December 16, 2003
Halifax, Nova Scotia
The weather in Bangor this morning was beautiful - but the ramp on which our plane was parked was buried in snow. It took the plow-trucks most of the morning to dig it out.From our weather briefing it was evident that the weather system that produced the weekend storm had moved east far enough for us to fly to Halifax, but not far enough for us to fly to St. John's. Forecasts for tomorrow look like it might be suitable for a route direct from Halifax to Santa Maria, especially if we detour slightly to the south in pursuit of clearer skies and more favorable winds. So we decided to head for Halifax.
It took us a while to get all the snow and ice off of the plane, but we eventually got it all (or so we thought). During the taxi out for departure the prop seemed to have an unusual vibration, so we taxiied back in to check it out. It turned out that snow from the weekend storm had accumulated inside the prop spinner, having blown in there through the openings around the bases of the individual blades. There was enough of it in there to cause a noticeable imbalance. We pulled the spinner off in order to clean it out.
Here's the digital camera taking a shot of itself (and me and Chad) as reflected in the mirror-like surface of the prop spinner.
The blanket of clouds moving eastward had a very distinct trailing edge aligned northwest - southeast. Here's a photo of it as it moved east across New Brunswick.
Tomorrow should be a noteworthy day not only for us but for all pilots everywhere. It's the centennial of the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, on December 17, 1903. How time flies, even without an airplane. I myself have been a pilot for a third of that first century of flight, and Mel Glick at Smoketown has been so for more than half of it. Some have been flying even longer than that.
The restaurant here at the Halifax airport hotel is called "Orville and Wilbur's" and has a Wright Brothers theme. On the back of the menu it says that the invention of the airplane changed life for everyone. Including, it says, for missionaries working in remote areas. If the weather cooperates, tomorrow at the moment of the Wright brothers' first flight re-enactment at Kitty Hawk we ourselves will be in flight over the ocean. We'll do this, as the Arabs say, "Insh'allah" (if God wills). Posted by Barry at December 16, 2003 04:27 PM
Looks like you guys have been wearing the same clothes for the past week. Don't you have anything else to wear?! Everything is fine here on the home front. We're watching out for the wives. Looking forward to your arrival. Mike - aim a little higher next time with the snowball!
Posted by: Andy Keller at December 16, 2003 10:17 PMLooks like you guys have been wearing the same clothes for the past week. Don't you have anything else to wear?! Everything is fine here on the home front. We're watching out for the wives. Looking forward to your arrival. Mike - aim a little higher next time with the snowball!
Posted by: Andy Keller at December 16, 2003 10:17 PMWe've been enjoying the website, and have shared it with a number of people here in Missouri. (I believe you stopped here, Barry, with the first plane that you took to Africa. I was reminded of that when you mentioned you have been flying for 30 years....seems impossible!)
In looking at the pictures of the tank installation, I was wondering where the third seat would be and whether you were able to take all of the seats with you.
The entire home office of the International Mission Board prayed together for you all and your families this morning during our mid-week chapel service. (Wednesday 12/17) It's one thing for Orville and Wilbur to put something in motion; it's quite another thing for Godly men and women to use it for the glory of the Lord! Godspeed.
Posted by: Mark Snowden at December 17, 2003 10:20 AMWe New Jerseyan's are praying for you guys!
I so appreciate this "follow the filght" website.
Hey, If it's not too much trouble, Can you post a shot of the new fuel tanks? Just curious how they did it...
In Him...Owen Kelly
Hope the next leg of your journey goes better than the replay of Orville & Wilbur's historic flight went today - altitude 6 inches, duration approximately 1 second. :-) An answer to Michael Steeves' question about returning the ferry tanks - it's too expensive to send them back, they'll probably end up as a nice water tank for someone in Nairobi.
Posted by: Dwight Hershberger at December 17, 2003 09:22 PMWe have been following your Web-site since you left Richmond and praying for your safety. You continue to point out challenges that we did not know about. We believe that your crew was hand picked by the Lord and we continue to pray for you. It is great to learn about the distribution of those shoe boxes collected by Samaritan's Purse. We at Calvary Baptist in Bel Air Maryland participated in Operation Christmas Child. Maybe our boxes were part of this shipment.
We continue to be grateful that we can be of your prayer support group.
In Christ Niel and Betty
Posted by: Niel Thompson at December 21, 2003 02:16 PM