From the Cockpit

The Sportsman is already at work

Greetings from Cameroon!

The last leg of the trip was the most challenging, exciting, and shortest leg of the trip. The morning that I left Lomé, Togo, there were some thunderstorms to the east along my route to Cameroon. I decided to wait one hour before leaving to see if the storm was going to move. After 40 minutes the storm had not moved but was decreasing in size, so I called Tom and said that I was leaving, hopped in the plane, and took off for Cameroon. I was in the air for about one hour and after my second waypoint I had to turn to the south to go around a very large storm. I did not have to divert very far before I could see a valley on the other side of the storm. There were storms on the lefthand and storms on the righthand, but the way that I needed to go was clear. Then I came to Malabo Island, and there was this even bigger storm over the Island. Well, God had prepared another corridor for me to go through. At Malabo Island I was to turn to the east and fly to Yaoundé. I looked to the east, and there was another valley to fly through with storms on the righthand and a 17,000 feet mountain on the lefthand.

I was 1 hour from Yaoundé when I crossed the coast of Cameroon on my way to land at Yaoundé. God opened up many doors to get this airplane here, and He has provided many people to help me along the way. I have heard about many who are following the progress on the blog, and it is encouraging to me.

When I called Yaoundé tower and reported that I had the field in sight, I heard Toms voice over the radio saying "Glory be to God!" Tom had come down in the Glastar to meet me.

We cleared customs and paid the landing fees and that was it. The aircraft was now in country. We stayed the night in Yaoundé and left the next morning for Tom's hometown of Sabga. We both landed at a airport near his house, and I went with Tom in the Glastar to make some practice landings at the mountain airstrip at his house. I am glad that we did since we had to land up hill and make the approach around a 6,000 feet hill just south east of his home. You can only land one way. I have some video of the landing, and I will put it on the blog when I get back to the States. We waited at his house for a while for some rain to pass before we took off to go and pick up the Sportsman for me to fly it to Tom's house. I made one fly-by and turned downwind. I turned base leg behind the hill, lined up for final, and saw the short narrow upsloping runway with no way out. Once turning on the base leg, I was committed to landing with no other choice. The first thought in my mind at the sight of the runway was "my God can help me do this." I set up the airspeed, made the approach, and touched down at the right spot. Just like that I was on the ground. There was a crowd of people that had gathered to see the airplane land. I did not hear them, but Tom said that when I touched down the people cheered.

What a great God that we serve! This aircraft has arrived at the place where it will be used to take the Gospel to places in Cameroon that cannot be reached readily by other means. God showed Himself mighty to me along the trip, and He will continue to show Himself to the people here in Cameroon.

I will try to write more as I get time. Thanks to all who prayed for the safe delivery of this plane.

John Douglas

Home!

Needham Home, Sabga, Cameroon

8:27 am CDT - Arrival! - 71* F , mostly cloudy, calm wind

I just received an email from Tom Needham that he and John arrived at the Needham's home. The picture above is a shot from Google Earth showing their home complex! What a joy to have this journey completed and the Sportsman safely positioned where it will be used to serve the Lord and reach souls for Christ.

I reflected on Hebrews 12:1-3 this morning.

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."

Thank you so much to you who have followed the progress of this journey. You have been a cloud of witnesses encouraging John and giving him motivation to make wise decisions while moving forward in his travel. The airplane could not be cumbered down with excess weight but was expressly outfitted for the purpose of its trip. The focus of the journey was the destination of the Needhams' home. John could not drop his guard, but he had to maintain his resolve and stamina until reaching the goal.

All of us are on a journey. We also have this same challenge to have a focus. We have a cloud of witnesses, both on earth around us and unseen in Heaven, who are watching us make decisions as we travel from birth to death. In order to stay on the right path and finish well in this journey we call "life," our focus must be on Jesus Christ, who is called the "authour and finisher of our faith." He is "the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father" except through Him. Jesus gave his life and endured suffering and death by crucifixion because He received great joy in providing salvation for you and me by paying for our sin. But Jesus also rose again to life and is in Heaven today.

Are you focused on Christ? Or are you encumbered with the weight and distrations of life that keep you from choosing to follow Christ? We are told that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Please turn your eyes upon Jesus Christ and trust Him to deliver you from sin to eternal life in Heaven.

Almost Home!

6:53 am CDT

Next Stop - Needhams' Home!

