The Kodiak 100 – with a breathtaking price tag of £1m – will be given to Mission Aviation Fellowship to deliver life-saving aid and workers to remote parts of the world.
The shiny new aircraft, fresh off the production line at Idaho, has now hopped over the Atlantic and over the weekend it was set to be put on display to the public at Andreas on Saturday and to be dedicated at a service due to be held at Hangar 5, Ronaldsway, on Sunday.
‘It won’t be shiny for long,’ said Hilary Brown, the representative from MAF, adding that the plane is destined for Kalimantan (formerly Borneo) in Indonesia.
She explained: ‘MAF programmes vary with need because of the geographical challenges. This is suited to short stops, which is what they have at Kalimantan. The aircraft there needs to be replaced and this ticked a lot of the boxes.’
The plane’s seats can be removed, making it flexible and suited for many requirements, such as transporting goods, medicines and food and building supplies, as well as carrying local government officers doing air surveys.
This is vital because of the dense rainforest and mountainous terrain, Hilary said, adding of the country: ‘A 10-mile journey in a plane is three or four days’ walk. It is really vast and very varied.’
Being given a plane – meaning MAF now has a fleet of 121 aircraft operating in 30 developing countries – is ‘an answer to a prayer’, she said, adding: ‘We really appreciated David and Alison’s support and they share in the vision to go out to the people who seriously are living in inhospitable conditions. Flying is a lifeline for these people, it surely will be put to good use.’
David has supported MAF for 20 years and it is a very appropriate donation to celebrate a milestone for a company whose very foundation is not on making money (any profits go to worth causes), but in promoting Christian ideals. He said the donation of the plane is ‘quite an exciting chance to be involved in taking the Christian gospel with relief to the parts of the world you can not get to’. Full story here.
