Eleventh Airframe To Be Used For Missionary Work

Mission Aviation Fellowship took delivery this week of its first Kodiak 100, the first of the next-generation bush planes to be produced under an arrangement between the ministry and the manufacturer, Quest Aircraft Co. of Sandpoint, ID.

The new Kodiak 100 will be dedicated in a public ceremony at MAF headquarters May 2. The plane will go on a multi-city tour this summer, prior to being ferried to Papua, Indonesia, the aircraft’s destination of service.

"Aviation, in the minds of many, is the heart and soul of reaching the unreached peoples of the world," said John Boyd, president and chief executive officer of MAF-USA. "Missionary aircraft can take people into areas where there are no roads. They can deliver food, medicines and other supplies when roads are impassible.

"This Kodiak -- the 'first fruit' of our collaborative commitment -- is an amazing dream come true," Boyd added.

The development of the Kodiak 100 grew from the need for a new kind of aircraft to better serve missionary agencies, such as MAF, that minister in remote areas, as well as humanitarian groups and backcountry commercial flight operators. One of the many benefits of the Kodiak 100 addresses the shortage and high cost of aviation gasoline in many areas where MAF operates.

Unlike the Cessna 206, which makes up the bulk of the MAF fleet, the Kodiak runs on jet fuel... which is in great supply and considerably cheaper than avgas.

Eleven years ago, MAF and Quest formulated an arrangement to raise funds and provide seed money to make the development of the Kodiak 100 possible. Under the agreement, profits from commercial sales of the Kodiak 100 will subsidize a portion of the cost of each 11th airplane produced, which will be delivered to participating not-for-profit Christian and humanitarian aviation organizations. MAF is receiving the first plane under this arrangement.

Other mission aviation groups that joined MAF in committing funds to the Quest startup include Air Serv International, New Tribes Mission, Wycliffe Bible Translators JAARS, Mercy Air South Africa, Zululand Mission Air Transport, Misio’n Padamo, Project AmaZon, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventist World Aviation, Flying Mission, Moody Bible Institute, Samaritan Aviation, Arctic Barnabas Ministries, Christian Light Foundation and Asas de Socorro. 

Over the next few years, MAF will replace 20 of its Cessna 206s with planes that operate on jet fuel, either Kodiak 100s or Cessna Caravans.

FMI: www.maf.org, www.questaircraft.com