Week 1 in Timor-Leste

When any MAF pilot starts in a programme they start with CARA - country, area, route and airstrip - training. This usually comprises a week or two of observational flying in the right-hand seat, followed by any number of dual flights with a training pilot to learn the intricacies of each of the different airstrips. The Timor-Leste programme is quite small and so after a week I am nearly finished; there is only one airstrip that we haven't been to yet. This is just as well as the chief pilot who is training me, Marcus, is on a fairly tight timeframe to get back to Australia for various flight tests at the FTC (he is also a CASA examiner).

I'll write more about the airstrips themselves in a later post, but as far as a summary goes, here is what we did:

Monday - Two training flights to Baucau (circuits and GA8 airwork) and Atauro Island

Tuesday - Training flight to Lospalos which turned into a medevac back to Dili

Wednesday - Training flight to Viqueque which turned into a double medevac (two patients) back to Dili. Then a second training flight to Same

Thursday - Training flight to Suai, from where we were called to a medevac at Lospalos and then a second medevac at Atauro Island

Friday - Charter flight to Oecusse

As you can see, in addition to our training flights we also did 4 medevacs! While it was a little frustrating to keep getting interrupted, there were some major benefits: (a) getting to do some 'real' operational flying, (b) experience flying the aircraft when it is close to maximum weight, (c) cost saving for MAF as both legs of a medevac flight are paid by the Ministry of Health, even in the cases where we were already at the airstrip doing training.

Here are some pictures from the week.

Marcus smiling through his mask
(We have to wear these in the plane while I am in quarantine)

Making the aeroplane dirty at Lospalos

Flying past Mt Ramelau (highest peak in Timor-Leste at 9800 ft) on the way to Suai

Neighbourhood roosters

South Korean C130 offloading cargo at Dili

Hot water system problems = bucket shower time

My new home

In Dili, MAF rents a number of houses. They aren't in a compound, like some of the other programmes; nor are they particularly close to each other, but they are all within 5-10 minutes' drive of the airport.

The house I've been assigned to is a 4-bedroom Timorese style house. It would normally be occupied by the programme manager* and their family. However, the outgoing programme manager left in June and the incoming one won't be arriving in country until January.

It's located directly behind the American embassy and is one block from the beach. However since my quarantine restrictions say I must stay at the house any time I am not at the airport receiving training, I haven't ventured past the front gate yet!

As one would say in Tetun, 'Hau nia uma' - this is my house.


*In MAF terminology 'programme manager' is changing to 'country director'.

Front porch

Driveway, viewed from the back of the property

Entrance/lounge

Dining room. The three closed doors lead to a guest bedroom,
office, and storage room

Master bedroom. I brought the mosquito net with me from
Mareeba; $26 is a small price to pay for peace of mind!

Ensuite off master bedroom

Hallway to kitchen, laundry and guest bathroom

Kitchen

Pantry room

Guest bathroom

Laundry, through to back door

Guest bedroom

From Mareeba to Darwin to Dili

VH-MFM, one of the GA8s flying in Timor Leste, has been in Mareeba for 4 weeks or so having an engine change. Since it was due to be flown back around the same time that I was supposed to fly in, I was able to hitch a ride, gain some experience, and save MAF about $1000 on an airline ticket.

We ended up spending two nights in Darwin in a quarantine hotel at the airport - waiting for additional permissions to get sorted at the Timor end for us to bring the aircraft in. Thankfully they came through on a day when the weather was good enough to get across the Timor Sea.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Not too many pictures from Mareeba to Normanton to Burketown,
but at Borroloola we saw two brolgas (or should that be brolgae?)

Arnhem Land escarpment, Kakadu National Park
(where I would be on holiday right now if it were not for Covid...)

Maintenance check on arrival in Darwin

Last view of Darwin

First view of Timor Leste (after 2.5 hrs of flying over water)

Viqueque airstrip - one of our regular destinations

Flying into Dili from the east

MAF Timor Leste's newest relief pilot

Settling into the new digs with a cook-up
(makes a change from room service!)

Two big rocks

As a farewell to Mareeba (for now) I went for two final bush walks, both at Davies Creek. Both involved a rock!

