By Derek Royal
Every six minutes a Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) aeroplane is taking off or landing somewhere around the globe. Flying to more destinations than any airline, over 120 MAF aircraft in 30 countries deliver physical or spiritual care and hope to those living in isolation. Derek Royal takes a closer look at the Christian organisation’s Papua New Guinea operation and through two families discovers a special group of people devoted to a rare form of altruism.
Telefomin, PNG
MAF pilot Chris Bubb, his wife Narelle and their three children sit at the dinner table in their modest home in Telefomin, Papua New Guinea. This is like any other night at home except on this occasion, thanks to temperamental weather conditions, the Bubb’s have eight unexpected guests for dinner.
Narelle hasn’t been shopping for more than two months and the aircraft that delivers fresh vegetables every week has been grounded. So too are the aircraft responsible for transporting the Bubb’s guests out of Telefomin. Feeding an extra eight people will be a challenge but one of which the resilient Mrs Bubb is well prepared.
“There’s a saying we live by up here …’you tell me what you need, and I will tell you how to live without it!’” Chris says. “My wife has become adept at making do with what she has around her.”
In the Beginning
Chris and Narelle have lived in PNG for six years and according to the 36-year-old pilot, the experience has been extraordinary.
“As a Christian, I sensed God was calling me to something other than ‘just a job,’ he says. “Narelle and I were both interested in Missionary service of some sort, but not sure what exactly, both of us being keen to use whatever skills we had to help others. MAF became the perfect fit.”
MAF is a Christian organisation operating light aircraft in developing nations to deliver vital medical, relief and development services as well as love and hope to remote communities or areas affected by war. The company will this year celebrate 60 years in PNG, confirming MAF as the longest-serving operator in the country.
After hearing that MAF needed pilot/engineers, Chris in 1994 started an aircraft engineering apprenticeship in Ballarat, where he met Narelle. They married and were transferred to Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, where Chris – who also had a pilot’s licence - worked primarily as an engineer. However, he kept the flying hours ticking over in his logbook by flying the odd ferry flight and spent six months working as a pilot in Arnhem Land before transferring to Alice Springs.
“I worked there for two years then took some time out to attend Bible College, do my instrument rating and ATPL before starting in PNG in mid-2004,” says Chris, now a Twin Otter captain based in western PNG.
The Bubb’s started their PNG adventure in Mount Hagen, where they lived for three months completing initial training. They then transferred to Kawito in the Western Province and remained there for two-and-a-half years before spending some time in Vanimo and Wewak prior to moving to their present location of Telefomin in the Western Highlands. They also relieved at Rumginae and Goroka and with children Rhys, 9, Natalya, 7, and six-year-old Jonte, have thrived on the experience of helping those in need.
“PNG has been an awesome place for our family to grow up,” Chris says. “We have a saying that has helped us get through our time up here: ‘never surprised, but constantly amazed.” Sometimes it is hard to remember that Australia is actually so close you could almost swim there, (because) the two countries are just so different.
“In some areas one minute of flying equates to about one or two hours’ walking. A 15 minute flight from Telefomin to Tabubil can be walked, but it takes three days! Knowing that by simply being here providing a lifeline to communities who are otherwise cut off from the rest of the world gives me tremendous satisfaction.”
Chris admits that before arriving in PNG, nothing prepared him for the absolute grandeur of the mountains, or the amount of adrenaline that flowed at the first sight of one of the many short airstrips nestled atop one-way valleys sloping so steeply that it seemed impossible to drive on, let alone capable of accommodating an aircraft.
“I had a friend come up and visit once who was at that time flying Super Puma helicopters out to oil rigs in Scotland. He told me he wouldn’t even ‘try’ to land the Puma on some of the strips we landed on!”
Missions
So what type of missions does Chris fly?
“I guess the easier question would be what sort of missions don’t we fly? he replies. “Our bread and butter would be delivering food and passengers between the major centres and the village airstrips. We transport boxes of food such as tinned fish, rice, noodles, etc out to the villages and return with a mixed load of either vegetables or coffee for market and passengers. This is the basic cycle that brings an income into these remote places, so that the people in the bush can buy items such as food, medicines and school materials.”
