Participants:
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG000029A
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00:01 Adventist World Aviation has a mission outpost
00:02 in Guyana South America. Servicing the north western 00:06 part of the country with aviation services, such as 00:10 med-evacs, delivering supplies and spreading the gospel. 00:14 This mission outpost has been in existence 00:17 for well over 10 years now and is thriving. 00:19 They use airplanes as a vital tool to serve the local 00:24 Guyanese people and share the love of Jesus with them. 00:28 There is such a great need for emergency flights from deep 00:32 in the jungle, that they need two aircraft to keep up 00:35 with the flight request demands. 00:37 Sadly within the past year the project had to come 00:41 to a standstill. 00:42 Both aircraft had to be taken offline, because of needing 00:46 emergency repairs. 00:47 With few resources in the jungle, Adventist World 00:51 Aviation leaders had to come up with a solution to the 00:54 problem as soon as possible. 01:48 The AWA mechanics had to ground the pathfinder plane, 01:51 that worked in Guyana for 10 years. It has reached 01:55 the number of hours it can fly before refurbishment. 01:59 Thankfully, they had the foresight to start working 02:04 on a second pathfinder plane, plane number 8838 x-ray 02:09 to take its place. 02:11 This aircraft is an old Cessna 182, that had to be refurbished 02:16 and modified to fly in jungle terrain. 02:20 8838 x-ray underwent a total transformation. 02:23 It was transformed from an old pile of metal, 02:26 to a shining brand new aircraft. 02:29 Ray and Julie Young were given the opportunity to fly 02:32 to Guyana and deliver the aircraft. 02:34 The journey for them took a little over 10 days. 02:39 They left from Sullivan Wisconsin and flew cross country 02:42 to Florida. 02:44 From Florida they launched into the Caribbean and 02:47 island hopped all the way down to South America. 02:50 A small single engine aircraft has limitations on the amount 02:54 of fuel it can carry, so they could fly only a few hours 02:58 before they had to stop and refuel. 03:01 This took great amounts of strategic planning to make sure, 03:05 they would have enough fuel to make it from island to island 03:08 Although they encountered great setbacks due to the weather, 03:12 the aircraft finally landed at Ogle airport. 03:17 After a 10 day journey, Ray and Julie Young land 03:21 on Guyanese soil. 03:24 Laura Labore, one of the mission pilots stationed 03:28 in Guyana flew from the jungle to Georgetown 03:31 to welcome the arriving plane. 03:33 Since Laura flies into this airport almost daily, 03:37 she is good friends with all the local air traffic controllers. 03:40 She has built a good relationship with them. 03:44 When the plane reaches Georgetown's airspace, 03:46 Laura is in the control tower 03:48 ready to greet the new mission plane. 03:50 The journey this plane went through to get here 03:53 was nothing short of miraculous. 03:56 It is no small feat to ferry a plane this great distance. 04:01 They had to wait months for this plane and it is finally here! 04:06 We went through the last two years having only one airplane. 04:10 It's really, really hard to only have one. 04:14 Some people say, you have two pilots, why do you need 04:16 two airplanes for it. 04:17 One of them is a little bit bigger 04:19 one of them is a little bit smaller. 04:20 But having 2 airplanes is so important, 04:22 because when one is down, the other one can keep on flying. 04:26 There has been many times when we started on doing maintenance, 04:30 on an airplane, say just a light maintenance, changing the oil. 04:33 Not that big of a deal. Just changing the oil. 04:36 We get a call for med-evac, so we have to quit, put everything 04:38 back together. This person is bleeding out, or what ever... 04:42 And fly the person there. 04:44 Or worse case scenario, you can't fix it. 04:48 because we are waiting for a new part to come from the States. 04:50 So now we are down, and no one can be med-evaced out. 04:53 There is no way to get in or out into town. 04:56 So we really, really need two airplanes! 04:59 There has been times to, when say I am flying the med-evac, 05:02 or doing some flights and some other emergency comes up. 05:06 At that point, the second pilot can just jump into the plane 05:10 and take care of the med-evac. 05:12 so the response time is much faster to, 05:15 if we have two airplanes. 05:16 The first opportunity she gets, Laura examines the new 05:20 AWA mission plane. 05:22 She inspects both the interior and exterior to see how it 05:26 differs from the plane, that was previously stationed here. 05:31 She cannot wait to get it up in the sky to see how it flies. 05:35 However, before that can happen, the local Guyanese 05:39 officials must first inspect the aircraft, to make sure 05:42 that it is safe to fly in this environment. 05:44 Laura and the Young's watch, as they inspect the plane. 