Where in the world is N211PH?

Yaoundé, Cameroon

6039 miles traveled and 0 miles remaining!

9:36 am CDT - Arrival! - 84* F , mostly cloudy, calm wind

Brother Needham said John made a perfect landing. He should be form fitted into the airplane now. The schedule for the remainder of the trip is:

• Clear Customs today
  
• Fly both the Sportsman and the Glastar to another nearby airport where the airplanes can be securely parked overnight in a missionary's hangar
• Tomorrow, fly into an airstrip similar to the Needhams' home airstrip for familiarization
  
• Complete the journey to the Needhams' home
• Leave Cameroon Tuesday, October 14 @ 8:55 pm via commercial airlines - John will not be flying!
• Arrive Chicago Wednesday, October 15 @ 6:36 pm
  

8:48 am CDT - I have been relaying communication between John and Tom Needham in preparation for landing in Yaoundé. John is currently overhead Douala and estimates landing at 9:33 am CDT. Tom said that he has a helpful police man with him so the entry and clearance should go smoothly.

8:30 am CDT - John said that first the first time since leaving the United States, he saw another airplane in flight! Is the air traffic that congested over Cameroon? Not likely, but I am sure it was somewhat comforting to see another aviator sharing the skies.

7:00 am CDT - I just called John on the satellite phone. The SPOT is not updating very frequently today due to poor coverage in this part of the world. The picture shows his current position at the orange pointer. The blue line is the direct course from Lomé to Yaoundé. The red line is his flight planned route. Weather is causing him to divert south of course. John can see the cloud buildups and keep a healthy distance from them. The latest ETA for Yaoundé is 9:50 am CDT, less than three hours away. Brother Needham is already in Yaoundé visiting with another missionary pilot in the area waiting foro John to arrive. He reported the weather to be good for landing.

4:26 am CDT - N211PH lifted off from foreign soil one last time before setting down in its new home country of Cameroon. Tom Needham called to confirm that he will meet John in Yaoundé this morning. Much of the flight today will again be over water, but this water is much warmer than the North Atlantic over which he flew on Saturday. He will be in nearly constant sight of ships and oil rigs which should provide a more interesting flight today.

Where in the world is N211PH?

Lomé, Togo

5406 miles traveled and 633 miles remaining

9:45 am CDT - Arrival! - 86* F , partly cloudy, southwest wind

One more flight remains! Weather could be a factor tomorrow, but local advice has been to leave ASAP before the local weather begins to build. The journey has been quite a variety of experiences from flying over heavily populated areas such as Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Boston, Massachusetts, to flying all day Saturday over the Atlantic Ocean with not even a ship in sight. There has been water to desert, dry to soaking wet, and short (633 miles, if that is short) to long (1372 miles, now that is long). When John gets back home, I am sure he will post a full report of his perspective of the flight. Have a great day and get some rest!

7:45 am CDT - John called and revised his ETA into Lomé. He now expects to land around 10:00 am CDT. He is in radar contact which means that Air Traffic Control (ATC) can see him on their radar. That is good thing, kind of like having a constant eye watching you. That may seem intimidating to some, but it is a real comfort if a pilot needs immediate help.

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to shew himself
strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect toward him."
2 Chronicles 16:9

4:45 am CDT - John called on the satellite phone to check in. He estimates arriving in Lomé around 8:45 am CDT. I was talking to Missionary Randy Alderman in Togo when John called, and we were able to relay some helpful information pertaining to his arrival later this morning (afternoon in Togo).

3:46 am CDT - N211PH is at the end of the runway and ready to take-off from Bamako, Mali. Arrival in Togo is in about 5 hours. Today is the second shortest flight of the journey. What a relief to have the longest stretches completed. But now is not the time to relax or let down our guard. Every pilot, especially those who fly tailwheel airplanes, knows that you do not stop flying the airplane until the plane is stopped and the engine is turned off. The same goes for your prayers. Please do not stop praying for this journey until it is finished. Even then continue praying for the ministry in which the aircraft will be involved, that of reaching the lost of Cameroon with the glorious message of salvation through faith in Christ!

"Now therefore, our God, we thank thee,
and praise thy glorious name."
1Chronicles 29:13

Here are some pictures of the departure from Gran Canaria yesterday morning taken by Missionary Terry Sharp.

Where in the world is N211PH?

