Chicken Pox

Its been almost a month since my last post. But, this once sure is a doosie! On Monday and Tuesday of this week I had a roaring headache and fever. I thought it was from being overly tired and not getting enough sleep but on Wedneday I noticed some small red spots on my body as well. I went to the Doctor here in Pucallpa in the afternoon and sure enough, he confirmed that I had Chicken Pox. He was pretty excited as he even called in the secretary to show her what he called a "classic case". Guess they dont get it down here that often.
Never having had the vacine, and never having had the virus either, I guess it was just my time to get it. So I have been strickly ordered to stay in the house and limit my contact with other people. Not only is that a bit boring, but it makes it lonely as well.
From what I hear, the sores continue to come out for 4-5 days and then they start healing up which could take up to an additional week or more. Today, Friday, is the second full day of the sores coming out. As anyone who has had it before can attest, it does itch and your head feels like a pin cushion and looks like one as well!
So I am keeping a low profile, taking naps, reading, updating the blog, etc. One thing I am not doing is posting anypictures. I'm pretty sure NOBODY wants to see that...

Good Ice Cream

After my last Ice Cream disaster, I decided to share with all of you just what it is I'm talking about. I would like to present: Donofrio Ice Cream. This is the most common brand of ice cream in Peru, a spin off of the Nestle company, Donofrio can be found all over Peru. This particular flavor is new, and I think it is my favorite. Vanalla ice cream with fudge and pieces of an ice cream sandwhich (the chocolate waffer). 1 quart sells for $4.

Living Water

One of the mission organizations that SAMAIR flies for is Living Water. They drill and install wells in villages where there is no source of clean water. Since many communites are located close to rivers, the villagers are used to bathing, drinking, and washing clothes with the nasty brown river water.

The wells that Living Water puts in are usually about 30 meters deep and pump out clean water, are enclosed so no comtaminates can enter them, use a simple hand pump, and the well heads last for over 20 years with no maintenance. I think this is a great technology as it fills an obvious need for the villages yet is simple and reliable.

I flew in part of a team that came down from the USA to visit and work for a week. It was a wet and rainy day which left tracks in the soft grass runway.

Down and Out

On Saturday the Internet was down all day. Couldn't load a single page and no combination of resetting all the resettables and re-plugging all the pluggables would bring it back.
On Sunday the power went out for almost 12 hours. The ice cream melted, soccer games went un-watched, and the water pressure petered out.
On weekends like this I think about the life of a missionary. Many times I think that I'm here to help people out and "save the world" (or jungle). Thats what my supporters sent me out here to do right? But when the internet goes down and the power goes off, I find my attitude is quite sour.
Its then that I remember that it does not matter how many hours I fly, sick people I bring to hospitals or engines I fix. God is more concerened about me being his disciple. That includes, as hard as it is to admit, my attitude. So while it may be very true that God is using me in my "job", He also is taking the daily challenges and giving me opportunites to grow.

So Lord, thanks for yesterday, thanks for today. Thanks for giving me opportunities to grow. Give me patience and help me choose to rejoice in You, regardless of my circumstances.

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Flap Switch. Yes, the normal Cessna flap switch has been removed and new switch has been installed. Not only is the location different, but the switch is momentary in both the up and down position, you have to hold it in that position to acctuate the flaps, releasing it stops the flap motor from running. There is also a "flap dump" switch on the yoke. Pressing this button runs the motor to bring the flaps up. The motor only runs when the button it depressed, so you "bump" the flaps up slowly. Advantage? Flaps can be deployed in the pattern with out having to take your hand off of the throttle. A normal pattern in a stock airplane would mean taking your hand off the throttle 3-4 times. Not so with the flap switch right at your fingertips (litterally). This allows you to keep the eyes outside (where they should be) with out having to look inside the cockpit during the landing phase. The flap dump (retract) switch on the yoke allows you to retract the flaps on climb out. Also a very important time to have the eyes outside and the hand on the throttle. The flap indicator system is still the same, but the microswitches with the stock Cessna flap selector are removed. This system was installed under a field approval that was developed by JAARS.

23 Squared and Lean of peak. Yes, we do fly at 23 squared (23 inched manifold pressure (or full throttle if not able to get 23 inches) and 2300 RPM. We shoot for around 65% power. Increasing RPM if MAP drops below 22 inches usually. All climbs are always (and should) be made at full throttle. In cruise we lean to 25-50 lean of peak. The leanest cylinder is about 50 LOP and the "richest" is 25 LOP. Only possible with GAMI injectors or newer Continental "tuned" injectors. As a side note, thank you to GAMI for helping us tune one of our engines to have closer matching EGT spreads on all 6 cylinders. As far as 23 squared goes, the only thing that would be better is wide open throttle (WOT) all the time even at altitudes where this would exceed 23 inches. 65% power could still be maintained by having a lower and quiter RPM setting such as 25 inches 2200 RPM. Still working on getting that one passed. The old habits and old guard die hard. More info at http://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/ Picture form article #18 by John Deakin, "Mixture Magic" This is very brief as I could go on for hours (days perhaps) about engine opperation. Right Nathan? =)

The View. The view is quite awesome. Its amazing to see the jungle and God's creation from the air.

Front office

For the pilots, here is a shot of the panel from one of the wheel planes. All three airplanes are identical, except for GPS units. Took this shot as it was the few times I'm actually on altitude and heading. =)

Mango Shooting

Cant get clay pidgeons down here in Pucallpa. So the next best thing is mangos. We have a tree in our yard so my friend Paul and I decided to just use the mangos instead! They are free, easy to throw, and give a nice juicy pop when you hit them.

Happy Passengers

Some shots of some of the passengers I fly. All very content they dont have to be travling by road or by boat. Note also the very interesting cloud pattern. Just like corn rows back in Michigan.