Regardless, I told the guys in operations that I could take a look and see if it was the ELT from the flight school, they are easy to access in a C152 and easy to disactivate as well. Sure enough, after opening the access panel for the ELT, it was the C152's ELT broadcasting. It doesn't make sense that it only began to sound more than 24 hours after the crash. What makes matters worse is that the ELT was installed TOTALLY WRONG! ELT's are not rocket science, nor is their installation. It just gives me that much more "confidence" in the maintenance of the flight school. I wonder if they sell Cracker Jack here in Mexico?

From the Logbook...On Call Weekend

2008-07-05T14:52:00.002-05:00

I finally have to "blessing" of being the on call pilot this weekend. It has been several months since I have had to spend a Saturday flying. I'm not complaining, I cannot think of many things more fun than flying. Thankfully, I was able to get a flight done this morning. Clouds were lingering on the ridges making our passes all but impassible. We had good reports from the airstrips, making me think that if I could work my way through one of the passes, I would be able to get to the airstrips. Sure enough, after working up into some terrain, I found a way to get through and it broke wide open, at least in front of me. The cloud deck never did get very high, but the scenery once again was beautiful and stunning.

On my return flight to Oaxaca, I did have a "puker." Poor little guy, he just couldn't hold down his cookies. I prided myself in Ecuador for never having a "puker" but here in the mountains of Mexico, there is just too much wind and turbulence to make every ride smooth and soft. At least his mom helped him use the sick sack!

From the Logbook...Do you see what I see?!

2008-07-03T15:59:00.003-05:00

It was an interesting day of flying for me here in Oaxaca, Mexico. I took off soon after I got to the airport this morning only to turn around 7 miles later because I received bad weather reports from the Sierra. After waiting a few hours, the clouds had lifted enough to make the valleys and passes operable and off I went.

This time I was successful in reaching my destinations. Can you see the airstrip that serves the community of El Carrisal in the photo above? If it doesn't jump out at you, look just about in the middle of the picture and there she is! That was my first landing.

Just before my second flight something happened at the airport that we as pilots read about all too often. The picture above isn't that great because it was bumpy and I was trying to get ready to land, talk to the control tower (in Spanish), and focus a camera at the same time. (It doesn't really work) That said, I didn't want to be joining my buddy in the corn field down below so I counted my "losses" and made a greaser of a landing instead.

That is a Cessna 152 being hauled out of the dirt after it lost power on takeoff and crashed. Thankfully everyone walked away. Most times crashes like this result in fire and there is nothing to see afterwards. But, there wasn't any gas in the tanks to fuel the fire, thus the flight school instructor (who doesn't have an instructor's license) and his student just about bought the farm today...literally. Rule #1- Always know your fuel situation!!!

From the Logbook...

2008-07-02T18:50:00.002-05:00

I had two flights today, both dead heading to the Sierra and bringing people out. The weather was great this morning which always makes flying a joy. On the way out on my second flight a little deviation from my normal route by the control tower had me flying almost right over El Convento de Cuilapan. I blogged about this place a while back, and it is impressive from the air as well. It is about a 30 minute drive from the house, or a 3 minute flight from the airport.

Back in the Office

2008-07-01T20:57:00.002-05:00

We made it back yesterday afternoon after a great time at the beach. We are always in awe of the beach, since we don't have a great understanding of it or it's ways. The waves at Puerto Escondido were absolutely HUGE all day and and all night long. It didn't take long to see why the surfers converge on this place. I am working on putting a bunch of pictures of our trip on my Flickr site. My internet has been funny, so it might be tomorrow by the time they all make it there.

Out of the Office

2008-06-27T20:36:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow morning we are flying one of our airplanes to "Puerto." Be back Monday.

From the Logbook...The Small Things

2008-06-27T19:24:00.003-05:00

I had another flight taking a load of workers into the Sierra today. I seemed to fill the airplane up with workers returning to Oaxaca as well. One thing that is fun to do is joke with the people of the various communities we go to. They all recognize me as new, and therefore I get asked questions like "how long you been flying?" "have you landed/taken off from X before?" "is this your first flight?" etc, etc. It is a lot of fun to play on their ignorance and tell them that yes it is my first landing...not just into their community, but my first landing EVER! Quickly they see that I am just joking, and although I am the new pilot on the block, I do know what I am doing.

I have posted a few pics recently on my Flickr site with some of the wildflowers coming up. Above is another (I think an Indian Paintbrush) that I found while hiking around the other day. They are a great lesson relating to how short Jesus says our lives are...blooming one day and gone the next. A great to reminder to live every day to it's fullest, never knowing when we will be face to face with our Creator.

From the Logbook...A Little of Everything

2008-06-25T19:50:00.003-05:00

We've been shut down with weather again for the past two days here in Oaxaca. But it is a far cry from the kind of bad weather we had in Ecuador. The sky couldn't have been more blue today. The kind of weather that shuts us down here in Mexico is wind. I'm not talking about a lot of wind either. It was maybe blowing 10-12 MPH, but that is to much for us to safely operate into and out of our airstrips. So, no operational flying.

But, I did make three flights today. One was to our mantenance hangar to pick up "GGU" that was there and work on a few things with "HYK." We got both airplanes running and operating in tip top shape, and by late afternoon we were heading back with two airplanes to Oaxaca. We did a little formation flying on the way back to Oaxaca and of course I took pictures. It was really hard to take pictures and fly the airplane because it was very turbulent from all the wind and convective heating. I few turned out ok though.

From the Logbook...A Little Spare Time

2008-06-23T15:23:00.002-05:00

I had two flights today, mostly taking people into the mountains. It seems like Mondays we take a lot of people into the mountains and Friday's they are ready to come out.

While in Amoltepec (above picture) on my second flight, I had great weather and no reason to hurry back to Oaxaca so I explored for around 30 minutes seeing what was around the runway. As seen by the picture above, the views were sweet and vast. I love being in mountains and you are definetly in them while flying to the strips here in Mexico. The wind was a little strong today which made for interesting and VERY challenging landings. On my first approach into AMO I had to go around due to a big horse I saw at the last moment before landing. The horse owner was thankfully there for my second attempt holding the horse well out of the way from the runway. Airplanes and horses don't mix well I suppose and I don't ever want to find out.