Bamako, Mali

4741 miles traveled and 1298 miles remaining

1:55 pm CDT - Arrival! - 86* F , clear skies, light wind

John and N211PH are safe on the ground in Bamako. The MAF pilots arranged a place for him to stay tonight and possibly put the plane in a hangar overnight. What a blessing! Pray for John to get some good rest and for clear traveling weather for the remaining two days of travel. Thanks for your prayer support!

12:10 pm CDT - John has made contact with a Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) pilot in the area and is expected to land in Bamako just after 2:00 pm CDT. On a humorous note, while flight testing the ferry tanks in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, I (Terry) intentionally ran the tanks dry to verify the behavior of the engine and also to confirm the amount of usable fuel in each ferry fuel tank. The engine never quit and the fuel supply was never completely stopped, but my attention was definitely drawn to restoring the fuel supply at the first sign of an empty tank. A few times now while John has been flying and we have been talking on the phone, he stops talking and then comes back. The last time, he said "How come I always run out of gas when you call?" Maybe I should not call him any more! Seriously, the plane is running well, and the pilot seems at ease and excited to be serving the Lord in this way. Praise the Lord for all those capable hands who have had a part in this momentous journey for Christ!

Missionary Terry Sharp had this to say about his visit with Brother John Douglas, "I had a good time with brother John, he’s a good man with strong convictions yet well-balanced in application of his beliefs. Very refreshing. I hope his stay here provided needed rest for the remainder of his journey."

9:22 am CDT - Direct to Bamako - John just made the turn over head Nouakchott, Mauritania. At his present speed he should arrive in Bamako, Mali, around 2 pm CDT.

7:00 am CDT - John called, and the visibility is hazy with blowing dust but otherwise, the skies are clear.

5:20 am CDT - The SPOT messenger is in an area of possible unreliability. I called John and all is well. When the SPOT does not report, we will communicate by satellite phone every hour. So if you are following him on the SPOT Tracker website, do not be alarmed if you do not see a report for an extended period of time.

4:10 am CDT - N211PH took to the air again. You will see by the routing that John is not going direct. He is skirting Western Sahara until Mauritania when he then turns straight to Bamako. As you view this posting first thing this morning, be sure to lift up Brother Douglas before our Lord in prayer.

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD;
in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."
Psalm 5:3

Where in the world is N211PH?

Still in the Canary Islands

John is staying in Gran Canaria today due to weather and flight planning issues. He is now planning on bypassing much of the desert that he would have been flying over if he had gone directly over Western Sahara to Bamako, Mali. As you see in the picture above, he is planning on staying near the shoreline until about halfway down the shore of Mauritania. This will add another 175 miles to the route, making it nearly as long as the trek across the Atlantic Ocean. John is in good company with Missionary Terry Sharp. I am sure this visit will be a blessing and encouragement to Brother Sharp.

Here are some pictures that John took en route:

Santa Maria, Azores (new tower)

Santa Maria, Azores (old tower)

En route between Azores and Canary Islands

God's Servant to Cameroon

Where in the world is N211PH?

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

3731 miles traveled and 2308 miles remaining

10:45 am CDT - Arrival! - 73* F , mostly cloudy, north wind

After John landed, the sound room technicians at our church were able to patch him through to our pastor and congregation. Pastor King was able to speak with him for a few moments while everyone else listened in! What a treat to have everyone join in together and have a part in the delivery of this aircraft for use in Cameroon.

God has brought a special team together to support this effort. Tom Needham is the missionary who built and will fly this aircraft in direct evangelism in Cameroon. John Douglas is the pilot who God is using to deliver the Sportsman. The entire Wings As Eagles team has assisted in building, maintaining, and improving the aircraft. Many vendors and volunteers have donated assistance, parts, and expertise. Supporters of Brother Needham have given a wealth of money and prayers to see the project safely through. Another ministry, Operation Renewed Hope, is helping raise awareness of the Sportsman to Africa project that the news may be known about what God is doing in Cameroon.

The delivery is not yet finished. Please continue praying and following N211PH all the way to the Needhams' home in Cameroon.

6:05 am CDT - John called on the satellite phone to report that it is a beautiful day to fly! The folk at the Santa Maria airport said there is always some wind in the Azores, but this morning was calm and perfect. The weather is 70* and clear. ETA for Gran Canaria is 10:41 CDT. Thanks for praying for him.

