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What to know ?
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"Giving Wings To The Word"
by Art Mitchell
President of Flypass Ltd.
Formerly a Pilot/Manager with Mission Aviation Fellowship
| Today's
missionaries travel by mule, canoe or on foot into the most remote areas of the world
discovering peoples from the stone age who have never had the opportunity to hear the name
of Christ. By the light of a camp fire, in front of a tent or hut they pull out a
computer notebook and record the days events. Then,
instead of tucking the "notebook" into a back pack, they plug in a modem, and
along with the portable satellite link, transmit the data to home base along with their
GPS location. With the use of technology, it will only take seconds to upload or
download information to and from almost any place on the planet.
Unfortunately, some tools that have changed the effectiveness of missions in our
generation are trailing far behind most other areas of technology.
Suprisingly, Aviation
... one of the main tools that has changed the effectiveness of missions in our
generation ... is trailing far behind most other areas of technology.
Aircraft engines we use today are basically unchanged from those built in the late
"thirties". With relatively small changes, the airframes come from the
early "fifties". Automobile and even farm equipment technology has
advanced far beyond that of general aviation. There have been more improvements in
instrumentation and great advances in navigation and communication equipment.
T oday, with a STOL
... it is possible for a medical missionary, a pastor, engineer, teacher or
evangelist to fly from airstrips of 200 to 300 feet in a safe, economical, all metal
aircraft. STOL aircraft burns regular auto gas (a lot more
accessible on the mission field than expensive avgas) and can be maintain by any competent
auto mechanic. Flying an aircraft safely for what it would cost to run the average
missionary vehicle certainly deserves a place in today's mission world.
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THE
STOL DESIGNER |
| Chris
Heintz, one of the design engineers on the famous Concord Jet and a stress analysts for
DeHavelin Aircraft for some years is well known in Canada and around the world. For
the last twenty two years, as the owner of Zenith Aircraft
Company and Zenair Ltd., Chris has been producing several light
recreational aircraft. In 1994, he received certification in Canada and the USA for
his CH 2000. This was the first
general aviation aircraft to be certified in Canada in the last 30 years. |
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| THE STOL AIRCRAFT |
Zodiac
CH 601
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| This plane can fly between 110 and 140
MPH on 13 to 16 liters of fuel per hour and operate out of fields of 400 to 500 feet in
length with two people on board and lots of baggage. It is a sporty looking machine
and quite good on rough fields. |
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STOL CH 701 |
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| The 701 is also a two
place aircraft that can be airborne in less than 120 feet of unprepared grass, or 90 feet
of hard surface, at gross weight. It can also carry most of the equipment a
missionary needs for his or her work. While it cruises at 70-85 MPH, it can go into
areas where no other all metal, fixed wing airplane can. It is now being used by
missions and Third World customers around the world. |
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SUPER STOL 801 |
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This aircraft has been designed to go
into very short fields (200 feet for take-off) and carry a useful load of 1000
pounds. With four seats and a speed of 115 MPH, the 801 has been built especially
for work in third world countries.
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| Are these toys
or real aircraft? Each
of these airplanes are as superior to our older, traditional machines as today's
automobiles are superior to those of 30 years ago. More than that, they are very
much easier and safer to fly. The operating cost is less than one half of the older
planes and maintenance is also much simpler. |
Can they be
used safely on the mission field?
These aircraft are much easier to fly safely, with less training than
the aircraft currently being used in missionary service.
 BARAKEL MINISTRIES |
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