The Xoo

2008-06-22T21:49:00.003-05:00

Becca talks about our time at the zoo yesterday in her blog. It was indeed a fun time, especially for the girls. We were taken aback by some of the animals we saw. Almost all of the animals there are NOT from Mexico which added a little interest to an already interesting zoo.

The giraffe seen above was busy eating his breakfast of alfalfa hay. It seemed like all the animals were fed well, but the large predators all seemed to have at least a nervous tick, if not worse. Being a large and intelligent carnivore like the bears, lions, tigers, and leopards we saw must really make them go crazy with only a small patch of earth to occupy day after day, without any use of those powerful instincts and cunning they have in order to survive in the wild. I know I would go crazy!

Sunday Driving

2008-06-22T21:36:00.002-05:00

We went out this eavening to see if the light would be right to take some cool shots of an old church, but it never developed well. So, we just drive around the long way home through little farm roads and pueblos. We did come across this procession coming at us which forced us to take even more side roads being that the road was blocked. This is something that we have seen all over Latin America, but even more so here in Mexico. They are much more common and seem to involve more people. I have no idea what they were celebrating. Due to the fact that is was getting dark, the picture is a bit out of focus since I had to use a very long focal length.

From the Logbook...All Ready to Go!

2008-06-20T18:56:00.004-05:00

Finally after a lot of troubleshooting and repairing we have one of our two airplanes ready to fly. It took us a while to track down a sneeky oil leak, but we finally succeded in finding and reparing it this afternoon. Things don't happen fast here in Mexico, and it is even slower when you don't have simple parts like washers and gaskets. You have to be creative sometimes. We had to make our gasket today, which thankfully worked. Late this afternoon I flew "HYK" back to Oaxaca from our maintenance base in Mitla.

When we first arrived at the hangar this morning to get things going, I saw a very peculiar sight. First, a mother donkey (burro) walked by with a long rope attached to her neck. Not far behind, was her cute little colt. After I pursued them a little bit, I was able to snag the rope on the mother and pet her. After a while the colt thought that I must have been ok and allowed me to come close and pet it as well. I have always thought that baby "farm animals" are always so cute, and this little burrito was no exception. When I walked back to the hangar to get airplanes fixed, the colt began to follow me until it realized that it might be a little safer with mommy. It was sure funny to just see a "stray" burro and her colt walk by the hangar this morning. Things are very rural and relaxed in the small town of Mitla.

From the Logbook...Still A.O.G.

2008-06-19T17:59:00.004-05:00

We still don't have any airplanes to put into the air yet after another full day of trying to repair them and wait for parts. Our parts did arrive, which, if they work, we should have an airplane flying by tomorrow morning.

As you can see in the photo above, it's tough work fixing airplanes! I had to hold up the whole aircraft with my foot while the nose gear assembly was out to be worked on. Not really. We are just getting ready to put it back in in the photo. The tail is connected to the floor, which keeps the nose in the air so we can work on it. We'll see what happens tomorrow, but we may have a two working airplanes by the end of the day.

From the Logbook...A.O.G.

2008-06-18T21:18:00.003-05:00

Aircraft on the Ground. It is supposed to be a fearful three letter acronym that connotes despair and stress. In this case, aircraft should be thought of in the plural sense. I have been turning wrenches all week (which has been a lot of fun) trying to get our airplanes airborne again. Last week I flew one of our aircraft in for a routine inspection. We are still in the midst of completing it, hopefully we will be done tomorrow. The pesky problem in the nose gear I that mentioned before we found easy enough, but fixing it has been slow and hard.

This past weekend, our other aircraft developed an oil leak, a small one. After we investigated it a little bit, we determined it needed to be fixed until further operational flights. So, we flew it out to our maintenance base in Mitla only to find that the .50 cent part that we need, a brass crush washer, is not in stock. So, for fault of a simple a cheap part, our other aircraft is on the ground until fresh parts arrive, hopefully tomorrow as well.

So, I will head back out to our maintenance base again in the morning for another round of wrench turning. It has been fun to be back at it in the maintenance department. I hope to be able to test fly at least one airplane tomorrow, maybe both.

Fresh Pictures

2008-06-15T22:10:00.002-05:00

For those of you who like to see more pictures of some of the things we see, be sure to check out my Flickr album. I have been keeping it updated with photos that I don't always put in the blog.

I Really Love Technology

2008-06-15T15:54:00.002-05:00

Yeah, we bought a brand new fire breathing computer a few months ago after arriving here in Mexico. Well...it's dead! Sounds like I get to send it off so it can receive a heart and brain transplant. I still have to remind myself...computers are machines, they break. Although after only 2.5 months of use, I would expect more. Luckily we saw it coming and got most things backed up, and luckily the computer company (Gateway Mexico) has good customer service and guarantees. It was ironic though as I talked to the customer service specialist yesterday. I don't know what's easier, talking to a service rep in Spanish, or in English with a heavy Indian accent. I think it is easier talking in Spanish. So, we are stuck with our old faithful laptop at the moment until things get up and running again.

By the way, happy fathers day!!!

The Call of the Road

2008-06-15T15:36:00.005-05:00

It's no secret for those of you who know Rebecca and I that we like to go for drives simply for the joy of it. We like taking roads we have never been on, and may never use again. I feel like this has always helped us to see aspects of the cultures were are living with that otherwise we might have missed.

Yesterday, we headed south and then east on a loop that I had been pondering for a while. Simply put, the drive was increadible. Most of the loop was through very rural and very poor Mexico, a far cry from the modern city of Oaxaca that we live in. Most people that know us also know that we love the country. We are not city folk, we are country bumkins. Therefore drives like this through the country are really special.

Now that the rains have been falling in a consistent basis, farmers were out in force yesterday tilling their lands. Most of them were actually preparing their land for planting, with a family member like the wife or children dropping seeds in by hand right behind the plow. It looked like this farmer already put his corn seed in a few weeks earlier. Needless to say, we had never seen so many ox drawn plows in our lives. It was very surreal. (BTW, we only saw two small tractors)

The one thing that has amazed me in all the places I have seen in Mexico is the presence of the Catholic Church. Wether I am flying over the remote mountains, or driving through very rural country side, it seems like EVERY pueblo has it's own cathedral, most of which are very ornate and large.

