EAA Sport Aviation

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Photos courtesy MAF

4. Made of flexible rubber just like that found in truck mud flaps, the gravel deflectors on MAF planes help keep rocks from destroying the tail of the 206. 5. S-frame seats collapse in high vertical speed collisions, acting as a shock absorber for the spine. 6. A simple tailskid helps reduce the maintenance costs associated with over-rotations at max gross.

the tail section is a small skid to protect the tail cone from damage when the airplane aggressively rotates at maximum gross weight from a short field.

Because the remote areas where the MAF operates are often located in mountainous terrain, many MAF aircraft are turbocharged. Hook says, “The turbo gives our pilots the extra oomph they need to power out of mountainside airfields—especially on hot days when the density altitude would keep a normally aspirated plane grounded.”

Pilot Safety

Protecting their pilots in the extreme environments in which they fly is a primary concern of the MAF. Safety harnesses with inertial reels are standard equipment on all MAF planes. Also, all MAF pilots are required to wear flight helmets. Hook says that the helmets have spared several pilots from head injuries.

The energy-absorbing S-frame seats are also unique to MAF Cessnas; they collapse under high g-loads and protect the occupants from spinal injuries. The seats are held secure in Brownline tracks, replacements for the notoriously cranky original equipment rails found on older Cessnas.

That takes care of the plane, but what about modifications to the pilot? How does the MAF train its pilots to handle the rigors of jungle flying?

Hook says that applicants must have a minimum of 12 credit hours of Bible school. They also need a commercial certificate with an instrument rating, a minimum of 400 hours of flight time, and an airframe and powerplant certificate. If they meet all of these requirements, prospective pilots are invited to MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, for a thorough flight and maintenance evaluation. Those who make it up to that rung in the MAF ladder are called back to Idaho for orientation training that includes emphasis on mountain flying, desert flying, and advanced techniques in short takeoffs and landings. MAF pilots perform their mission work in third-world countries where the airfields are typically one-way, short, and often on the side of mountains—with double-digit-degree slopes. It takes special training to operate safely in these environments.

After language training and learning to deal with the government officials in their assigned country, MAF pilots receive an average six-month checkout in the field with a check pilot who orients them to every airstrip (and their idiosyncrasies) in the region. Every six months they receive a standardization flight check with a check pilot. “We have a very thick operations manual,” says Hook. “We have our own internal safety department, and we catalog and investigate our own accidents and incidents to help us improve safety. We’re professional pilots flying in the bush, not bush pilots.”

Resources

Some of the modifications mentioned in this article are available directly from the Cessna factory, or check out www.Aeroprice.com/AeroLibrary/CessnaSE_mods.htm for information about STOL kits, speed mods, auxiliary fuel tanks, and other conversion products and suppliers.

Restraint systems are available from B.A.S. Inc. at 888-255- 6566 or on the web at www.BASInc-Aeromod.com.

STC’d cargo and combo cargo/fuel pods are available from Aerocet, www.Aerocet.com.

Gravel deflectors are available for the Cessna 180 through the Caravan from Aero Twin Inc. at 907-274-6166 or on the web at www.Aero Twin.com.

Micro Vortex Generator Kits for Cessna Skyhawks and Skylanes (STC’d) provide an 8 percent reduction in stall speed, improved aileron response, and reduced landing and takeoff roll. Kits can be ordered from Micro Aerodynamics at 800-677-2370 or www.MicroAero.com.