5:17 am CDT - Here we go again! N211PH departed Santa Maria, Azores, for a 5+ hour flight to Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. The weather looks great, and John sounded rested this morning. He will be visiting with Missionary Terry Sharp. Brother Sharp is excited to host John for the day and will cherish the fellowship.

Where in the world is N211PH?

Santa Maria, Azores

2998 miles traveled and 3041 miles remaining

1:25 pm CDT - Arrival! - 70* F , clear skies, light wind
This is the halfway point of the journey, and today was the longest leg of the trip. Only 4 more days of flying remain. I have not talked with John yet, but I expect to communicate with him as soon as he clears customs. Later tonight we will plan for tomorrow. All for the glory of God!

10:51 am CDT - N211PH is now inside Santa Maria, Azores, airspace and has less than 430 miles remaining before landing. John is on schedule for landing before 2:00 pm CDT.

8:28 am CDT - N211PH is over halfway to the Azores. John has reported in using the SPOT as well as relaying position reports through airlines flying over "the pond." He is expected to land in Santa Maria around 2:00 pm CDT. Enlarge the image above to see the SPOT where he last reported.

5:07 am CDT - N211PH departed St. John's at 3:52 CDT bound for Santa Maria, Azores. John called me before he left and was very encouraged by the weather and outlook for today. I just made his hotel reservation in Santa Maria, Azores. The latest SPOT report showed him to be nearly 200 miles off the coast of Newfoundland with around 1200 miles to go.

Where in the world is N211PH?

St. John's Newfoundland, Canada

1626 miles traveled and 4413 miles remaining

John left Pawtucket, Rhode Island, @ 12:20 pm EDT and flew 5 hours to St. John's, landing at 7:00 pm Newfoundland time. The flight was smooth with up to 55 knot tailwinds for some parts of the flight. He is resting now for the longest leg of this journey tomorrow. Please pray for smooth air and tailwinds.

On the curious note, John is wearing a dry suit for the overwater portions of the trip. I would like to see a picture of him stuffed into the suit and then stuffed into the Sportsman! He said that it is quite a large piece of garment. It was hard finding room to store it in the plane on the flight today because of its size!

We had a special time of prayer for this ferry flight at our Wyldewood Baptist Church Mission Conference. Thank you for joining us in lifting John and the Sportsman before our Heavenly Father.

"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."
Psalm 91:11-12

Where in the world is N211PH?

Pawtucket, Rhode Island

759 miles traveled and 5280 miles remaining

John left Oshkosh at 8:45 am this morning and flew to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where he will attend a course on crossing the North Atlantic Ocean with veteran ferry pilot and flight instructor, Ed Carlson. Ed has a website FlyThePond.com. John has gathered a lot of information, but this course will help him interpret the weather systems and also give him some additional equipment and information tools to make this journey more uneventful. I talked briefly with John after he landed, and he was already meeting with Ed.

Praise the Lord! I just got word that the visas are now completed. They are being FedEx shipped to John right away. He should have them tomorrow, Friday, morning. Next stop - St. John's, Newfoundland.

Click here to view a gallery of pictures chronicling the building of this plane for the Lord.

Where in the world is N211PH?

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

0 miles traveled and 6039 miles remaining

Yes, still in Oshkosh, but not for long! By the way, you can click the picture for an expanded view of the route and current location.

Today was spent in final preparations for departure tomorrow morning. The windshield is clean, the oil is changed, the plane is washed, and the tanks are full of gas. Packing will not be finished until the airplane leaves ;-) Departure time is scheduled for 8:30 am. John will fly to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and then attend a one day seminar on flying across the North Atlantic. The visas are not yet in hand, but they will be mailed, hopefully tomorrow, to a location along the route.

John and I laid out the charts for the flight across Africa and marked his route. His route could have taken him directly over a 13,000' volcano in Cameroon! He will go around this cauldron, not over. What a trip! Thank you for praying in advance for a safe, fruitful, and uneventful journey.

Where in the world is N211PH?

Still in Oshkosh!

Weather is clearing, but the visas have still not be completed. The overflight permits, which allow John to traverse through the airspace of countries without landing, have been secured, but apparently a Muslim holiday hindered the visa process last week. The company handling the visa applications in Washington D.C. indicated that they expected to be able to mail the visa paperwork to John on Thursday.