From the Logbook...A Little of Everything

2008-06-15T15:20:00.003-05:00

Friday's flights were a lot of fun, and a little different from what I am used to. I took off on my first flight deadheading (empty) to the Sierra to pick up passengers at two airstrips. After fighting a little weather to get there, the sky broke wide open and the flight was gorgeous over the ponderosa pine covered mountains. Both landings were uneventful and I was soon on my way back to Oaxaca to get ready for my next flight.

(Blue skies calling me heavenward as I waited for fuel on the Oaxaca ramp)

My second flight consisted of flying the aircraft to our hangar in Mitla, about 25 miles away, so that we could perform a 100 hour maintenance inspection on the aircraft. It was fun to get my hands a little greasy again, as I didn't do a lot of maintenance in Ecuador. We didn't do a whole lot. We got the oil changed, put in some new fuel injectors, and opened up the inspection panels. I will be driving out to Mitla this Monday to help finish the inspection. We have found a weird creaking noise in the nose gear area that needs to be dealt with. Hopefully we can track it down and easily fix it. But my experience is that these things are hard to find and fix. We'll see.

Hang Time

2008-06-13T21:18:00.002-05:00

The last few days while walking at the park, there has been several people practicing for an upcoming race on their motorcycles. It sure looks like fun!

From the Logbook...Breaking Bread Together

2008-06-13T20:55:00.003-05:00

After I returned yesterday for my coworkers installing the radio, we had one more stop to make in a nearby pueblo. We took off and flew the 4 minutes from San Mateo to Barranca Honda. Our director needed to meet with a leader in the community about a breakfast program that he is leading with some help from members of the Oaxaca community.

As seen above, soon after we arrived we were sat down to a very simple and very typical meal, tortillas, beans, salsa, pumpkin seeds, and fresh cheese. Despite it's simplicity, it was VERY good! The tortillas were AWESOME, taken right off of the comal, hot and fresh. About and hour later we were done with our "meeting" and were back on our way to Oaxaca. It was a very memorable lunch, one in which I hope to replicate many times!

From the Logbook...McCoys and Hatfields

2008-06-13T20:45:00.004-05:00

Some of you may remember the incredible story of the McCoys and Hatfields. Read the link to find out more. I bring it up to say that this is still a very common occurance here in Southern Mexico. People in the southern Sierra are known for their fueding lifestyles. I was able to see this first hand yesterday during one of my flights. I flew to San Mateo with three of my coworkers to install an HF radio so that the community could communicate better with us in Oaxaca. After landing we learned that there was more to do than just hang an antenna and plug in a radio.

The town nurse came and found us and said there was a 12 year old boy that needed to be taken to a hospital in Oaxaca after being severely beaten during school. Supposedly some rivals from another pueblo came into the school and performed their "duty" for their family. They beat the poor boy up bad, so much so that (pardon my frankness) his scrotum burst and his testicles came out. He was in bad shape, and I pray that he is able to recover quickly. Sorry if my bluntness in what happened to the boy offends or startles you. Just like in the jungles of Ecuador, life is very raw here, and sometimes there is no way to put a sugar coating on it. I left with the patient while the rest of my coworkers stayed and installed the radio. I returned later to pick them up.

Join us in prayer for these isolated communities of Mexico. Due to their remoteness, the arm of the law cannot really reach these communities, therefore feuds, fights, and scuffles are common and rarely punished. These cycles continue from before the time of Cortez's arrival into Mexico. ONLY the power of Jesus can break these cycles and set the people free!

From the Logbook...Great Weather

2008-06-12T06:30:00.003-05:00

We woke up yesterday to an awesome day. Still some lingering clouds and moisture, but just enough to make things look beautiful. Because of our canceled flights the previous days, we had a pile of people waiting to go home via airplane. We got things ready and I was soon airborne with a plane load of people returning home. Two were old women, grandma types. One just behind me was praying the whole time until we landed. I'm sure she was thanking the Lord that she got to fly with the most awesome pilot around, and not just asking for safety and strength.

This is a shot from my first landing of the day into El Carrisal. The pueblo is off of the departure end of the airstrip. Things had really greened up here. Last time I was in Carrisal the grass was all dead and very dusty. It looks like a golf course from this picture, but the strip is VERY rough. It's a good thing landing gear cannot talk. This is one of our longest airstrips at around 1500ft and 4000 feet elevation.

From the Logbook...Shut Down

2008-06-10T10:25:00.004-05:00

Well...just like life. After a long and tiring fight to get my pilot's license I still cannot fly. This time it is due to the weather. We have had a week very similar to what we always had during our time in Shell, Ecuador. It has been very rainy with low cloud decks. Due to the very rugged terrain and mountains where all of our airstrips are, we just cannot safely reach our airstrips. Therefore we have been twiddling our thumbs with little tasks around the office until the weather breaks.

Here is a look from near the Oaxaca airport showing just where we need to go. Right up that pass is the route to most of our airstrips. Although we have been "grounded" for about 4 days, it has been nice to have all the rain and cool weather. I even put on a sweater last night to which Brooklyn asked me "Dad, what iS that, like a coat thing or sumthun?" Poor girl doesn't even know what a sweater is. Wait till she sees winter in Colorado!

From the Logbook...Solo Flight!

2008-06-04T14:35:00.004-05:00

I finally made my first solo flight here in Mexico today. It was great to be turned loose! The weather was definitely a fight though. With the terrain we fly into here, it can be even more challenging. Weather and terrain don't mix. The terrain ALWAYS wins. But, after taking some detours I finally made it to my first landing at Amoltepec. Training never stops in the aviation world, but for now, it is nice to be able to put into practice all that I have been learning during my pilot career.

These were my first passengers. They were a nice grandparent type couple. They look a lot meaner and unhappy in this picture than they really were. Little did they know until we landed that they were my first "victims."

After fighting a little bit of weather to make it back to Oaxaca, I flew right over Monte Alban as I entered the traffic pattern for landing. It's quite a sight to see from the air. The recent rains have really greened it up as well since the last time we visited the place a few weeks ago.

When It Rains, It Pours

2008-06-03T14:48:00.002-05:00

Didn't think I would be getting this today...my drivers license. When I woke up, it hadn't even crossed my mind. Then, my boss suggested we investigate it, and an hour later after arriving at the DMV, I walked out with my license. All I can say is miracle! Waiting an hour, after we waited more than a year in Ecuador seemed very surreal.

