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On June 19, 2019 I had the privilege to spend a couple of hours with a group of really great kids from Morning Star School.   We began by talking about flying and airplanes and also about what is involved in pursuing flying as a career.

I did a short presentation about flight and aircraft.  I also told a real “With God as My Co-Pilot” story about an emergency landing I was forced to make during a late night – early morning cross country fight. There were lots of good questions and following the talk I did a demonstration on the Saitek flight simulator using X-Plane 11.   Afterwards all of the kids had the chance to see if they could taxi, take-off, and land an airplane.  While I thought everyone did really great for a first try, two of them did excellent and actually landed without crashing. Taxiing using their feet was perhaps the most difficult for most  kids. Yes it really is harder than it looks, especially if you don’t have prior experience.  Even Lynnette Cyr, their teacher gave it a try and she did very good – but I will not say if she was one of the novice pilots who crash landed or who landed successfully.

Here are a couple of the photos we took.

Moving Forward During May 2019

This last month or so has been devoted to reviewing our experiences in Mexico in April “With God as My Co-Pilot” youth training.  The review we did (thanks to everyone who was involved) was quite helpful and identified new ways of approaching the training as well as identified the importance of having younger pilots involved in speaking to youth.

This month has also involved buying the bits and pieces needed to put together two working flight simulator setups. Each setup requires a desktop with enough speed and memory, a descent graphics card, speakers, monitor, the simulator itself (yoke, throttle quadrant, and pedals), and of course the software (X-plane 11, plus FSX since it can be used in some situations where X-plane may not always work as well). Most of the pieces comes from Amazon, eBay, Kijiji, and AliExpress. The last piece I need is required to upgrade the cpu for one of the work station – it is ordered and expected in a week or two.

I’ve also been updating the syllabus for a new three-day workshop for use in Canada this summer.  I’ll be posting new training programs on the website later on next month.

Help Wanted:  If anyone in the Regina area has flying experience and / or flight simulation experience and is interested in helping out in the “With God as My Co-Pilot”, please feel free to contact me asap and we can discuss the possibilities available!  Morning Star Ministries have kindly hosted the program over the last two years, with some support from the Regina Flying Club. This year  I am planning on approaching more churches to help host a youth program (and possibly an adult program) in Regina this summer – so more help and interest really is needed. 

Did You Know Trained Pilots Always Use Checklists?

It is true!  Whether a pilot is flying a trainer aircraft or a Airbus 310, he or she will use a checklist, or in fact a whole series of checklists.  Why?  Pilots use checklists because in a busy environment, missing something important can have very serious consequences.  For example, even before a flight a pilot will CHECK every important aspect of the aircraft to ensure all parts are working properly.  Then prior to take off the pilot will run thru another series of checks to make sure everything in the aircraft is functioning properly. In most cases the pilot will use just after departure checks (when en-route and just after leaving an airport), while en-route, and when approaching an airport, when getting ready to land, after landing, and even before shutting the aircraft systems off.  Most pilots will know the checks that need to be performed off by heart.  Nevertheless they use their checklists because it is easy to forget to check what may seem like a small thing.  Co-pilots are often involved in helping to verbally cross check what the pilot is checking.  Some aircraft as well as some support systems pilots use have built in checklists to help pilots ensure nothing is overlooked. 

Did you know the Holy Bible is also full of checks that we can use to ensure we don’t get into trouble because we overlook or simply miss something that is really important in our lives as Christians.  Here below, is in part, a 10 point checklist to help you when taking action or when making a decision.  The full 34 point checklist can be found here:   https://www.biblebelievers.com/Checklist.html

   THE CHRISTIAN’S CHECKLIST (the first 10 of 34 checks you can use in your life)

1. Is it right? 

2. Will this bring me near some temptation? 

3. Does this give place to the devil? 

4. Is there anything in scripture contrary to it? 

5. Am I trusting God or depending in my own strength? 

6. Is it doubtful? 

7. Will it cause someone to stumble? 

8. Does it appear evil to anyone? 

9. Would the Lord Jesus Christ do this? 

10. Will it please God? 

And of course… if you are still unsure… Have you prayed and asked God to give you guidance?

 

Blessings,

Terry MacDonald

 

Welcome to 1st Christian Flight Ministry Blog

As I am sure you will see we are in the process of setting up out first website.    We use flight simulator software and hardware to teach people the basics of flying, while also inviting them into having a relationship with Jesus.  The pilots associated with our ministry all have discovered the amazing similarities in life in being a successful pilot and being a follower of Jesus.

Our small group is non denominational, non-political, and operates on a not-for-profit basis.

At the same time we are definitely looking for additional resources (human, technical, and financial).   If you or anyone you know is interested in working with us or supporting our work in some way please use the contact button to reach us either by email or if you prefer by telephone.

Blessings,

Terry MacDonald