TULISAN Joyce Lin Sebelum Pesawat yang Dipilotinya Jatuh, Baru Rayakan Puncak 10 Tahun Perjalanan

Tolong doakan agar staf MAF akan membantu menyebarkan harapan dan kedamaian selama masa ini, dan agar kami bijaksana tentang interaksi sosial kami.

Kami sangat khawatir tentang penyebaran virus ke orang-orang pedalaman yang terisolasi, yang tidak memiliki perlengkapan yang cukup untuk menghadapinya!

Berikut tulisan Joyce Lin dalam bahasa Inggris:

Solo!

In March, I completed the initial phase of pilot training and I was signed off to fly cargo and
passengers on my own.

A new pilot’s first flight without an instructor is called the “solo.”

For my solo, I flew supplies to an interior village named Mamit. The Mamit airstrip is pictured above, just below the word “Aviation.”

The airstrip is built into the side of a mountain and slopes up to 15% at the steepest point.

It is MAF’s tradition to congratulate new pilots by drenching them with water once they complete the solo flight and arrive back at their home airport.

For me, the solo was a culmination of a 10-year journey to become a missionary pilot.

SO many people have helped me over the span of a decade to reach this point, and I am so thankful!

Airstrip Checkouts

Now that I am able to fly on my own, it would be reasonable to think I never need to fly with an
MAF instructor again.

However, we are required to have two checkrides per year with an instructor to ensure our skills are still sharp.

Additionally, there are roughly 150 airstrips that MAF pilots can fly to in Papua.