Ready to Launch Baby!

2008-06-02T20:01:00.002-05:00

I now have it in hand. The coveted Mexican Pilot's License. I should be flying solo this week. I'll be sure to let you know when that happens. Thanks for your prayers to obtain this. No doubt there was yet another spiritual battle making this process particularly slow.

Yeah Baby!

2008-05-29T18:27:00.002-05:00

Look what we finally got in hand today! Now, if I could just get that darn pilot's license.

Airstrips

2008-05-29T11:37:00.003-05:00

For those of you who like maps and Google Earth, here is a shot of some of the airstrips we use. I overlaid it with the lat./long. grid if you want to find the actual strips and see them in 3D. That will of course show you the ruggedness of the strips we fly into and their surrounding terrain. If there is a better/easier way to do this with Google Earth, let me know. (Click on the image to see a larger view)

A few sights from today

2008-05-28T19:45:00.005-05:00

Nope...still nothing new. No visas either. Yeah, it's discouraging, but ALL things work in God's perfect timing. So, when there is news...I'll report it.

But, we have been loving this park near the airport. We just keep finding neat little trails and nooks that hide such neat natural treasures. I've always loved what life the desert holds, and the biodiversity here is no disappointment. If you like that kind of thing...I do!

With the rains slowly arriving, things are turning green and budding with a vengeance. As the rains become more faithful there are sure to be more natural treasures that pop out of the ground heavenward.

The cacti are all just ready to bloom. I think a few more weeks and some more rain and they will really be putting on a show.

No Need for a License

2008-05-27T14:51:00.002-05:00

There are a lot of very beautiful birds here in Oaxaca, including parrots, which surprised me since we are not in the jungle anymore. I shot this raptor on the way home from work today. Looks like he had a nice lunch.

License News - Nothing new to report really. The Mexican FAA has already used up it's alloted 5 days to issue my license. After making some phone calls yesterday, it could be up to 10 days now. Until you have something in hand...there is just no use getting your hopes and expectations up.

Visa News - As Becca stated yesterday, we signed a bunch of papers and made fingerprints at the immigration offices. They said this Wednesday (tomorrow) they should be ready. Again, until it is in my hand...no expectations here.

Look Who the Cat Drug Home!

2008-05-22T19:41:00.000-05:00

Yeah...that's right, you are seeing one of my old Ecuador planes here with me in Oaxaca, Mexico. Alas 12 is being ferried by two of my MAF friends from Ecuador to Idaho. It has been rode hard and put away wet. It has over 12,000 hours on it (I think) and probably around 30,000 landings. It will be refurbished and then sent to Lesotho, Africa. It was great to have some old friends here on my turf. They left today and made their way to Texas. Tomorrow night they should be in Colorado, staying the night at my homebase where I laid the foundation of what I know, flight and maintenance. Great to see you guys...God Speed!

From the Logbook...Premature Baby

2008-05-22T18:24:00.003-05:00

A common type of emergency flight that is made worldwide in the MAF world is for complicated pregnancies. They seem to occur with women at all stages of pregnancy, from the first weeks to the last few days. Unfortunately a common age of these women seems to be between the ages of 13-18 years old. To me, the problems they are having are obvious...they are way to young to be giving birth. Their bodies are not ready. But, that is one of the reasons we are here. To help those that live in unfortunate circumstances.

The girl above is 16 years old and in her 32nd week of pregnancy. We brought her out because she was in labor and couldn't deliver the baby. The baby is two months premature, and she still had trouble. We pray that we see her again in a few days to take her back with her baby. I'll keep you updated if we see her again.

A Little Closer

2008-05-17T08:02:00.002-05:00

Man, what a week. As Becca described so beautifully in her blog what this last week has been, we finally began to receive some good news towards the end of this week.

VISAS-Supposedly we are going to receive a call on Monday to tell us what time we are going to be fingerprinted and sign some paperwork on Tuesday to receive our visas. I was a little unclear as to whether or not we are going to actually walk out the door with them on Tuesday, but I think that is the case...let's hope so. Guess what I get to do after we get our visas? I get to start the driver's license process....hurray!

Pilot's License- As far as I can tell...I cannot do anything now other than wait. Finally, the special paperwork that I was waiting for since Monday, arrived yesterday, Friday. It was the orders from the aviation officials in Mexico City authorizing the officials in Oaxaca to do my check ride. I delivered the papers to the officials here in Oaxaca and 2 hours later I was in the airplane doing my check ride. WOW! Things are definetly easier here in little Oaxaca. I had no expectation of doing my check ride yesterday. I thought perhaps early next week. But, the "examiner" here is very nice and flexible and we decided to go for it. Did I mention the fact that I hadn't flown in two weeks, and that almost all of my check ride consisted of two instrument approaches, neither of which I had ever performed? But, PTL, the examiner isn't even a pilot and it was obvious he didn't know much about what I was doing. So, after flying for about an hour, the examiner approved me and went to his office to do his paperwork for me. Another hour later and I was on my way to put the official documents in a next day air envelope to Mexico City with DHL. When I was in Mexico City, they told me it would be a week from the time they received my results until they issued my license. Let's pray that that holds true. I am anxious to be turned loose, but everything happens in God's perfect timing.

Details

2008-05-10T15:11:00.002-05:00

Well, after taking a day off to re-coup from my Mexico City expedition, I am feeling human again. Long story short...my trip was a success and I passed my course. Now, for some of the finer points from the trip...