The Twin Otter, well known as a truck with wings, is well-suited to transportinging large passenger loads, such as students heading to school, or church groups going to conferences. It also excels in hauling large bulky loads like building materials.
“We’re currently doing a lot of flights in the Sandaun province moving approximately 30 tonnes of timber to build schools in remote locations,” Chris says. “We’ve had the cabin filled floor-to-ceiling with radio mast equipment to set up HF networks (including HF email) so teachers at remote schools can communicate with other schools and their head offices. We’ve had days where we’ve delivered five tonnes worth of mosquito nets to a number of communities to help prevent malaria, and medicine boxes filled with vaccines for health clinics.”
Chris has also been involved in searches for missing boats; and flying military and police charters. However, the area in which he knows his skills as a pilot make the most difference is medical evacuation (Medivacs).
“There’s no aeromedical service up here like the Royal Flying Doctor Service or CareFlight, so it’s a privilege to be able to help out in this way,” Chris says. “A very large percentage of our medivacs are for mothers with complications during childbirth. Infant and Maternal mortality in PNG is somewhere in the order of twenty times that in Australia. In PNG it’s approximately 100 per 1000 people as opposed to five per 1000 in Australia.”
Qualifications
So what qualifications are required of pilots who dream of joining the MAF in PNG?
According to MAF recruitment, a new MAF pilot would be a person who has shown their desire to ‘Share God’s love through aviation and technology’ (MAF’s Purpose) and who wanted to help ‘Transform isolated people physically and spiritually in Christ’s name’ (MAF’s Vision) by completing the following:
- Commercial Pilot's Licence;
- Single engine Instrument Rating;
- 10 hours of night flying;
- Satisfactory completion of a MAF evaluation flight;
- At least one year of full-time study at an approved, non-denominational Bible College.
Following a successful application process, all pilots must complete the MAF flight standardisation course (approximately 20 hours) at their own expense; while each family is required to aim to raise 100 per cent support ($50,000-$65,000 pa) and gain prayer supporters prior to being assigned to an operational program in the Asia Pacific Region.
Each operational program has its own particular requirements, including the following for PNG:
- Three years aviation experience;
- 500 hours flight time minimum and preferably Multi-Engine Instrument Rating and ATPL subjects.
Orientation and Training
Pilots are also required to undergo a period of orientation and training before being allowed to fly PIC (Pilot in Command).
“We did a two week language course, a week alone in a bush village, and various other parts of orientation in addition to a two week course prior to leaving Australia,” says 28-year-old Rumginae-based pilot Matt Painter.
“I flew three months ICUS (In Command under Supervision) before doing any solo operations. Routes need to be flown five times in each direction, and most airstrips need at least three landings before you qualify to act as PIC (Pilot in Command) on ops there. There is training for flying in tropical mountainous conditions, and training on dealing with the variety of airstrips we face, and their associated challenges. Many highland airstrips are sloped, some up to 13 per cent. High density altitude, soft surfaces, confined circuit areas, early committal points and short runways are other challenges. At first some might think it’s going to be a drag having a guy in the right-hand seat telling you what to do for a few months, but I valued every minute of it and felt that the slow transition to solo ops was timely and wise.”
On first impression, it would be easy to think MAF pilots are over-trained. However, each airstrip has its own unique challenges such as rapidly changing weather, a lack of navaids, and being in a state of disrepair. MAF invest a lot of time in new pilots to ensure they receive as much exposure as possible to a variety of strips and weather scenarios before being cleared to fly in a particular area.
Rumginae
Matt and Linsey Painter have resided in Rumginae, a small mission station in the northwest corner of PNG’s Western Province, since 2007. Surrounded by endless rainforest, rivers and swamps, Rumginae offers views to the north of the highlands in clear weather. But with a high annual rainfall, the area is often enshrouded in fog, cloud, rain and thunderstorms.
Rumginae also boasts a 60-bed hospital which not only serves the local community but also the whole province through partnering with MAF. A bible school, primary school and three small neighbouring villages are also part of the Rumginae scene.
“Rumginae is an isolated place with no shops, and we only just got telephones last year,” says Matt, who recently became a proud father. “Mould is a massive part of life in this very humid and hot place and the heat can really get to you.”
