NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

My Baby...a C-TU206

Many of you may be wondering what exactly we are doing here in the Arizona desert…and how can mission assignments be so…fun.  Well, the pictures here tell the story in part.  For a pilot this is good stuff!  Candidates come to New Tribes Mission Aviation with a required amount of flight experience, and then we take that to a new level by operating the aircraft at its performance limits on a consistent and daily basis.  This is my pre-field checkout.

On the mission field the airstrips are short, rough, and technically difficult…so we build short, rough, and technically difficult airstrips here in Arizona on which we can train.  The purpose is to develop and refine skills here in a training environment that I can use on the field to safely transport and support the tribal missionaries.  The job is critical, and the safety of the missionaries is most important, so we train hard in preparation for service overseas.

The pictures here are of an airstrip that is 1100′ long and about 15′ wide.  This is the final airstrip we use here on our airfield before heading out to the “graduation” strips.  These are located in the local mountains and are more challenging, as well as shorter with an approach that is considered one way…meaning there is only one direction that you can land and once you are committed, landing is the only option.  Like I said, this is the good stuff, and I am soaking up and enjoying every minute.  God has blessed me with a ministry and a job that include two things that I absolutely love…serving people and flying airplanes…it just doesn’t get much better.  Anyway, hope the pictures help with a visual on what the technical aspect of this assignment includes.