Rex Alexander made a journey out to the Seaplane Base at AirVenture ‘23, checking out the newest Samaritan Aviation response aircraft. Mark Palm heads up Samaritan’s operations, using a fleet of backcountry-ready Cessna 206s. He brought their newest addition to the fleet, sporting all the modifications it needed to safely make it through the nonprofit’s missions flying aid and responding to emergencies in Papua New Guinea.
The Samaritan team hops between 120 villages, turning a 3-day trip to the hospital into a 1-hour flight aboard their float-equipped Cessnas. Palm’s ride to Oshkosh was recently donated to Samaritan Aviation, and sports a host of improvements to add just a little extra safety to their operations. An upgraded IO-550F added enough ‘oomph’ to make up for the floats’ drag, aided by an 86-inch Seaplane prop. On the safety side, Samaritan installed a Robertson STOL kit, right-hand door, wing extensions, and a folding rear passenger door to allow for loading and egress with the flaps deployed.
Palm says the operation is funded by the generous assistance of supporters around the globe, with 30% covered by the local government of Papua New Guinea.
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