So presently, we are anticipating John leaving on Thursday morning and rendezvousing with the visas en route before leaving the US. That way John can position himself on the east coast to launch across the Atlantic Ocean at the first opportunity that the weather affords.

Where in the world is N211PH?

ROUTE OF FLIGHT

Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Pawtucket, Rhode Island - St. Johns, Newfoundland - Santa Maria, Azores - Grand Canarie, Canary Islands - Bamako, Mali - Lome, Togo - Yaounde, Cameroon - Needhams', Sabga, Cameroon

Saturday, September 27, came and went. Hurricane Kyle's trekk through New England was sufficient deterrent to prevent John from departing. We are hoping that the weather will clear in the North Atlantic to allow the journey to begin. If John has to wait for weather, he may as well be home. Please pray for great weather and tailwinds. The other prayer request is for the visas to be delivered very soon to prevent a delay due because of lack of visas. Thank you for partnering with us.

If you have visited the SPOT tracker website, you will notice various reports that were made over Lake Winnebago while testing the ferry tanks and the SPOT locator and the satellite telephone. So far so good. These SPOT reports were for testing only.

Keep checking the website each day as I plan to make a small report a least every evening to give comments in addition to the already informative SPOT map.

Ferry Tanks Installed and Tested

N211PH ready to go!

Wings As Eagles Mission Air Service, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Hi, I am Terry Rushing, a new contributor to this Sportsman blog. I have been working with John Douglas installing and testing the ferry tanks and making final preparations for the journey to the other side of the world! John and I have been ordering charts and equipment for the journey, establishing our communication protocols, testing equipment, installing wheel pants, servicing the engine, and most importantly testing the ferry tanks. The 5 hour flight test regime was completed flawlessly. We determined exactly how much fuel the tanks would hold. I flew and intentionally ran each of the three tanks dry to determine the plane and the pilot's reaction to running them out of fuel! Do not worry, the engine never actually quit and fuel flow was easily restored from the next tank. Then we filled all three tanks and John went flying to see just how it handled fully loaded. To our pleasure, the plane handled no differently than if it had a full load of people and baggage.

Today was the planned departure date, but due to a Nor'easter blowing through New England, John is delaying his departure from Oshkosh until sometime next week. We are watching the weather very closely and praying for clear skies for at least the first part of the journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

The SPOT tracker link has been updated if you wish to follow the progress enroute. Thank you for praying!

"Ye have seen . . . how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself." Exodus 19:4

Ferry Tank progress

This Past week I started installing the ferry fuel tanks. The first step was to build a platform for the aft tank to sit on. The forward tank will sit in the right seat. The next step was to start plumbing the fuel lines. Tori Mitchell from Wings With the Word came by on Saturday to lend a hand. Our original plan to run the fuel lines was not going to work and we were brainstorming on how to tie the ferry fuel into the existing fuel system. here are some pictures of the tanks temporally installed.


Forward tank viewed from pilots door.


View from right door.

Aft tank looking at baggage door

The Sportsman Gets A New Look

While Tom was in Washington state, he was able to take time to install the new striping decals that a friend of his had donated. At the same time Ted Setzer fitted the new wheel fairings for the trip across the Atlantic. The fairings will help reduce drag and give us about a 3 to 4 knot increase in airspeed.


Tom and his daughter installing the new stripes.

Ted fitting the new wheel fairings.

While you gaze at the new look of the sportsman, I am reminded of a song that I used to sing as a young teenager going to summer Bible camp. The song is called "Get The New Look From The Old book." This aircraft will be used to take the Gospel message to areas of Cameroon that have not heard of the Old Book and the message that Jesus Saves. In Romans 10:9 we read, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." If you are reading this and you do not know where you will spend eternity, Jesus can save you. The registration # on the Sportsman N211PH is a reference to Philippians 2:11 which says, "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." When the Sportsman arrives in Cameroon it will be used to take people to remote area's to tell the message that Jesus saves.

Scenes from the aviation ministry in Cameroon

We just wanted to post a few pictures of various scenes where bro. Tom has been flying in Cameroon. Continue to pray for the expansion of this ministry concerning government approvals for airstrips and continued flight permission throughout the country.

Crowd gathering as Tom prepares to evacuate a man with important medical needs.
Inspecting the airstrip for animals, people, wind direction and runway conditions
Tom flying in a Christian doctor and nurse
Preparing for takeoff at the home airstrip in Sabga
Landing at the home airstrip in Sabga

Track the Sportsman's flight progress

Make sure you check the new link on the side of the blog under the section "my links" to see where the Sportsman is flying. You can use this in a month to track John Douglas as he flies to Cameroon.

