Med-Evac Equipment donation

A friend in the US just let us know that a backpack style med-evac bag, called a STATPAK, has been donated to our program!  Here are the photos:

The team that secured this donation is from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  They are also proposing a trip to Gabon to do some "flight nurse" basic training in 2014!  Please pray that the logistics of their trip are worked out and that effective training of Gabon nationals becomes a reality.

Air Evac- 14 November

This past Wednesday, while having some meetings with government ministries, a call came in requesting us to assist with a medical evacuation.  Around 4pm, I was able to launch to the town where a horrible car accident had happened between a van carrying a load of school children and an SUV.  One child had died at the scene.

On our way to the coastal town of Port Gentil.

The four children that I would transport had bad wounds, mainly to their heads.  They were in stable condition and had no need for oxygen or other in-flight care- they simply needed transported from the town (only reached by boat or airplane), 45 minutes back to the capital city where they could get to the doctors and machines that could care for them.  Although our aircraft is mainly working to support the work of the Bongolo Hospital, we still use the aircraft to bless people, no matter where their destination needs to be.  The doctor providing the care for them determined that Libreville was the best for these children, so that's where we headed.  Additionally, for the time being, our aircraft is not outfitted for in-flight care (ambulance), so we must ensure that each patient is stable and able to be transported safely with no chance that they will need special care during the flight.

Quite a crowd gathered.

Once it was determined how many children would be coming we changed the interior set up.  This required me to take out 4 chairs and stow them in the far back, held down by a cargo net.  A doctor and nurse were along for the ride, as well as the 4 children. 

It was about 45 minutes for the leg there and back, hugging the coast as we went.  You'll notice that no roads go to the destination.

As we arrived back to Libreville at dusk, the ambulances were waiting and some ground crew workers were waiting to assist.

Air Evac- 06 August

 I was called on Sunday night by the president of the national church saying that a terrible accident after the conclusion of the Alliance Woman's annual conference in the east of the country had left many injured- some of them seriously.

Eastbound from Libreville to Makokou at 9000 feet.  This is what Gabon looks like during dry season- a lower solid overcast all day long.

 

Using the "jungle jepps", I descended on the prescribed course and broke through the overcast nearing the village.  It's was my first time to this village runway where regional airline service lands 2 or 3 times a week.

Descending for runway 0-6 over the village.

The ambulance was waiting as well as quite a crowd- almost two dozen.  The first load from the ambulance were two ladies with head and arm wounds mostly.  They sat along the left side of the aircraft while the right side was left for the woman that would come and need to remain laying down.

I was blessed to have Yolande, a Bongolo-trained nurse and also an Alliance Woman, along to assist during the flight.

This flight had another first- landing at Bongolo the opposite direction then normal... runway 2-7.  You can make out the airport ahead- we're on about a 4 mile final approach.

Upon arrival, Steve H., a Bongolo doctor, jumped into action, treating the woman laying down first.

Bongolo Hospital's ambulance driver, Philippe, was on the spot, waiting to load up the injured, along with Karen F. who used her personal car as well.

We all pitched in and got the ladies loaded.  Our hospital administrator, Pastor Serge B. has his back to the photo.  His wife, Jackie, is closest to the airplane.  When's the last time you visited a medical facility and the director was there to meet you?!? Now, that's service!

Flight Pics- 02 July

Our last flight produced a few more than your normal nicks in the prop- an unimproved gravel runway.  So, a little TLC on each propeller was needed with the file.

An hour and 40 minutes later, we were buzzing by the Bongolo Hospital, descending for the airstrip.

Final approach, runway zero-niner, Bongolo International Airport!

Touchdown!

Our humble Bongolo base.  Plans are afoot to enhance this hangar and place a 20 foot container adjacent to act as office.  We're still trying to solve some solar power issues.  After adding electrolyte to the 10 year old batteries, our voltage went from 17.7 to 18.8 in one week.  Let's hope it continues to climb back to the 24 volts that they should be at.

See that big bug along the bottom of the window sill?  Our back seat passenger snapped this photo right before trying to kill it.  The bug flew into the window as we were taxiing for takeoff at Lebamba.  The passenger managed to shove the bug deeper into the sill, so it was his job to keep an eye on it for the next hour and 45 minutes!

During dry season, there is a constant cloud deck that ranges from 500 feet above ground level to about 3000 feet- usually on the low side.  On the way back to Libreville, we had enough room to stay at a lower altitude for the first 45 minutes so that the passengers could do some sight-seeing.  Later in the flight, we headed up to 8500 feet and caught a nice tailwind into Libreville.

Here's take off from Bongolo- about 400 feet off the deck, getting ready to pass over the Bongolo Hospital as we continue the climb.  The is the view from the 3rd row of seats.

A neat aspect of this flight was my co-pilot, Joela.  Joela is the son of one of the chaplains at Bongolo Hospital who would like to become a pilot!  This was his first ride every in an airplane!  He spent the first half of the flight taking photos and videos (he posts a lot on Facebook!) and then, the second half of the flight, asked a lot of questions and followed me on the controls.  His flight was sponsored by a visitor to Bongolo, a surgeon, who Joela had shadowed for about a month, doing his translation from French to English.  Well done Joela!

One Aircraft Rejected, Another Embraced

So, we bid "a Dieu" to N3728B (in NV)...


... and welcome a new "contender"... N61CQ (in FL).



In the end, despite its' crazy low price, there were too many things that we did not feel comfortable about with the 2-8-Bravo. We would have done about $100,000 in upgrades to it.

Then, at just the right time, N61CQ came on the market with a brand new engine, a nice avionics package, one more seat (total of 8), and a model that is 6 years newer. There are a couple other cool tidbits. Here are some pictures that my brother Dan and my nephew, Jarrod, took during an initial look at the aircraft last week:

A nice STOL (Short takeoff and landing) kit on the wings, along with votex generators...

...good looking paint job from 2006...

...good looking interior (here's my nephew Jarrod)...

...more interior (we'll take out the LORAN & ADF/NDB and replace with a new Garmin 430)...

...and a new IO-520-F (300hp) engine along with new prop.

The seller has asked a reasonable price, so we have put in a bid and will send a follow-up team to do a more invasive inspection prior to purchase.