Check out the latest photos and videos from camp!.
On our Video’s page you will be able to watch short videos of what we all got up to throughout the day and on our Photo’s page you will be able to flick through many more pictures of everything else we get up to throughout the week.
What happened during day 1?
It was a busy day here at ACMA with campers arriving from all over the country with some being met at the airport from as early as 6am. As campers arrived they were given a tour of the premises and settled in. Games were quickly organised and the rest of the morning was spent inside playing card games or outside playing various games followed by lunch. With everyone having arrived by 2pm we sat down to find out about some safety issues when dealing with aircraft. Afterwards everyone got seperated into teams and had a go at building their very own balsa wood gliders for our annual Balsa Wood Gliding competition (see the photos and videos links to the right for more!) Some of our campers got in early and were able to go up for their introductory flights and what a spectacular day for flying! With high, scattered clouds, the air was clear and haze free making for terrific flying conditions! In the evening after a delicious dinner, we spent some time in song and praise and had devotions along with a testimony by one of our students. Over all a terrific start to what looks set to be an awesome camp!
What happened during day 2?
Another sunny day greeted us yesterday morning with the fog clearing
early allowing several campers to go up in the 206 for their intro
flights. A couple of campers were also able to take their own training
flights as well.
We headed off on our excursion at 10:30am to Essendon Airport and the
Air Services Museum. There we were doted on by their staff who showed
us the history of Australian Aviation, in particular of Air Traffic
Control. Afterwards we were treated to a great spread of afternoon tea.
We then moved on to our next port-of-call at John Holland Maintenance
at Tullamarine Airport. We were given a tour of the maintenance
facility there, getting up close and personal with a 737-800 Turbine
engine being maintained with the highlight of everyone going up into the
cockpit of a Virgin Blue Boeing 737-800 that was in for maintenance.
Unfortunately we were unable to take photos or videos due to security
measures.
When we got back to Coldstream we had pizza for dinner and then went
outside where we had a bonfire. At the bonfire the Head of Flight
Training inspired us with stories about his life growing up in Papua New
Guinea and his desire to be a mission pilot, and how after 26 years and
he was able to go back as a Mission Pilot with his family.
What happened during day 3?
Having such a great day on day two was
evident in the morning with most campers not wanting to wake up at
6:30am again for breakfast at 7:00am having had such a packed day/night
the day before. After breakfast we had devotions and group discussions
before getting back on the bus out to Coldstream. Unlike Days 1 & 2
it was not sunshine that broke through the clouds, instead we were
treated to fog, fog and more fog. With such thick cloud cover and fog
flights were disrupted and no one was able to go up until late in the
afternoon when we got a few holes allowing the Cessna 206 to take up
some joy flights. We had classes on meteorology, engines, airframes and
more improving camper’s skills and understanding of Mission Aviation.
The afternoon was spent in free time playing games which you can see in
the photo’s and video highlights of the day, with most of the guys going
outside and those wishing to stay a little bit warmer playing cards and
board games inside.
In the afternoon we had the
opportunity to hear from Volker Jacobsen (FTC MAnager) on the work of
MAF, John Willetts (General Manager) on the work of JAARS, and Bruce
Searle (CEO of ACMA) where he described the courses on offer here at
ACMA, how they work and what you are able to do with what you learn
here.
After a great dinner of Spag Bol we
had a little bit of free time to play games such as table tennis, squash
and basketball before we began our movie night. We watched the movie
“End of the Spear” based on the true story of Operation Auca, in which five male American Christian missionaries who were attempting to evangelize the feared Waodani people of the jungle of Ecuador were killed. The movie tells the story from the perspective of the son of one of the murdered missionaries, and Mincayani
the tribesman who killed his father. It is a powerful story of how the
missionary wives and children go on to live among the tribe bringing
them the good news and how reconciliation and love is truly possible
under Christ.
What happened during day 4?
Yesterday was our last full day of camp.
After breakfast we had devotions where we reflected on the movie the
night before. The groups got together and had discussions where they
were challenged about the sacrifice and cost of being a mission aviator.
We then drove out to Coldstream where we had one morning class, some
were working on their aluminium planes in the workshop and others were
honing their skills on the flight simulator.
From there we went on an excursion first to the Air Ambulance where
we met astonishing people, men and woman with years of experience saving
peoples lives through the use of helicopters and light aircraft. We
were able to get into the aircraft and see up close how they do their
job. We then had lunch and moved on to the Police Air Wing, where we
were treated to a promotional dvd, and then shown through their
facilities and aircraft. Some were fortunate to operate the ‘flir’
(forward looking infrared) which they use to find missing people and
follow criminals from the air. They also demonstrated how they winch
people out of tight spots up into the helicopter and gave many
interesting statistics. Some people left early from here to go back to
Coldstream for flights as the weather had cleared up whilst everyone was
away.
When we got home we went directly back to IBLP (our accommodation)
and got straight into games down on the field such as capture the flag.
After dinner we had the campers go and pack their stuff up, and from
their we went to receive our second last devotion which was given to us
by Phil Z also known as the ‘flying bible man’. He serves in North
Australia serving the aboriginal people with the Bible Society.
ACMA Camp 2010 day 5!
Its the last day of camp and a cold morning here at ACMA. -2 degrees
to start the day, but the sky is blue and it is perfect to finish off
the remaining camper training flights.