More from Idaho

Here's my attempt to give a bit of an update on our family - via pictures.  Summer seems to stretch out down here, we have to remind our selves that we're half way through September as we've barely seen a day below 30 degrees C!  God is gracious to give us a bit of an "adjustment" period before we moved to Indonesia, especially with little kids acclimatized to Prince George weather. I find it so funny when people down here talk about how "It's nice up here in Idaho but the cold in the winter takes a bit getting used to."  Hilarious...

Last weekend we drove north of Boise about 1.5 hrs north to a little town called Garden Valley to a Ride to Fly event MAF was participating in. As you go north from Boise you gain elevation and get into the trees, very nice!

 Luke's favourite bike...

 Simons' favourite bike...3 wheels definitely does say Simon.

 Since there were no pink bikes, Helena didn't pick a favourite...And since there were no scooters, Amy didn't have a favourite bike. That'll change in Indonesia!

Folks enjoying food and tunes (if you couldn't figure that out). The grass airstrip is just behind the building.

 A not-so-centered picture of one of MAF's three training aircraft landing at the grass strip. These are the aircraft we do a fair amount of maintenance on during standardization, and pilots (in training) with instructors use to fly into (and out of) all sorts of wacky air strips around the Idaho / East Oregon area. 

These little ol' Cessna's actually have quite a few modifications to them that MAF installs...Notice the seat Helena is sitting on has a "S" shape to the support. This design was developed to allow the seat to collapse on impact to cushion the passenger. Believe it or not, this could be the difference between a sore bum and a broken back (in aviation these things are always learned by experience). The seat rails you see (where the seats attach to the plane) are also a mod. They are more robust than the standard seat rails and allow for easier tie down of cargo. Other options MAF install as standard on the 206 include STOL kits on the wings (allow for shorter landings & take offs), Flint tip tanks (wing tip extensions that actually double as extra fuel tanks), larger tires (for gravel / grass strips), V-brace at windshield (standard on float planes to stiffen the front structure...MAF puts them on all their 206's), and cargo pods. I think there's a few more too that I'm forgetting.