Upon arriving at my location I was informed that my course wasn't a day long...it was four days long. I thought I was merely going to do an altitude chamber (which never happened) and come back home...nope. It was a 4 day course about the physical and medical effects of flight...in Spanish of course.
Once I got over the initial disbelief from this most peculiar turn of events...I quickly had to make a new battle plan. I only had one extra shirt and a pair of socks. Luckily I had brought my deodorant and toothpaste and toothbrush.
While walking back to my hotel the first night, I saw two cars pass me in the opposite direction. One passenger was obviously very angry at the driver of the other car. Both cars were soon stopped, blocking both lanes, while the one passenger got out of his car and walked over to the other car were he proceeded to beat the snot out of the other guy in his car. Not more than a minute later, and a lot of honking cars, both vehicles were on their way as though nothing had ever happened. It is a good thing I had my traveling hat on...thanks dad!
My first night I stayed in a kind of shady place. While it seemed clean enough, it still left a lot of questions unanswered as to what kind of clientèle frequented the place. I checked out in the morning for good and found another hotel.
Thankfully, the two instructors of my course, who were also doctors, pushed the class along and we got 3 days worth of lecture material done in 2, and we took the test the morning of the third day. I had to pass the test with a minimum of an 80%, which is exactly what I got. I was the only one in the class to pass...at least officially. Two of my fellow classmates were given an 80% as well, after some very vulgar rebuking from the instructor and a little help erasing their answers and putting the right ones down.
After taking a verbal beating myself for being a know it all American that barely passed with the minimum grade, we were finally dismissed and told to come back later to pick up our official paperwork. I returned a few hours later to thankfully find the paperwork ready upon which I went to the licensing department and talked with the "big chief."
"Mr. Big Chief" was a nice guy, and said I still need to do my check ride, but he said I could do in here in Oaxaca. This is a huge praise! I an do it in an aircraft I am familiar with, in an environment that I am familiar with. Hopefully this next week I will have my check ride scheduled. After I pass that, it should be about another week until my actual license is issued. I am getting closer, but still no cigar.

It's been a while since I have been in such an unwelcoming and vulgar environment. In some ways I am glad that this vulgar course was given in Spanish. While I know intellectually what a lot of the vulgarities mean that were spoken in the class, I still cannot grasp the emotional meaning of the words. Learning a language is always an interesting thing. When you start learning enough of the language to hear and understand cussing and vulgarity...you realize how much you still don't know, the heart of the words. My class would have been "R" rated simply because of the language from the two "professional medical doctors" that taught it. Thankfully vulgarity and cussing haven't crossed into the emotional realm of my Spanish yet. As my father-in-law says..."it was a character building experience."

Home...Finally!

2008-05-09T20:51:00.001-05:00

I'm back from Mexico City...recovering...tired...whooped...more later.

On the Road Again

2008-05-05T16:48:00.002-05:00

Tonight, I will be Mexico City bound once again to continue the licensing process in order to legally fly solo here. I leave at 11pm and should arrive around 5am. This should put me with plenty of time to find my testing place, and then some. Traveling through the night is a little bizaar, but it is common here when going to Mexico City. Being that MC is one of the largest cities in the world, avoiding any traffic and stress possible is usually worth the trouble of traveling throught the night. Assuming I come out of my altitude chamber course tomorrow with an approval rating (I should) I only lack one more thing...a check ride.

It seems I am getting a whole new set of requirements to obtain a pilot's license here in Mexico than what was required even a few months ago. They appear to be a lot more labor and time consuming, although not impossible. Once I have turned in my altitude chamber course paperwork to the aviation authority here, I should be able to get an appointment to take my check ride (flight test). This, I am now told, will be in Mexico City in a rented aircraft. Presumably the aircraft and the flying environment will be new to me, but I will investigate all the particulars when they actually give me an appointment. Best case scenario would be that I could stay in Mexico City a few days while I wait to take my check ride, but I doubt things will move that fast. I have a feeling I will be making yet another trip to Mexico City in the near future. The light seems to be growing at the end of the tunnel, but my chickens haven't hatched yet. Keep praying with us as we complete all the paperwork processes here...licenses, visas, etc.

Monte Alban

2008-05-01T19:48:00.003-05:00

May 1rst...an international holiday...May day, as it is called here; basically an international Labor Day. Mexico celebrates this day, and therefore I had the day off. Wanting to make the most of the day, we headed out to Monte Alban to take in the sights. We didn't get to see many of the sights as our trip was cut a little short, but hopefully Becca will talk about why in her blog...she writes better than I do.

This is a panaromic taken from the ball court, just as you enter the main complex. The size of the grounds are VERY impressive. I forgot to adjust my camera settings to make a good photo merge, therefore you can see the picture lines in this one. The picture below I set right though.

Taken from the South Court, this view sure makes the mind wonder what used to occur here all those years ago. Although our trip was cut short, we will no dought be returning many times to take in all that there is to see. This site is set up high on a small mountain which makes the view of Oaxaca very impressive as well.

From the Logbook...Maintenance

2008-04-29T21:07:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a different sort of day, as we had to stop operations and perform maintenance on the aircraft. Our "fleet" here in Mexico is only 2 airplanes. One is currently un-airworthy due to a paperwork issue. The aircraft itself is totally safe, but legally it's yearly paperwork isn't is order, therefore we aren't permitted to fly it until everything is resolved. We have done everything on our side of things, we are just waiting for a third party service to get their act together so we can get our airplane in the air again.

Therefore, our other aircraft has been taking the brunt of all the flight operations, and it was due a 50 hour inspection, or a very thorough oil change. To do this, we flew ten minutes to our old base in Mitla where we have a hangar and maintenance facilities. We were there the better part of a day taking care of various tasks. I have to say it will be fun to be involved in maintenance more here than I was used to previously.

Some of the other things I was involved in yesterday have to do with the motorcycle pictured above. It belongs to our mechanic, and he offered to let me ride it. Yeah baby! Just in front of the hangar is our very own dirt strip, which I turned into a race track. The little Honda 250 got along pretty good. In fact, maybe a little to well. While honing my donut making skills at the end of the airstrip, I gassed it a little to much and out she went. The bike went flying away, and I was left sitting on my blessed assurance, laughing and without a drop of pride. When I picked up the bike, I realized I had broken the clutch handle, and bent a few things on the left side. Nothing a little $ and torque cannot fix, it just would have been better it it was my bike, not a friends.

From the Logbook...La Maná

2008-04-24T16:00:00.002-05:00

I am still continuing with my checkout into the mountain airstrips here in Oaxaca. It is as much fun as it is a challenge. Since my first flight, I have had to laugh with the change in cargo we have here in Mexico as compared to Ecuador. Whereas I hauled countless bananas and plantains in Ecuador, here the norm seems to be tortillas. It doesn't take long to see that the Mexicans are crazy about their tortillas. They come in all shapes and sizes, and in both corn and flour. A meal is not a meal with out tortillas.