Serving God and Community
Matt trained at the Australian College of Mission Aviation (ACMA) in Coldstream, Victoria, where he not only studied aviation but also undertook studies in theology, communication and working in cross-cultural environments. He then worked with MAF in Arnhem Land flying the Cessna 206 and GA8, before moving to PNG.
“I joined MAF because I wanted to use my gifts and passions to serve God and make a difference in a needy world,” Matt explains. “I have been blessed with a pilot’s licence and have a passion for aviation, and through MAF I can do what Jesus did, help people in need, sharing God’s love.”
As a young man, Matt had spent 18 months in PNG, so he had an understanding of the challenges that awaited him. He also learnt that when in PNG do as the natives do. “Becoming involved in an aviation operation that asks for perfection in this environment took some getting used to,” he says. “For example, in Melanesian culture, people don’t live by the clock as we do. In aviation, we live by the clock or the sun goes down before we get home,” a scenario to be avoided at all costs.
“Pilots also need to have flexibility and the ability to go with the flow – a very fluid flow at that. You need to handle lots of changes and frustrations, and just roll with the punches and get the job done – all the while safely. It also pays to have skills in managing stress and being able to focus on flying the aeroplane.”
MAF flies around 140 medivacs per year at Rumginae and over 500 per year across MAF PNG. And according to Matt, the GA8 is the perfect aircraft for the job.
“We can fit a stretcher patient in and still have four passengers on board,” he says. “You just can’t do that with the (Cessna) 206.” As expected of such an operation, medivacs can arise at the most inopportune moments but with guidance from mission doctors, pilots are expected to make decisions – many of which are life-threatening - on the run.
For example, Matt recently landed in a place called Mougulu, where Rumginae Hospital has an aid post with trained health workers.
“On landing I was informed that a woman with twins was in labour and had given birth to one baby, but the other baby was dead inside,” he says. “She needed emergency surgery at Rumginae hospital, and we had her there in a little over an hour. With the GA8 I could lay her on a stretcher, keep four passengers on board and carry the woman’s newborn baby. She survived.
“On my first day of solo operations, I checked in with the base on HF only to be told that a Death Adder (snake) at Debepari had bitten a woman, and that she needed a medivac to Rumginae Hospital for a dose of antivenin. I was able to change my flight plan to pick her up, and she lived.”
Recently, a teenage boy had an altercation with a wild pig in the rainforest and had his knee gored, severing a tendon. “We were able to medivac him, which saved his leg. Things were made difficult with a complete avionics failure on landing at his location, but we got the job done thanks to an engineering rescue mission. Then there are the few medivacs I’ve tried where we just haven’t been able to arrive in time. They are the sad ones.”
Weather, terrain and airstrips
So how do pilots such as Chris and Matt handle the adverse weather, dangerous terrain and treacherous airstrip conditions?
“It really depends on your experience and how long you’ve been here,” Chris says. “It makes a big difference when, after a few years you’re aware of general weather patterns; you’re comfortable in a particular area and you know the ‘outs’ to escape from danger. What one experienced pilot may consider normal weather conditions another less experienced (pilot) may consider “bad” weather conditions, especially in unfamiliar areas. For example, most of my time has been spent in Western PNG. I don’t have anywhere near the same level of experience or comfort level in the east of the country, so when I’m flying east of Mt Hagen I will make decisions to turn back, or remain grounded a lot earlier than I would in my own local area. Having said that, on one flight between Mt Hagen and Kawito, rain and cloud forced me to turn back four times and it actually took me five days to complete the trip.”
Matt Painter has a story of his own. Departing Mt Hagen through a 9000ft ‘gap’ in the mountains, the Melburnian flew alongside a 14,000ft hulk of a mountain en route to base. But suddenly a wall of rain blocked his path, so he turned around and headed back. But in minutes, the gap closed. “I climbed (in the Cessna TU206) to try some lighter cloud breaks, with no luck,” he recalls. “So I went back down again to try something else underneath, and thank God, it was ‘raining out’ (getting clear) in the direction of my base. Things can change quickly, and being hemmed in for those long minutes is my most unpleasant experience so far.”
Airstrip-wise, Chris says there are many different types to deal with - short, steep, slippery, undulating, transverse slope, rocky, boggy, or bent like a banana half-way … and they can be any combination of the above.
