The thrust of the 750 horsepower PT-6 turbine engine shoves me back in my seat and we are airborne in seconds.
I look down at a rapidly disappearing Camdenton, Missouri, airport. A crowd has gathered this Saturday, Aug. 30, to see the Quest Kodiak airplane.
The Kodiak is soaring into the morning sky and I am strapped in behind the pilot, experiencing first-hand the future of missionary aviation.
It's quite the future.
The Kodiak has a useful load of 3,100 pounds and a takeoff roll of only 760 feet.
That's the equivalent of putting a Porsche 911 inside the airplane and taking off in the length of about two and a half football fields.
It's also two to three times the useful load of most planes currently flown by NTM Aviation.
When I first looked at it, the Kodiak gave the impression that it is the SUV of the air. It is plain to see that it was designed from the ground up as an airplane that gets you where few others can, and does it while carrying a ton and a half of supplies.
As we flew over the Missouri countryside, pilot Jeff Turcotte called over the intercom, "You can see the New Tribes Missionary Training Center on your right hand side."
I realized that I was flying in the airplane that is the future of tribal missionary aviation, and looking 2,500 feet down at the future of tribal missions.
Just two weeks ago 161 students from eight countries began classes at the Missionary Training Center below me. They are already in the day-to-day challenge of learning cross-cultural communications, tribal church planting techniques and language acquisition skills.
They are being taught the most modern methods available in order to reach the most remote people groups on earth. The Kodiak is a vital new resource that will help make that goal a reality.
In a short time many of these students will say goodbye to their families and head overseas to reach tribal people with the Gospel.
And when they get there, Quest Kodiaks will be helping them bring the Gospel to those who have never heard.
The fleet of piston-driven aircraft that NTM Aviation has used for many years is becoming more and more difficult to maintain. Aviation gas is expensive and getting much harder to find.
The Kodiak's PT-6 turbine engine runs on jet fuel which is cheaper and easily available around the world. As pilot Jeff Turcotte told me, "In many countries missionaries will either start flying with jet fuel or they won't be flying at all."
Soon, Lord-willing, when a tribal child in Papua New Guinea needs to be flown to a hospital to save his life, the Kodiak will be there.
When a tribal missionary in Indonesia finally finishes translating the New Testament, the Kodiak will fly in the new copies of God's Word.
Pray for the 161 students at the Missionary Training Center as they prepare for service. Pray too that the 14 Quest Kodiaks that NTM Aviation has ordered will help to rapidly expand the reach of Gospel.
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