On a licensing note, it looks like I still have some things to do. At the moment I am scheduled to go back to Mexico City the first part of May to to an altitude chamber test. I actually look forward to it, I just wish we had known about it a month ago so I could have already had my appointment. Also, I may have to take a check ride with an aviation authority here in Oaxaca. It shouldn't prove to hard, but nonetheless it is another step in the bureaucracy. I feel like they are inventing rules for me know, which isn't unexpected, just unnecessary.

From the Logbook...A Few Days in Pictures

2008-04-22T17:45:00.004-05:00

Today we had a few flights, although I just went on one due to space available. It was an emergency flight back into Amoltepec to pick up an assortment of injured people. One lady had removed a bullet from her leg (I didn't ask), and another guy was knocked unconscious due to a rollover car accident. When we arrived the Red Cross was waiting and quickly took the patients to the hospital.

While shooting landings into Amoltepec yesterday (see below) we were advised of an emergency in a nearby village called La Laguna to pick up a woman having trouble during labor. WOW! I don't think my eyes have ever been so wide during a landing in my life. You land on a flat spot the size of a dime, and then the strip goes down sharply, levels for just a bit, and then goes right back up. It will keep you on your toes.

Yesterday we went back to Amoltepec. This is one of the three airstrips that I am working towards being checked out to fly into solo. It is a technical airstrip with 13% average slope and just under 1000ft. of length, but we go in there almost once a day. As I have stated before, slope is hard to see in pictures, but I could sure feel it as I walked back up to the plane.

On a licensing note, everything has been submitted to the aviation authority here in Mexico. We were told today that it would be 5 days until my license was issued. We'll see. Keep praying with us.

Overlook

2008-04-20T18:10:00.002-05:00

While driving to and from the airport, Becca and I noticed a huge white cross on one of the nearby hills of Oaxaca. Curious like usuall, we drove around for a while until we figured out how to get there a few weeks ago. Since then, we have made it a habit to go up there about once a week and to enjoy the solace and the beauty of overlooking the city. Last night was the first time we had made it up for a sunset, and it didn't disappoint.

El Convento Pt.II

2008-04-20T13:18:00.002-05:00

We made it to another destination yesterday, revisiting the Convent that we stumbled upon last Sunday. What a neat experience. It really made us feel like we were in the movie "Zorro" or something along those lines. We have had a hard time trying to dig up any info about the Convent. Click here to see what we found on Wiki. Le us know if you find anything else. I have been posting a lot of pictures from the site over at Flickr.

Tule Tree

2008-04-19T17:19:00.003-05:00

As usual, we were off driving to see what there is here in the Oaxaca area. One of the places we went to this morning was the famous Tule Tree. Impressive is definitely an understatement. Click on this link to read more about it on Wiki.

What is This?

2008-04-19T17:05:00.003-05:00

Anybody know what this plant is and what they make out of it? Make a comment and let's see who knows!

Close But No Cigar

2008-04-19T07:50:00.002-05:00

Another one of my pictures made it to AvWeb's weekly contest again. I still haven't won the picture of the week, so I will keep submitting until they get sick of me. Click here if you are interested in seeing this weeks winners.

From the Logbook...Sierra Checkout

2008-04-18T07:34:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I began my checkout into some of the mountain airstrips we have here. WOW! Things are a lot different here than in Ecuador. To compare the type of flying that happens here compared to what I was used to in Ecuador would be close to apples and oranges. That said, these airstrips are a lot more challenging than a typical day back in the jungle. We only have one airstrip that is a two way strip, one in which you can land and take off both ways. Even then, the conditions have to be just about perfect for it to be usable both ways. The rest are only one way in and one way out.

After running some errands this morning in regards to my pilot's license, I went to the airport to make another training flight to some more airstrips. Needless to say, I am all sweaty and worn out when we finally get back to Oaxaca.

This is a picture of Barranca Honda. It is one of our more challenging strips, and one that is at the bottom of the list for me to solo into because of it's difficulty. As with all 2 dimensional pictures trying to depict a 3 dimensional world, this picture doesn't do Barranca Honda justice. It is extremely steep, thus we have to park the airplane sideways for fear that it will start rolling downhill while we are out and about. Between the wind, weather, and slope of the strips here, I have my work cut out for me for a while until I gain experience.

Can You Hear Me Now?

2008-04-16T06:13:00.002-05:00

Upon arriving here in Oaxaca, we were told that it could take 4 months minimum to get a phone line put in our house. With that in mind, we went and got cell phones thinking it might be a long time until we have "conventional" communication. Well...guess what? We now have a working phone line on our home. A friend from church, who works for the phone company told us this past Saturday that he could install a phone line some afternoon if we went to the main office and talked to another friend from church. I jumped on this offer!

Monday morning I went to the phone office, paid for the install, and Tuesday afternoon we have a phone line! WOW! I have NEVER had such service! We are continually blown away by the kindness of friends, and the service of strangers here. We decided that we are having culture shock simply from the kindness of the Mexicans. We aren't used to people going out of their way to get to know us, help us, and even just talk to us.

Previously whenever someone has wanted to offer us something, our internal flags went off wondering what they might really want. Usually it was money. But this is not the case that we have encountered here. Granted, I know there are times that we have been charged more or taken advantage of here in Mexico simply because of the color of my skin or the origin of my passport. But this is not the norm. The warmness and openheartedness of the Mexicans is really blowing us away!

From the Logbook...Left Seat

2008-04-16T06:02:00.002-05:00

The last time I flew an aircraft was the first day of March. Yesterday I had my first flight in which I was the one flying. Granted, it was just a local flight to work through some maneuvers, stalls, and a few landings but I think it went well overall. Even after just a month and a half, there is some rust creaping in to some of the finer points of my flying, but that should be knocked off soon. Regardless of the reason for yesterday's flight, it was FUN! That is what it is supposed to be...right? Hopefully as my training flights progress we will actually start working into the airstrips in the Sierra on the road to letting my fly solo.

On a licensing note...I still don't have it. Things are still getting closer and I should have everything they are asking me for submitted today. Then it may just be a waiting game. Best case scenario would be that I have my license next week. Pray with us about that. As far as visas go...same deal. Everything is submitted to immigration, we are just waiting now.

Overall, things have gone really well in our setup here in Mexico. In fact, because we have accomplished so much here at home, at "work," and all other areas of our life, it feels like we have been here a LOT longer than 3.5 weeks. This is simply a praise to God! He has accomplished more than we ever could have with our best efforts, just as we have been praying. PTL!

