Lucien starts 1st Grade

End of October Lucien turned 6 years. So, he started 1st Grade on Monday, being the forth (and luckily last) Madeleine will home school.

31 October: Lucien turns six

18 November: After a short holiday in Mt Hagen
Lucien starts with Grade One

Goodbye, Twin Otter

Last Saturday the last Twin Otter was farewelled in Telefomin. A lot of the houses with a tin roof in this area were built because this aircraft flew the necessary materials. Water tanks and saw mills were other specialities this aircraft could carry into any bush airstrip.
Because of this history of helping the remote communities it was with a sad heart that most of the people gathered to celebrate the last flight back to Mt Hagen. Some tied the plane with robes to symbolise that they would rather it stayed. Others painted themselves with mud, a cultural sign of mourning.
The the people of Telefomin are worried about their future needs in air-transportation are understandable, though unfounded. MAF does not plan to leave the village in the mountains. And by substituting the twin engine plane with two Cessna Caravans the capacity is even increased by about one forth. Moreover, having two planes will make our services more reliable as maintenance on the plane and sick pilots will not render the whole fleet useless. However, it might take a while until these facts sink in and people start realising that they are in effect better off. Like everywhere, change is only accepted unwillingly.

Thank you MAF Twin Otter,
for bringing light into our unreached world

Speeches from different organisations

Women's Fellowship sings a farewell song

Mourning the loss ...

... and welcoming the replacement: Cessna Caravan C208

Annual Pilot's Meeting

The annual MAF PNG Pilot's Meeting again took place in Mt Hagen. We went as a whole family, as Madeleine gave a talk on how to control fatigue with what you eat.

Pilot's Meeting at Kanal House, Mt Hagen

The Red Bird Takes its First Flight

Thursday, 22 August marked the day when our new Cessna Caravan simulator spread its wings for the first training session. Hansjörg Schlatter MAF International Fleet Training Captain for the Caravan taught the first two MAF PNG instructor pilots how to use the Redbird CRV for pilot training. Read the full story in the MAF press release below.

Click here to read the story as PDF

Redbird Flight Simulator

With the change to an all Cessna Caravan fleet MAF will be operating nine of these aircraft in PNG. In addition we also try to get approval for transporting passengers in these single engine aircraft while flying IFR. In order to minimise training costs we bought a Caravan specific flight simulator from Redbird.
Mid July Markus went to Hagen as a technician from Redbird came to assemble what is called an Advanced Aviation Training Device. It took two days and three people, but then we were flying circuits in Tari with severe turbulence and 20 knots cross-wind.

Knitting, Women's Conference, and Rumginae

These three events were the highlights of last month:

• Madeleine finished her second knitting course for the women in Telefomin. Five women learned different patterns in order to knit simple items they can sell at the local market.

Showing how it's done

Concentration is paramount

• Markus picked up several airplane loads of ladies in the surrounding villages. The Baptist Union held a Women's Conference in nearby Tifalmin (5 min flight from Telefomin, 2 days walk).

Celebration in Tifalmin

• Currently there is no pilot stationed at Rumginae. Therefore, we as a family had the chance of revisiting our old home. Especially the kids were all exited. Unfortunately, the weather did not play along and so it was only on Sunday that we could go for a short swim in rather cold water. Towards the end of our stay we were joined by a new pilot couple from Switzerland, who will be living in Rumginae for the next six weeks.

Where there used to be an Airvan there is now a Caravan

With the Romingers in front of our old house

Totally Linked

This last week I have been to Rumginae for three days of flying. It is so encouraging to come back to where we have served for six years and to realise, that people not only recognise me, but are actually excited to see me. So, I thought I'll post a MAF article that shows how different parties in Rumginae link together to help the isolated communities of the Western Province.