“You can have an airstrip that is in very good condition, but the winds are so strong, and turbulent due to the mountains, that safe flight even in the circuit is questionable,” he says. “Most airstrips we use have a committal point (i.e. a go around after that point would have a less than pleasant outcome!) at some point after turning final.
“One airstrip I can think of in the Finisterres near Lae, you see the airstrip as you fly overhead on crosswind, and then lose view of it on Downwind and Base due to terrain. As you turn on final and eventually see the airstrip again, you need to make an instant decision about whether you’re on profile, and the strip is clear before committing to land. Otherwise, you need to keep the turn going and get out of there.”
Even a relatively benign airstrip on paper can be a trap for the unwary. “Recently we were at an airstrip that is 600 metres long, flat, and two-way. For our aircraft and operations, 600 metres is considered long! However, due to its location next to a river, and poor drainage from the surrounding hills, the ground is so draggy that even the Twin Otter has significant penalties for takeoff.”
In Matt’s experience, Mt Tauwa just south of Mt Hagen is one of the most challenging airstrips he knows. “It has six per cent slope in an area of what seems like a million ridges and undulations – you could call it egg-carton country because it’s very rugged terrain,” he says. “The strip is less than 500 metres long, and is perched atop a ridge. If there’s any wind at all on the windsock, there’s huge potential for a massive wind shear at the last minute. In a TU206, on a check ride with not one but two check pilots, I flew into Mount Tauwa and at about 100 feet everything just dropped out from beneath me. I went to full throttle, and reacted just fast enough to soften the touchdown to acceptable levels. It was a firm landing, let’s say. I passed the check, though – showing that being on the ball for nasty winds is essential in PNG highlands flying.”
With challenge comes satisfaction
Given PNG’s isolation and lack of basic infrastructure, it’s obvious MAF pilots face uncommon challenges on a daily basis. But with challenge comes satisfaction.
“If all I had to do was front up and fly the aircraft then my life would be a dream,” Chris explains. “However, most of us have to be a ‘Jack of all trades’. We need to be constantly making the program fit, within our limited capacity, working around the weather and prioritising flights to meet specific needs.
“We also have to use diplomacy to resolve “issues” of one kind or another, and frequently play the role of paramedic, dealing with first aid as we transport patients to hospital. There are also maintenance duties to fulfill around the house, forcing us to play the role of plumber, carpenter, and mechanic to keep vehicles and generators in operation.
Even if you don’t think you have those skills, it’s amazing what you learn when suddenly you don’t have any water, or the generator is broken and you don’t have any power!”
Matt derives immense satisfaction from the job, especially medivacs and transporting church workers. “To me, this is ‘Flying for Life’ – the medivacs are clear-cut life-saving flights,” he says. “The less glamorous health support work and education work keeps things running for everyday life for remote people, and supporting the church means lives eternally are saved in the bigger scheme of things. This is a big deal for me.”
So what advice do Chris and Matt have for pilots looking at pursuing a gig with MAF?
“If you’re a solid Christian pilot who believes God is calling you to use your gifts to work in a cross-cultural challenging situation, then get some good training like at ACMA and get into it,” Matt says. “It’s a long road of preparation compared to your first charter job in Australia, let’s say, but all the steps are worthwhile and valuable. In a tough environment, you need to know God wants you in this spot – and remember it.”
According to Chris, pilots need much more than good, solid stick and rudder skills. “After that, pilots who come here need a willingness to learn, learn and continue to learn,” Chris says. “This would go for any type of flying but PNG has a knack of throwing new challenges and experiences at you all the time! I would also say, you need a heart or a concern for others. If you are only interested in building up hours to go off to something ‘bigger and better’, then I think you will miss out all the ‘other stuff’ that PNG has to offer. A different culture; the people; the amazing scenery. There is no doubt that PNG gets a lot of negative publicity, and some of it for good reason. However if after a day of flying, you hide away in a compound, and don’t get out and mix with the 95 per cent of everyday people who are just trying to live their lives as peacefully as possible, then you will miss out on a lot of good experiences.”
But if you’re willing to learn, develop good flying habits, airmanship and discipline, then hang on to your hat because it’ll be the ride of your life!”
For more information about MAF, visit
www.maf.org.au or phone freecall 1800 650 169
