Powered parachute debuts in Kikongo

Dear Friends,    

Monday was a day of historical significance.      

To our knowledge we had the first flight of a powered parachute in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Many of you contributed to this project and it is most exciting for all involved to see this machine really work like we had hoped.

After I got the machine to Kikongo, I took some time to go over it carefully.  I wanted my son Timothy here for the first flight, because he accompanied me on some of my training, and has a good sense of attention to detail.

On Sunday the 13th, we ran the engine for awhile, and then I practiced taxiing, and deploying the chute, which when pressurized becomes the wing.

Since everything worked well on Sunday, we decided it was time to see how it performed in the air.  There has been wind during the middle of the day, so we waited until about 5 p.m. when there was absolutely no wind.   I taxied and took off on the airstrip right in front of our house.   The machine performed just like it had in America.  It was actually easier to fly at Kikongo, because all my training in the US had been in somewhat windy conditions.  The machine was very stable and responsive with no wind.

I flew a couple of circles around Kikongo, flying low over the airstrip. I landed near the end of the strip and taxied back to the front of the house keeping the chute deployed over me until I shut down the engine.

The reaction of the crowd who had come to witness the event for themselves was all I had hoped it would be.   The Blue Angels don't generate the excitement that the powered parachute got. They are used to having Cessna aircraft land, so they are used to the discipline protocol around an airplane.

We don't know what to call the machine yet.  So far they are calling it the "Mincayane airplane".   They have seen the movie "The End of the Spear" and have seen the I-Tec video about how Steve Saint trained his friends in Ecuador to use a PPC.

Is this a new dimension of missions?   Can this machine really be used for evangelism, audio-visual, and medical work in this environment?   I am happy to explore that possibility! In the mean time, I refuse to carry anyone, as I work on gaining experience with maintenance and operation. So don't any of you rush out here to try and get a ride!

Thanks to all of you who contributed financially, who encouraged us, and who have been praying for ministry in rural Congo.