Click here to read the story as PDF

Last Days as First Officer

Last week I had my first full operational day on the Cessna Caravan. This, after almost 4 months of interrupted training, marks they end of my flying days as a First Officer on the Twin Otter. Though that last flight took place 18 January already I would like to give a quick reflection on the last two month of flying this truly remarkable airplane.
First, we flew a lot of building material into a community called Wobagen. It is only about a 30-minute flight (50nm) from the next bigger town, but the terrain makes it impossible to reach any other way. The building material was bought to build a new church, as the old one is falling apart it being build (as is usually done with houses in the bush) out of material found in the surrounding countryside.

Old church built from bush materials ...

... and new structure with milled timber and tin roof.

Plywood for flooring and inside walls

Second, we flew charters for an organisation called Rotarians Against Malaria, who distributes mosquito nets to remote communities and educates them on how malaria can be prevented. Load after load of bundled up nets were brought to places where malaria is prevalent, together with workers who were to supervise the distribution and run the workshops.

Bundles of mosquito nets for Edwaki

And thirdly, we had some medical evacuations that showed the hand of God guiding where we were unable to control. Find below an article published by MAF PNG and written by Richie Axon, my fellow pilot in Telefomin.

Click here to read the story as PDF

A Holiday to Remember

It is always encouraging to welcome visitors from Switzerland. We have realised that it is hard for most people to really understand how life in Papua New Guinea is, despite our efforts to explain. Once somebody actually sets foot on PNG soil, things are quite different than they imagined – but suddenly it all makes sense.
Because of that, we were pleased to have Madeleine's mother and her two sisters visit at the beginning of February. So, they had the chance to experience first hand what it means to live in Telefomin. And our kids had the chance to see their grandmother, aunts, and godparents in person. Obviously, we used this unique opportunity to do some special things, and then added some holidays at the sea.
Following some pictures:

Hiking in Telefomin

Training to become a selfie pro

Moser sisters with our local guide

Jungle as far as you can see

Destination: Wara Sol

Well earned rest

... and back through the jungle again

Travelling is easier this way: flying to Wewak

Wewak: view from our holiday home

Wewak town black

Waiting for the big wave

Holiday treat: coffee smoothy

Wewak Boutique Hotel: soaking in the pool

Travelling in the 9-seater pickup

Reading, reading, reading, ...

Relaxation pur

On the way back home: transfer in Tari

Caravan Training Revisited

February saw Irwin Hodder returning to Telefomin to continue with my Caravan Training. Irwin is an ex MAF, Qantas, and Australian Airforce Pilot and it goes without saying that I could learn a lot from him. We started with airstrips in the Western Province, so I had a chance to return to Rumginae for several days and meet up with a lot of MAF agents at the different strips. It is encouraging to see that they are excited to see me still flying in their area. And kinda weird if you get greeted with your name  in the middle of the jungle.
Now I have finished the first phase of the in-country training, with me being checked to line and theoretically ready to go on my own. However, there is first a time of supervised consolidation of what I have learned, before I am allowed to truly fly on my own. But before we get started with that we are enjoying a family holiday at the beaches of Wewak.

With Irwin in the cockpit of the Caravan MAF

Caravan MAH after our flight to Wewak for family holidays

Mike Alpha India

In July we told you about the big move to a single aircraft type for MAF PNG. This has now started with the arrival of MAI (Mike Alpha India) the first new Cessna Caravan out of six. And yes, we are excited. Read following article published by MAF PNG of the plane's ferry flight, it's dedication, and it's first operational day.

Click here to read the story as PDF

A New King

In Switzerland we celebrate Epiphany, the day the three wise men (or Kings in Switzerland) visited Baby Jesus. It is on the 6th of January and marks the day when we as a family put our Christmas decoration away. After that the Christmas season is officially over.
On Epiphany Swiss bake or buy a bread made of sweet dough that is formed from small pieces stuck together in a circle. In one of those pieces hides a small King or Queen and whoever gets that piece is crowned King/Queen for the day. Well, this time Markus was elevated to the position of monarch in the Bischoff family, though his powers remained very limited.

Kings' Cake with self-made crown from 2015

It is hard to look dignified, despite an elaborate crown from Joelle