05:49 Neither of them are worried. They know that the AWA 05:52 mechanics did such an outstanding job 05:55 when building this plane, that it would pass any inspection. 05:59 Safety regulations and protocol are very high 06:02 on Adventist World Aviation's priorities. 06:05 Every project they under take, must always pass high levels 06:10 of safety regulations. 06:13 Within a short amount of time the inspection is completed. 06:16 8838 x-ray passes the test with flying colors. 06:20 She is free to fly in the Guyanese skies! 06:25 Laura wants to waste no time getting the plane back to their 06:29 mission post in Mabaruma. 06:31 She knows how badly the plane is needed there. 06:35 A few months ago AWA's second plane, 06:38 a 206- that is a Cessna 206, was also grounded. 06:42 One of the cylinder heads was cracked 06:45 and it is now not safe to fly anymore. 06:48 With the pathfinder plane gone and the 206 being 06:52 the only plane here in Guyana, this needed repair completely 06:56 grounded the Guyana project. 07:01 They can no longer make the lifesaving med-evac flights 07:03 until the new plane arrives. 07:05 With a sense of urgency, Laura, and the Young's loaded 07:08 up the new pathfinder plane, 8838 x-ray and take 07:13 to the skies headed toward their home base. 07:15 They are all anxious to get this plane back, so they can 07:19 again resume their operations and continue 07:21 to offer live saving flights. 07:24 As they fly, Ray takes the opportunity to acquaint Laura 07:28 with the new aircraft. 07:30 He teaches her all the new instruments that only slightly 07:33 different from the previous ones 07:35 Even with all the new upgrades, Laura is an extremely skilled 07:39 pilot and easily picks up on all the new adjustments. 07:42 Laura is so thrilled to have an airplane back in the field! 07:47 So this is what it is going to feel like 07:48 when we're on our way to Heaven. 07:50 Oh, but it is going to be so much fun! 07:52 About halfway into the flight, the skies begin to look 07:55 threatening, and uncooperative. the clouds darken and lightning 08:00 strikes around them. The jungle storm has developed right 08:04 in front of them. Rain begins to fall around them. 08:08 They need to decide that they can continue forward, 08:10 or if they need to turn around. 08:13 They cannot land the plane in this type of weather. 08:17 Laura calls ahead to her husband, Bill to see 08:20 what the local weather is at the destination. 08:22 Bill, hey, I don't know if our texts are going through. 08:28 We are landing in 8 minutes and it looks like it's storming 08:32 over in Mabaruma. 08:34 They decided to push forward. Once again, 08:37 God shows His guidance, as the skies hold back their fury. 08:43 The view of the dirt runway is a welcome sight. 08:47 8838 x-ray has finally reached its final destination. 08:51 For the very first time, it descends from the skies 08:54 and gently coasts to the ground. 08:58 After months of hard work, this aircraft has finally 09:02 arrived in Mabaruma and it can be put into service 09:08 in the work of saving lives. 09:13 Jeh, it was great to see the jungle strip show up in front 09:17 of you, because everything was just green and rain and clouds. 09:19 We had to fly through very heavy rainstorm, just to get here. 09:24 We were wondering whether or not it would even be possible 09:27 to land. But again just in the nick of time the rain stopped, 09:32 than the sky cleared up there was the strip, we flew across 09:38 midfield, over the strip. We saw people out there, 09:41 beside the runway, waiting for us to land. 09:43 Turned and came in and had an absolute gorgeous landing. 09:48 with all of the lights and everything on and pulled up 09:51 in front of the terminal to meet all the local dignitaries, 09:55 and hospital staff, that could take the day off, came out 09:58 to greet us and let us know how much they appreciate everybody's 10:03 support and having this aircraft back in function for them again. 10:08 It was a good feeling to finally have completed the long journey 10:14 that we started months ago. 10:18 Despite the rainy weather, a crowd draws from the village 10:21 to show its support and joy to have an airplane back. 10:25 This airplane is a symbol of hope for the Guyanese 10:29 and they are so very thankful to have Adventist World 10:31 Aviation here with them. Village leaders, as well as 10:35 small children, all crowd around the plane to get 10:38 a better view of this new aircraft. 10:41 Everyone in overjoyed to see the new mission airplane land. 10:45 Officials from the village have come, despite the bad weather 10:49 to welcome the plane home. 10:59 So you guys are happy that the plane is back? 11:13 Thank you! 11:32 Well, I remember the day, when I found out the airplane is coming 11:34 in to Mabaruma. I was very excited and I called people here 11:38 to let them know, that the plane was coming. 