Sunday Driving

2008-04-13T21:27:00.005-05:00

One of Becca and my favorite things to do is take drives. Through our marriage, we have found some very neat places, and made some great memories doing this. Now that we have so much daylight in the eavenings, we set out around dinner time to explore some roads we had been talking about. Most of them proved to be fruitless, but we did make it to an old convent from the 1500's. I still don't know enough of the story, but supposedly it was begun with high hopes, but never finished. With the scaffolding in the front, it makes me wonder what they are up to. Our little ones were becoming quite fussy when we finally found this place, so we didn't linger to take a lot of pictures or walk around. We will have to come back some other day.

From the logbook...Teachers and Fires

2008-04-10T17:38:00.006-05:00

There was a lot of flying going on today. I am still in the observation stage for a few more flights, so that means I am still in the right seat. My first flight was picking up teachers and a doctor from the Sierra. Our flight profiles here are very similar to that of Ecuador, meaning that we fly about 30 minutes out from Oaxaca, fly a few very short legs to all the nearby airstrips, and then return home.

My second flight was hauling around a few guys from the Mexican Forest Service. In the past we have done a lot of flying for them, and it looks like that will continue. They called us this morning wondering if we could take them to verify a forest fire report.

Here we are circling the fire. It was a small one, and it was mostly just burning the underbrush. While flying in the area, the smell of the smoke in the cockpit reminded me of an old mountain cabin with a wood stove. We have had some recent afternoon thundershowers, which is probably what started this fire yesterday due to it's lightning.

A lot of the views from the cockpit remind me of flights over Northern Arizona or western New Mexico. The only difference is the amount of communities. There seems to be a numerous amount of pueblos in these very isolated mountains, which is one of the reasons we are here. If the mountainside isn't populated with little towns, it is usually covered with Ponderosa Pine. The mountains here are very beautiful.

Crazy Enough to Fly

2008-04-08T17:02:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I was able to get my flight physical done after 6 hours of tests. It entailed the typical stuff; blood and urine work, psychoanalysis, general exam, eyes and hearing, etc. It is a huge praise that I was able to get it done, because I didn't have an appointment. Because we are strapped for time in trying to get me licensed, we were told the quickest way to get in would be to come first thing in the morning, and wait to see if someone didn't show up for their appointment. Sure enough, someone didn't show up, and they put me in. Otherwise it would have been the first of May. So, being able to get my exam done, on my first attempt, is a huge praise.

Today much of the day was spent hustling paperwork. I sent my medical work to Mexico City, talked with the lawyer a bit about our visas, and caught up on general bookkeeping items. Hopefully I will be in the cockpit soon. Keep praying with us...

Electroencefolowhat?

2008-04-07T06:40:00.002-05:00

This past Friday...after getting lost for a bit, I began the process of obtaining my flight physical. It sounds like I will be able to get all of it done here in Oaxaca. Once I finally found the doctor's office, I began the 30 minute test for the electroencefolografia (say that 5 times fast with a Spanish accent!). For those who don't know what this is...it is a brain wave test. Imagine the pictures of people you have seen with numerous wires stuck to their head as they lay down and a doctor prints out page after page of results. After the doctor was done, he seemed pleased and determined that I am sufficiently crazy to want to fly small airplanes.

Next, I walked about 3 blocks to a small hospital to take a chest X-ray. This was basically a non-event, except they had to do it three times. The first time, they didn't adjust the image big enough. In their words, I had "stinkin' huge lungs." The second time they still didn't make it big enough, and the third time was the charm.

This morning I am hoping to complete the whole process. Soon I will be out the door to get the remainder of my tests done at the local transportation authority.

Also, it appears that all of our visa paperwork has been completed and submitted to immigration. Join us in prayer that those involved with approvals, stamps, signatures, etc., will push us on through quickly. We'll keep you updated.

Las Ruinas

2008-04-07T06:34:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday we went to the town of Mitla, some 30 miles from Oaxaca. Mitla is where we have our maintenance hangar, but it is also an important town because of it's Mixtec ruins. We had a great time exploring the grounds. As with most things of this nature, we continually found ourselves amazed that actual people built these structures, and a long time ago with "primitive" technology.

Here is the main ball court of the ruins. Up the steps and through the entryways on the platform lead to what was the rulers mansion. The intricacy of the designs is stunning. Even some of the red plaster is still intact. In the background, you can just see the red domes of the Catholic church.
Like with most things reminiscent of the Spanish Conquest, this church is actually built on top of some of the ruins. A sort of king of the hill, except with religions I guess. Soon I will update my Flickr album with more pictures.

We're Not In the Jungle Anymore Pedro

2008-04-03T19:29:00.002-06:00

While driving to Mitla today, I was very impressed by the numerous types of cactus on the side of the road. I bet I saw at least 15 different types, some huge and probably thirty feet tall. I will no doubt be taking some pictures of the surrounding countryside as time allows.

Much of the day I spent working on things for my Mexican Pilot's License. Right now, I am working on things for my medical exam. Hopefully next week I will have my medical done, and then, supposedly, things will happen faster to finalize my actual license. Keep joining us in prayer for the paperwork processes of licenses and visas. It's kinda like fun...only different...and in Spanish.

Burrito

2008-04-03T19:25:00.003-06:00

A very typical and stereotypical Mexican sight in and around Oaxaca are the numerous burros...or donkeys.

Road Trip

2008-04-03T17:44:00.003-06:00

Today one of the things I did was travel (by car) the 40 minutes east to the town of Mitla. In Mitla we have our maintenance hangar and a property with two homes on it. In years past, we operated out of Mitla exclusively. Due to Mexico's crackdown on the drug trade, we were made to operate out of the international airport of Oaxaca, so that the Ivory Tower could keep a better eye on all of the small plane operations going into and out of the very remote mountain areas.

The plane landing above is actually one of our pilots flying an airplane of his friend. It is having some minor maintenance done for him, before heading back to it's homebase of Oaxaca. I was driving the truck to come and pick him up.

From the logbook...First Flight!

2008-04-01T06:21:00.004-06:00

Well...kind of. Yesterday afternoon I was able to go on an "observation" flight. Within the MAF world, whether rookie pilot or veteran, when starting on a new flight program, there is always a time of observation. This is so you can see the communication procedures, the routes, the airstrips, etc, etc. I assume that we will make a few more of these with me before they start letting me take control of the aircraft.

