Gainesville Composite Squadron - Civil Air Patrol - Gainesville Cadets Experience Flight South of Equator

Gainesville Cadets Experience Flight South of Equator

by C/TSgt Kelcee Griffis

March 13th, 2006 found four local Civil Air Patrol cadets far from their home country, in a hangar on the other side of the equator. C/2d Lt Daniel Freeman, C/2d Lt Stephen Freeman, C/SSgt Patrick Freeman, C/TSgt Kelcee Griffis, members of Gainesville Composite Squadron, were on a mission trip to Shell, Ecuador. Shell is the hub of a branch of an extensive humanitarian flight program, Mission Aviation Fellowship. Mission Aviation Fellowship, or MAF, serves in remote areas, including the rainforest surrounding Shell. They deliver supplies to isolated mission stations there, shuttle missionaries to and from their outposts, and routinely fly people needing medical attention out from the jungle to receive care. In the year 2005 alone, MAF flying saved Christian and humanitarian workers 6,099 days of travel, the equivalent of 25 work years.

While in Shell, these five cadets received a tour of the MAF hangar and facilities. They observed the pilots at work, and had the privilege of flying with them. “The pilots were very safety oriented,” said C/TSgt Kelcee Griffis, 14, “They went through several pre-flight checks before takeoff, and were very cautious.”

Shell is situated in the Andes mountains, where the average peak elevation is 13,000 feet. The cadets found that flying in these mountains presents unique challenges to the pilots. While flying, C/2d Lt Stephen Freeman, 15, noted that the altimeter read only 300 feet at one point. MAF pilot Dan Whitehead explained, “Since we’re in the mountains, we were flying so high anyway, and to avoid some clouds, we could have either gone over them, or under them. Going over the clouds would have been past the airplane’s ceiling, so going under them was the only choice.”

During their time in Ecuador, the cadets also had the opportunity to help another individual build two experimental aircraft. They assisted in preparing the airplane bodies for riveting, and gave riveting a try themselves. They also flew in an ultralight experimental aircraft, which the pilot allowed the cadets to fly.

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