11:40 I went out to the airstrip to take some footage of the landing 11:44 when it was coming in. We really had a good turnout. 11:48 It was a rainy day, which is in Guyana it's kind of unusual, 11:51 people come out in the rain, but we had representatives 11:53 of the ministry of health there the regional democratic council, 11:56 all the people that are effected by the airplane. 11:59 They just came out in groves, to basically welcome it. 12:03 Come to welcome it's arrival. 12:05 But for me personally, my heart leaped a beat, when I saw it 12:09 because it's a beautiful airplane, that's number one. 12:12 It's a very well done airplane. Very confident that it's going 12:16 to be a great aircraft for us. 12:17 But just that, I know the amount of work that went 12:20 into preparing it. 12:22 And the commitment of a lot of individuals back in the States. 12:24 The pathfinders and what they did. Helping to raise funds for 12:28 the refurbishment. It just touches my heart. 12:34 They don't realize really, what an impact this plane has, 12:37 because they are not here. But when you live on the ground here 12:40 you see day to day that lives are effected by it. 12:43 It's very very moving and it's emotional. 12:47 It's one of those things that lot of people see as 12:51 just an airplane, but here people see it as a lifeline. 12:54 This village has been without a mission plane for months now. 12:57 And they desperately missed it. 13:00 After a 10 day journey from Wisconsin, the Youngs have 13:04 successfully delivered the aircraft to Guyana South America 13:09 They can't express how happy and honored they are to be the ones 13:14 tasked with this job. 13:17 The journey was by no means an easy one, but it definitely was 13:21 a fulfilling and rewarding experience 13:24 for Ray and July Young. 13:28 I am glad we completed on the promise we made 3 months ago 13:33 to Laura that we would do our best to get her an airplane 13:36 and here it is. We did it! 13:40 And a whole lot of other people helped along the way. 13:43 We get to be the ones on the front I guess. Getting the PR. 13:48 There are a lot of other hands a lot of people who pitched in 13:51 financially, which is really a stumbling block 13:54 for most aviation is the cost. Right? 13:57 So, a lot of people, who are unmentioned, unsung heroes 14:02 in all of this and we sure appreciate everybody's help 14:05 and continued sacrifices that they make. 14:08 So that Adventist World Aviation can keep operating. 14:11 The Young's have dedicated the last half a year, 14:14 to making sure this plane reaches Guyana. 14:17 Ray is a pilot as well as an airplane mechanic. 14:20 He left his home in Canada and temporarily moved to 14:23 Wisconsin, so he could finish the refurbishment of this 14:26 plane and deliver it to this project. 14:30 The level of commitment the Young's have displayed 14:33 to this project is so moving. 14:36 And it goes without saying, they have become very attached 14:40 to this aircraft. 14:42 Finally the Youngs have been able to fulfill their 14:44 promise and deliver the aircraft 14:46 However their adventure here in Guyana is not yet over. 15:01 For the first time in our history here in Guyana, over the 15:04 last 2 months we been down. We didn't have an airplane, 15:07 that was functioning. We cracked the cylinder in our 206, 15:11 that we were using, but the cylinder crack was something 15:14 that set us back. We weren't able to fly with that. 15:18 Meanwhile our other airplane is being prepared 15:20 back in the States, which is the second pathfinder plane actually 15:24 182, but it took time to get that plane prepared, 15:28 so meanwhile we are here without an airplane in Mabaruma. 15:31 What kind of life would that be like compared to when we have 15:34 an airplane is difficult. 15:37 We can't get to town to get supplies for one thing 15:41 In Mabaruma we have very limited supplies here. We can get flour, 15:45 sugar, yeast. A few things like that, but very little 15:51 fresh vegetables, or fruit. 15:55 Needless to say, that effects our diet and really our health 15:59 in certain ways, because it's a diet we're used to eating. 16:02 So we resort to growing things we do grow papaya 16:06 and a few things here. But still we miss out on a lot 16:08 when we can't get to town. 16:10 As project manager I go to town every month to conduct 16:14 business there, things that I need to take care of 16:16 for the project. Government meetings, paperwork that needs 16:19 to be filed. You know, work permits, I mean a variety 16:23 of things that needed to be taken care of. I've been unable 16:25 to do any of that, so I am behind. I have to catch up now. 16:32 But the worst thing of all, is that we get calls from a lot of 16:37 people, that have very legitimate needs to go to town. 16:39 Some of them, many of them are medical, serious family issues, 16:44 like for instance a death in the family and the person is 16:47 in Georgetown we need to go in some cases to identify the body, 16:51 or what ever the