Ferry Flying – Delivering Aircraft around the world for MAF

Another ferry flight is now in the works – piloted by Dylan and our son – Isaiah.

They are delivering a Grand Caravan from Winnipeg to Madagascar. These are the words from Isaiah of the first part of their trip. They are right now in Zanzibar- and so more of the story will follow.

From Isaiah:

Before diving into the adventure of ferrying a Cessna Grand Caravan to Madagascar for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), I want to share a share a short note from Josh Plett, the chief pilot at the company I work for. Josh spent 11 years flying for MAF in Madagascar, and his refection offers some perspective on just how significant this delivery is.

Josh Plett:

Having spent 11 years flying for Madagascar I can attest to the massive impact a Cessna Caravan has had on the work being done in that country. For 20 years the program has used its first Caravan to complete missions throughout the island. Isolated mission hospitals, visiting church teams and multiple NGO’s are just some of the groups that have relied on the Caravan to move personnel and vital supplies around the massive island with few all-season roads. Whether bringing missionaries to and from their remote locations, delivering life saving vaccines, or bringing crucial relief materials after seasonal cyclones. The current Cessna Caravan in Madagascar has been a reliable work horse. The new Grand Caravan enroute to replace the current aircraft will go a long ways to ensuring that MAF can continue to meet the needs of all the groups that have come to rely on the important service they provide.”

Thank you for these words Josh.

Day # 1 Winnipeg to Goose Bay (not Nuuk)

Our original plan was to fly all the way to Nuuk, Greenland on the first day – a long, 10-hour flight. That meant wheels up at 5:00 AM to make it before nightfall. Flying a Caravan with no anti-ice protection through mountainous terrain at night isn’t exactly high on the bucket list.

But as often happens in aviation, weather changed our minds, icing conditions over Greenland forced a last-minute change of our route. Instead, we diverted to Goose Bay, Labrador – where the quirks of the stopover inspired a running joke for the rest of the trip “Definitely not Goose Bay”

The departure went well with excited but also tired blurry eyes. The first leg was around an 8.5 hour flight where there were low clouds from horizon to horizon for almost the entirety of the flight. We landed with no issues.

We spent the evening there eating home made chicken noodle soup, and planning the next leg of the journey.

Day #2. Goose Bay to Reykjavik

Another early morning departure, and another long day ahead. One word that kept coming up during the first few days of the mission – “icing”. Crossing the North Atlantic in spring means lots of cloud layers and subzero temperatures – not a great combination when flying a Caravan with no icing equipment.

By the time we touched down in Reykjavik, our backs were sore, our legs were stiff – but we were still ready for a walk

Day #3 Reykjavik to Odense (Denmark)

After the cloudy legs across the North Atlantic, the flight from Odense to Athens was a nice change – it was the clearest flight of the journey so far.

Flying over Europe was easily my favorite leg up to this point. The transformation flying below was like watching the continent shift in fast-forward: farmland gave way to cities, and before long, the white peaks of the Alps came into view.

As we transitioned from one country to the next, each change in radio frequency also brought a change in accent. Over the course of an 8-hour leg, you will talk with many controllers, each with their own dialect and rhythm. As a pilot who has spent most of his flying career in uncontrolled quiet airspace in Northern Canada – Keeping up can be a challenge!

Approaching Athens, we found ourselves in the tight company of two large Boeing jets – one ahead and one behind. Bringing in a relatively small Caravan into a major interntional airport like that made for a funny contrast.

I’ve never been asked to “maintain maximum speed” so often in a single approach.