A Good Ol’ Gal

Early shot of Alpha Uniform when it still had the
original "N" number.

A real treat for me during this trip was meeting and getting reacquainted with an old friend. Niner Quebec Charlie Alpha Uniform is the oldest and, I believe, the most utilized Cessna 208 Caravan in the MAF fleet. I had the unique privilege of requesting this aircraft for MAF-Zaire back in the mid 1980’s when I was functioning as program manager.  And, not only did I watch it makes its first landing at the Ndjili airport after it’s long ferry flight from the US, but I was also one of four pilots that got the first check out in the plane.

So, it was really fun to see it again in operations at the MAF Bunia program and even sit in the right seat during a flight with a hand on the controls just like years ago.

Getting reacquainted after a landing at Nyankunde

What is particularly special about this good ol’ gal, however, is its amazing service history to missions.  

Here’s a snapshot of that history:

·          

1    1985 – Cessna Caravan Serial No.10 and registered N9314Fwas ferried to Kinshasa, Zaire to begin operations. It was one of the first of its kind to be seen in the continent.

After almost 30 years - a hand at the controls again!

·         85-93 – Operated in the Kinsahsa program regularly flying 1000 mile routes to the various corners of the country. We switched its registration to 9Q-CAU. In 91, it was sub-based in Brazzaville and used to evacuate missionaries all over Zaire during the first of several civil revolts.

·         93-96 – Operated out of the Nyankunde program in NE Zaire.

·         96-97 – Was ferried back to the US for some major spar damage repair.

·         90-2001 – Operated in Mali, Africa in the SAS flight program – a commercial endeavor of MAF.

·         2002 – Sent to Nairobi to prepare it for a new flight program in Afghanistan. (Never made it there.)

·         02-03 – Leased to Air Serv International and was sub-based out of Kisangani, DRC.

·         03-08 – Returned to MAF and based out of Kajasi, Uganda providing regular flight service into eastern DRC.

·         08-Present – Now back in Bunia, DRC, it is the flagship and workhorse of the base’s three plane fleet.

By the end of this calendar year, 9Q-CAU will have flown 20,000 hours and have made 22,000 landings!

Not bad. . .for a good ol’ gal!!