situation may be. These are people, who cannot 16:55 afford to pay for a commercial ticket to go out. 16:57 They are very poor and we just have to say no. 17:00 We can't do it and the hospital calls with the med-evac 17:04 an emergency and we are right here in Mabaruma 17:07 but we were unable to assist, so we have to call a commercial 17:10 flight to come in from town. 17:12 Number 1, the pilot has to be available to fly. Number 2 the 17:16 airplane has to be available to fly, because these are 17:18 commercial operations, that are flying all day long. 17:21 Sometimes pilots pass their hours, that they are able to fly 17:25 for the day and they are not available. So in some cases 17:27 the hospital either has to wait till the next morning, 17:30 or sometimes they have to come in at night. 17:32 And meanwhile the patient in some cases hours mean life. 17:35 They are there languishing in the hospital, unable to get out. 17:39 And that's what brakes my heart the most. 17:41 That's what's the most difficult for all of us here, because 17:43 we know the need and there is absolutely nothing we can do. 17:47 The goal always of our project has been to be zero downtime 17:50 as much as possible. 17:51 Sometimes we are down for maintenance but usually not more 17:55 than a day or two, but being down for a month and a half 17:58 to two months, that's been very very rough. 18:00 So we hope that it doesn't happen again! 18:02 The 206 is a vital tool here in the mission field. 18:05 It has a stronger engine and is able to carry more weight. 18:10 So it has been labeled the work horse of the mission field. 18:14 The past few months, the missionaries have all but 18:17 been crippled without the use this airplane. 18:20 Thankfully, Ray Young's trip to Guyana is twofold. 18:24 First to deliver the new pathfinder plane, and second 18:28 to fix the broken down 206 and get it back 18:32 to flying conditions. 18:35 Ray is a skilled airplane mechanic and he brought the 18:38 parts he needed from the United States, to fix the 206. 18:43 So, the very next day, after arriving in Guyana, 18:47 Ray's first order of business is to start working 18:50 on the Cessna 206. 18:53 Unfortunately, the project in Guyana currently has no 18:56 airplane hangar, or shelter to work under. 18:59 Any maintenance they perform, must be done 19:02 out in the open field. 19:04 Maintaining aircraft here is always an adventure in it self. 19:09 You never know when you are going to go out there and work 19:12 on the plane and what you are going to find. 19:14 Either it's really hot, or rainy There is not a whole lot of 19:18 in-between. It's either a lot of sun, or a lot of rain. 19:22 And then let's say you want to go out and work on the plane 19:25 we have a traveling tool shed that we hook up to the truck. 19:27 So maybe you go out to hook it up and find that the tire is 19:31 flat on the trailer. And this has happened. 19:34 We went out to work on it. The tire was flat, so then we 19:38 went to blow it up. In pumping it up we found that 19:41 the generator wouldn't work. And so then we had to 19:43 try to fix the generator. And one day we took 2 hours just 19:48 to pump up the tire because everything was working fine 19:51 got everything working, so we could pump up the low tire 19:53 to go out and do - to just start to work on the airplane. 19:56 So it's always a challenge. Sometimes we get parts sent to 20:00 us and we've ordered a certain part, maybe it's the wrong one. 20:04 Or the one that arrives is broken. So now we have to sit 20:07 and wait for another two weeks for a part to come. 20:09 It's very - very difficult. 20:12 I really miss the overnighting. If something you need, something 20:15 you can't just ship out, or run down to Radio Shack 20:18 and get what you need. 20:19 It's very much a large process. 20:22 Laura LaBore is also an airplane mechanic. 20:26 Both she and Ray will spend the next few days replacing 20:29 the cracked cylinder on the 206. 20:32 Its currently rainy season here in Guyana, 20:35 and the clouds around them promise rain. 20:37 But the mechanics have no choice. They must get this 20:41 plane back up and running as soon as possible, 20:43 even if that means they get wet. 20:47 One common thing of all aircraft, is that they have to 20:50 be maintained. Regular intervals based on the hours of operation 20:53 they have to be checked out, to make sure they are in good 20:56 operating condition. 20:57 We've not had really a hangar or anything to be able to work in. 21:03 We had to do all the work outside, in the elements here. 21:05 We have rain almost every day here, so we have a portable 21:11 tool shed to bring out to the airstrip 21:13 that we use for maintenance. 21:14 We put a tarp over the engine and the pilot 21:16 the maintenance people work under that. 21:18 In order for the cylinder to be replaced, they must first 21:21 remove all the bolts that hold it in place. 21:23 Keeping an airplane out in the humid elements 21:27 of Guyana causes corrosion to build up in the bolts. 