First Flight with MAF in Chad

I had the opportunity to join Kalvin, the MAF's current pilot here in Chad for a flight to Ati, a town just over 200 miles to the east of N'Djamena.

 

A good thing about flying are the views....

 

Approaching Ati



About to land at Ati

A drawback of flying is there is often not much time on the ground at the destination before we have to turn round and go back.  We spent 30 minutes on the ground at Ati unloading and reloading passengers and baggage and avoiding standing out in the sun for too long.  Thankfully this is not the hottest time of year so current daytime temperatures only reach around 40 C (104 F).

 

MAF Chad's Cessna Caravan Aircraft at Ati

Departing Ati

 

 

Arriving back at N'Djamena (the Chari River here forms the border between Chad and neighbouring Cameroon; Cameroon is in the foreground, with Chad beyond the river)

 

A proud Zack next to some Duplo construction he had designed and put together

 

 

 

Arrived in Chad

We arrived safely in Chad on Thursday afternoon after our flights from London via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Everything fine so far; the other expatriate staff here have shown us around the city and shops.  I (Andrew) have also had the opportunity to spend a morning at the MAF hangar and have met some of the Chadian MAF staff and see the two aircraft that MAF operate here in Chad.  One is a new 4-seat Cessna 182; the other is a much larger Cessna 208 Caravan.

The other expatriate staff here are Kalvin and Albert together with their families.  Kalvin is a pilot and has been here for many years and is acting as programme manager until that post has been filled.  Albert is an engineer and moved here with his family last year from Mongolia.  We have a comfortable flat on the MAF compound two miles to the east of central N'djamena.

At the moment we are finding our bearings and getting used to a lot of things being different.  Zack and Esther are enjoying making new friends and being able to play outside in the warm weather.

One week to go.......

The countdown continues - in a weeks time, almost exactly, we should be on the plane heading to Ethiopia and then Chad! WOW. Still very excited and the nerves haven't set in yet. However, we just need some good weather for Andrew to complete  a flying renewal assessment over the next couple of days....  I, Hannah, feel so peaceful about the move ( except the usual goodbyes) and know that God has, and is, blessing us with His peace as He walks before us.