Turtle Rock

A good walk if you've got half a day, which I did last Sunday afternoon. You can either walk up to the top and back the same way, or do the loop which is a bit longer. I did the latter and it took about 2.5 hrs, including about half an hour at the top taking photos and enjoying the views.

It never ceases to amaze me how such big granite boulders can be found at the top of a hill!

View back towards Davies Creek

The aptly named 'Turtle Rock'

View of Kahlpahlim Rock from Turtle Rock

Kahlpahlim Rock

Yes, I have done this walk before, but I have decided it is my favourite out of all the walks I have done on the Tablelands. Yesterday it was very popular as well - I must have encountered over a dozen people on the track (mostly at the top). I started at 9:30, had lunch at the top, and was back at the car by 2:00.

Steep part of the track through open eucalypt forest

View over Lake Morris and the coast (including Cairns city)

View over the Tablelands north of Mareeba

Arty shot of the day (cell tower solar panel installation)

Heading back down

Kahlpahlim Rock and skyline from Mareeba

New assignment

On Monday 6 July I am leaving Mareeba for 6 months to take up a relief pilot role in Timor Leste.

This has come about rather quickly: I was only asked on 3 June, i.e. exactly one month ago today!

The MAF Timor Leste programme normally has three expat pilots and one expat programme manager (aka country director), but due to uncertainties around Covid some of them were evacuated to their home countries - and now are having difficulty getting back in. Apparently none of the pilots in the Arnhem Land programme were keen to go, so MAFI Asia-Pacific then asked if anyone at the Mareeba flight training centre would be able and willing to go. Since we have a reduced student roll at the moment (again, due to Covid) we agreed to send one of our instructors until January, when we will have our next student intake.

MAF is contracted to provide air transport for the national ambulance service in Timor Leste. That means that we fly a lot of medevacs there - an average of about 6 a week. The remainder of the flying is primarily charter flights for the government and the many NGOs operating in the country. I will be flying a GA8, which is the same type of aircraft we used for line pilot standardisation and that I recently ferried back from Arnhem Land.

I don't know entirely what to expect, only that God has already prepared the way for me. The opportunity has His fingerprints all over it - the timing, the duration, the relatively small size and low complexity of the flying programme... It will be extremely useful experience for wherever I end up going after my time in Mareeba comes to an end.

A couple of photos from pilot maintenance training earlier this week:

From trainer to trainee

Over the last couple of weeks I've been given some time to work on refreshing my instrument rating. The aircraft at the FTC mostly have conventional instrumentation, in contrast to the Kapiti aero club aircraft which were equipped with glass cockpits. This means you have to do a bit more thinking to work out what all the dials are telling you regarding where you are and where you are going. Also, I learned how to navigate using an NDB (an old-fashioned long-distance radio aid which are mostly being decommissioned in Australia and New Zealand, but still quite prevalent in Africa). Of course the whole idea in doing this is that you can fly without being able to see out the window!

Day flight to Chillagoe, partly in cloud. I am wearing 'foggles' to limit my field of view to the instrument panel.
Nick (back seat) came along to observe, as he will soon be starting his instrument rating training.

Flying the Cairns ILS approach by night

And for something a little different, yesterday I went flying with Neil in his Cessna 180. As you will notice it is a taildragger. Like the Piper Cub that I used to fly (but with about five times the horsepower!)

Happy birthday

Last week I entered my 5th decade. I don't really feel any different.

The original plan to celebrate my birthday was that my family were going to come over to Sydney and I would fly down to meet them there and spend a long weekend with them. However due to Covid travel restrictions that had to be cancelled postponed.

My best friend had also planned to come over in July and we were going to have a 3 week holiday campervanning from Darwin around the Kakadu area and across to the Kimberley. That's also been put on hold for now.

Jesus said in Mark 10:29-30, "I tell you the truth, no-one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life."

And so I was able to celebrate my birthday with my MAF family instead.

On the day

Cake at morning tea

Dinner with the Thompsons and Hitchins

Last Saturday

The Littles hosted a small party culminating in a soiree where I played some of my favourite piano pieces and performed some duets with Andy on flute. Two of these we have been working on for about a year. I really enjoyed it and from the sounds of it so did everyone else!

Clair de Lune - Debussy

Jazz waltz - Rutter

Sonata BWV 1031 - Bach