21:32 Prying them loose, can be quite difficult. 21:36 The last cylinder head pulled off. 21:42 Heart transplant. 21:45 Within a short time, the dark clouds break loose and water 21:48 pours from the skies. 21:49 But the work goes on. Ray and Laura continue to 21:53 work in the down pouring rain. 21:55 During the rainy season, it rains for weeks at a time here 21:58 in Guyana, so this will be no passing shower. 22:01 Working in the rain makes this job all the more challenging. 22:05 Without a hangar, Ray and Laura must work extra hard 22:09 to get this cylinder replaced. 22:11 Jeah, so in Guyana we have two rainy seasons in December and 22:16 January, May and June. The work doesn't stop, so the maintenance 22:22 has to be on a regular intervals which has to be done an airplane 22:26 We can't just stop and not do maintenance. 22:28 We can't just stop and not fly. We have to keep working, 22:31 so we have to deal with the elements, just like this, 22:33 So it's not an easy situation, but with God's grace 22:38 we make it work! 22:39 A hangar is a desperate need here in Guyana. 22:41 Thankfully, after years of working with the local village, 22:44 they have finally agreed to allow Adventist World Aviation 22:48 to set up a hangar on the airstrip. 22:51 This will be such a blessing, to have a clean, dry 22:54 and controlled environment to work in. 22:56 As you can see, working without a hangar 22:59 is very challenging, and far from ideal. 23:03 We've been working for years, trying to get a hangar 23:05 situated here. And it's more of a political issue, 23:11 trying to find land here, that we can use. 23:13 And I think we finally have a piece of land, 23:16 So we just need to get all the letters in order. 23:19 We're waiting for people to come in from the city, 23:21 to get that done. 23:23 It's not safe to have the airplanes parked out there. 23:26 There are children running all around the place. 23:29 We've found people sitting on the backs 23:31 of the airplanes before. 23:32 It's just not good for the airplanes, also the environment. 23:36 Just the rain having the rain and the sun beat down on it 23:39 all the time, as we are doing work on the engine 23:42 and it start to rain. We have to quick try to cover things up. 23:45 Things still get wet. So we really need a hangar. 23:49 The other thing is time. We're constantly digging through 23:53 buckets full of bags with parts and tools and stuff, 23:57 just trying to get what you need so it takes really long 23:59 it takes twice, two or three times as long 24:01 to work on the plane here, as it would at home. 24:07 After a few days of working in the rain, 24:09 Ray and Laura finally have the 206 repaired. 24:13 The Guyana project is back up and running at full capacity. 24:17 It is wonderful to have all the aircraft back up and flying. 24:21 Although Laura is a mechanic, she is also a pilot, 24:24 a mother, and a wife. 24:26 She cannot keep up with all the maintenance needs 24:28 these aircraft demand. 24:30 Over the years, AWA mechanics fly down from the states 24:34 to help keep these airplanes operational. 24:37 Doing routine maintenance is a constant demand 24:40 for an aviation ministry. 24:42 The thing that we need here more than anything else, 24:44 and I cannot stress this enough, is we need a full time mechanic. 24:50 You know a person, that would be willing to come and dedicate 24:53 a few years of his working here with us. Someone who is an A&P 24:57 who is able to work on the airplanes and understands 25:00 other engines, such as automobiles, motorcycles, 25:04 generators. All of these things that we use here. 25:07 None of us have the time honestly to maintain 25:11 these things. We use them yes, all the time, but we do not have 25:14 the time to sit down and spend the day working on maintenance. 25:17 Because of other responsibilities. 25:20 It is a full time job. It is something that somebody 25:23 could come and we could pretty much keep them busy 25:26 six days a week without too much problem. 25:31 I don't know the solution, I know that there may be 25:34 somebody out there. 25:35 It's not a high paying job by any means, but a very fulfilling 25:40 job, because all the maintenance that would be done directly 25:43 effects our operation here. And lives directly as well. 25:47 This could be a very fulfilling opportunity, but it is going to 25:50 take a special person that sees that as a ministry. 25:53 If you ever find that person, if you are out there let us know! 25:57 After months of being grounded, the Adventist World Aviation 26:00 project in Guyana is in operation again at full power. 26:06 The delivery of the new pathfinder plane and the engine 26:10 repair of the 206 have put AWA mission pilots back behind 26:15 the yokes. Saving lives both physically and for eternity. 26:21 Praise God for all the volunteers and donors! 26:25 who helped to make this project possible. |
Revised 2016-05-02