Visas and Overflight/Landing Permits

I am submitting the applications for visas and overflight/landing permits this week. The visas should take about a week, and the overflight/landing permits will take about 7 days to receive. I will have to get visas for 3 countries: Mali, Togo, and Cameroon. Overflight/Landing permits will cover Senegal, Mali, Burkina, Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, each costing $105 plus agent fees and navigation fees, which are based on the MTOW, (max take off weight) of the aircraft. Please pray that there will be no problems with securing the visas or the overflight/landing permits.

New Seat Cushions

During the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) airshow at the end of July I went over to the Glasair Aviation factory booth and visited with Ted Setzer. Ted works for Glasair in the "Two Weeks to Taxi" program and has donated some of his own time flying from his home in Washington state to Oshkosh to help build the Sportsman. Also, when Tom was in Washington Ted fitted and installed the new wheel fairing. During our visit, I sat in one of the factory demonstration aircraft. The first thing that I noticed that was different was the seat cushions. Glasair has redsigned the cushions to be more comfortable. My first impression was WOW what a difference. Then I thought we need to raise some money so Tom can have these in the Sportstman. So I asked the Lord what we should do, and He laid it on my heart to raise the $1800 needed for the new cushions. No sooner did I leave the Glasair booth then I ran into an old friend that I previously helped with some painting on his float plane. He shook my hand and when I opened my had he had slipped me some money. The Lord told me there is the first amout for the seat cushions. So I called Tom and told him what the Lord had laid on my heart to do, and I made some phone calls to some freinds. In only two weeks $650 had been raised.

I called today to check if Glasair had the cushions instock and to verify the price. The cushions are in stock, and they are going to give us a 25% discount on the cushion. So now we only have to raise $1342.50 plus the shipping. God is great.

For those who read this I would ask you to consider if the Lord would have you help with the seat cushion fund. You may send your check to Wings As Eagles 3030 Witzel Ave, Oshkosh, WI 54904, and label it for Sportsman seat cushions. As the money comes in I will update the blog to keep you all informed, and if more than is need comes in we will put it torwards the fuel needed to fly the plane to Africa. Thank you, and may the Lord richly bless you

Ferry Fuel Tanks Being Installed

This week we will be installing and testing the ferry fuel tanks. One of Tom's friends in Iowa donated his time to engineer and fabricate the fuel tanks. The tanks will hold an additional 100 gallons of fuel that is needed to fly from St John's, NL to the Azores island. Tom will be back in Oshkosh on Wednesday, and we will start installing the tanks. After the tanks are installed we will have to test fly the plane to make sure that the system works flawlessly as there is no room for error when flying across the Atlantic.

Plans underway again!!

Greetings to all! It has been a long time since I last updated the blog, so I am going bring it up to date. One year ago we were making plans to fly the Sportsman to Africa. Tom Needham had left Oshkosh and returned to Cameroon to continue the work that God called him to. When he returned he learned that the flight authorization to bring the Sportsman into Cameroon had not been granted. Over the next many months Tom spent hours talking with officials in an effort to get the flight authorization. He even made several trips to Yaounde, the capital city. After Tom asked people to pray, the word spread and people started to pray for the authorization to be granted. People from Maine to California and even in Rock Springs, Wyoming were praying.

Meanwhile the Sportsman remained in Oshkosh until such time as the authorization was granted. The time had past to be able to fly the Sportsman to Africa in 2007, and the trip would have to be made in the spring of 2008. People continued to pray for the authorization. Over a year later, towards the end of June, Tom sent word that the flight authorization had been granted…PRAISE THE LORD. Tom decided to return to Oshkosh, WI at the end of July to make preparations to have the plane flown to Africa. He has flown the plane coast to coast visiting supporting churches and individuals…especially those who helped fund the Sportsman project.

It is late August now and preparations are once again under way for John Douglas to fly the Sportsman to Africa. The route will remain the same, and the planned departure day will be September 27, 2008. Prayer is still needed as each flight from departure to destination will be long and taxing on the pilot's body and mind. Thank you to all who have prayed and are still praying for this plane to arrive in Cameroon safely to spread the good news that Jesus saves!