In a very untypical move yesterday, I left my camera at home, so I didn't get any pictures of my flight. Suffice it to say that it is a lot different from the lush green jungles of Ecuador. At the moment, March-April are the hottest and driest months here in Oaxaca. Therefore, we flew over a lot of arid farmland, accompanied by ponderosa pine covered mountains. There is a lot more turbulence here due to thermal heating and wind as well.

In the morning, I ran errands trying to get our visa process started. Sounds a lot simpler than it was in Ecuador, but only time will tell. We still have numerous paperwork issues to work on for which we would still appreciate your prayers.

Happenings

2008-03-30T07:02:00.003-06:00

We finally got er' done! Early afternoon yesterday we finished getting the washer and dryer online. It is a great feeling to have that done. There was nothing there when we started, except the washer and dryer of course. So we installed the conduit and wiring to power them, then we "Teed" off from the water heater and ran copper tubing to the washer. Then we had to make a small connection from the propane tank to the dryer, and wah-lah, we are in business.

After getting that big job done, I ran around town a little bit trying to find some mesh of some sort to block our upstairs balcony from a certain toddler. I had success, and later installed it after our welcome party.

All of the Alas de Socorro de Mexico staff we there, and we had arachera, a cut of steak here that is simply amazing. I can't wait to eat it with my carnivorous father and father-in-law. I think they will be impressed. It is a far cry from the beef we have been eating the past few years.

A few days ago while downtown, Brooklyn sat down in front of this huge church. Oaxaca has TONS of things to take pictures of. I honestly haven't been taking many pictures. I haven't had time. Hopefully things will begin to settle down a bit. Our internet connection is still very poor. We have decent success late at night and early in the morning with our connection, but all other times are not good. Improving the signal strength is another project that I might get to this afternoon. We'll see...

Only a Week

2008-03-28T21:20:00.003-06:00

Whew! We have been working hard. It seems like we have been here a lot longer than just 8 days. We do have a lot to show for all the work which helps.

I made it back from Mexico City yesterday night at around 11pm, after having left on Wednesday night at 10pm. Overall it went really well. I had to attend a course put on by the Mexican FAA. The quality of the course was actually very surprising. I left the course glad that I attended. I actually learned some things, and was reminded of some minute details of the aviation world. In order to get a Mexican pilot's license, you have to attend one of these courses. Thankfully, there was no test, attendance was the only requirement. I went to and from Mexico City (about 6 hours away) on a public bus. It was a much different experience than what we were accustomed to in Ecuador. Very clean, very quite, very efficient bus service. Even the bus stations were clean and gleaming white! Strange! This country boy even rode in a subway for the first time in his life while in Mexico City. (Not so clean and quite!)

Today I worked with our pastor friend most of the morning trying to finish the plumbing and electrical for our washer and dryer. We are getting close. Hopefully tomorrow we will finish. We also cleaned and serviced our water heater. It was in horrible condition. Now it is working MUCH better. In all of it's 8-10 year life, I don't think it had ever been serviced.

In the afternoon, our car was finally ready. I went and completed the paperwork and things, and then drive home our "new" car. While there are more requirements here in Mexico to owning a car than there were in Ecuador, the used car lot that we bought the car from took car of all the details. I only had to show up, slap down some cash, and sign a few things. Buying a car makes me nervous in English, I guess because of the amount of money involved and the reputation of car salesmen. It makes me even more nervous to do it in another language. Thankfully, I feel like I was treated well and fair. Now, we have to see if our Nissan Pathfinder is faithful. I think it will be.

I start "work" on Monday. Being able to get a car, lots of furniture, washer and dryer plumbed, (maybe a cell phone), groceries, trip to Mexico City, etc, etc. makes it feel like we have been here a lot more than a week. We are slowly getting settled and are even getting a glimpse into what our "routine" might be. We still need to get our Mexican Visas (we are on tourist visas at the moment), get my pilot's license, get a Mexican driver's license, and who knows what else.

I heard in a sermon one day that when a rocket is launched, it uses up around 70-80% of all its fuel in the first few minutes just trying to overcome gravity. Once it is on it's way it uses the remaining fuel to complete it's mission, which is exponentially longer than the first few minutes of flight. I say that to compare what it has been for us as we have lived in three different countries in that many years. It always takes so much time and energy to get things rolling, and then finally you get established enough that you don't have to use as much energy to complete the same tasks that were required at first. Needless to say, the next few months we will still be in the "overcoming gravity" stage of getting settled here in Mexico. The plan is to have me flying solo to most of our airstrips by the latter part of April. (i.e. lots of work and details) It will only happen with your prayers. Thanks!

Man in the Moon

2008-03-25T08:05:00.006-06:00

Our last night in Shell, I tried my hand at taking pictures of the moon. I just got a new lense that I have been experimenting with. It has been a lot of fun, and I thought this one turned out pretty neat.

Our ability to upload pictures has been limited since moving to Mexico. We obviously have internet, but it has been marginal at best. This morning I just got lucky with my connection lasting more than 3 minutes. Hopefully we will have some more luck and we will put some more pics of Mexico, family, etc.

Another Beginning

2008-03-21T20:10:00.001-06:00

For those of you who were readers of the Jungle Aviator, welcome to my new blog. Being that we don't live in the jungle anymore, I was going to have to change the name of my blog. Rather than do that, I just made another one. Be sure to put it on your bookmarks, and check in from time to time, and even comment so that we know who is out there.

Well...we made it! We got off the airplane yesterday here in Oaxaca tired and beat, but happy to be here. The girls traveled pretty well, and even all of our baggage made it intact. There isn't a lot to report at the moment, at least not cool flight stories and tales from the bush. We are just in the process of getting our house ready to live in.

We spent much of today cleaning and prepping our house to be lived in. I think we will be sleeping there tomorrow night. For the moment, we are staying with some co-workers who live very close until things get ready a little more in our house.

It looks like things will be busy next week, as I am already planning on going to Mexico City to start the pilot's license process. I have to admit, I am a bit nervous to travel to one of the world's biggest cities, but I will have a Mexican co-worker with me to help.

Thanks again for all of you who have been praying for us in this transition. It no doubt has and is helping. Keep it up!