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