Eleventh Airframe To Be Used For Missionary Work
Mission Aviation Fellowship took delivery this week of its first
Kodiak 100, the first of the next-generation bush planes to be
produced under an arrangement between the ministry and the
manufacturer, Quest Aircraft Co. of Sandpoint, ID.
The new Kodiak 100 will be dedicated in a public ceremony at MAF
headquarters May 2. The plane will go on a multi-city tour this
summer, prior to being ferried to Papua, Indonesia, the
aircraft’s destination of service.
"Aviation, in the minds of many, is the heart and soul of
reaching the unreached peoples of the world," said John Boyd,
president and chief executive officer of MAF-USA. "Missionary
aircraft can take people into areas where there are no roads. They
can deliver food, medicines and other supplies when roads are
impassible.
"This Kodiak -- the 'first fruit' of our collaborative
commitment -- is an amazing dream come true," Boyd added.
The development of the Kodiak 100 grew from the need for a new
kind of aircraft to better serve missionary agencies, such as MAF,
that minister in remote areas, as well as humanitarian groups and
backcountry commercial flight operators. One of the many benefits
of the Kodiak 100 addresses the shortage and high cost of aviation
gasoline in many areas where MAF operates.
Unlike the Cessna 206, which makes up the bulk of the MAF fleet,
the Kodiak runs on jet fuel... which is in great supply and
considerably cheaper than avgas.
Eleven
years ago, MAF and Quest formulated an arrangement to raise funds
and provide seed money to make the development of the Kodiak 100
possible. Under the agreement, profits from commercial sales of the
Kodiak 100 will subsidize a portion of the cost of each 11th
airplane produced, which will be delivered to participating
not-for-profit Christian and humanitarian aviation organizations.
MAF is receiving the first plane under this arrangement.
Other mission aviation groups that joined MAF in committing
funds to the Quest startup include Air Serv International, New
Tribes Mission, Wycliffe Bible Translators JAARS, Mercy Air South
Africa, Zululand Mission Air Transport, Misio’n Padamo,
Project AmaZon, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventist World
Aviation, Flying Mission, Moody Bible Institute, Samaritan
Aviation, Arctic Barnabas Ministries, Christian Light Foundation
and Asas de Socorro.
Over the next few years, MAF will replace 20 of its Cessna 206s
with planes that operate on jet fuel, either Kodiak 100s or Cessna
Caravans.