Stores

I continue to work about 50% in the store (goods, spare parts warehouse). The team leader is currently on vacation for 4 weeks and I am his substitute. I am also training a new store employee. Little by little we can implement small improvement steps. It takes patience to motivate the whole team. Furthermore, I can pass on my knowledge and conduct short training sessions with the team.

Maintenance Control

The Maintenance Controller is responsible for the airworthiness of the MAF aircraft fleet in PNG. He is responsible for ensuring that the aircraft are maintained in accordance with regulations, that the aircraft documentation is always up to date and that all rules of the aviation office are adhered to. I currently work about 50% with the Maintenance Controller to learn his trade. The goal is to be able to take over his representation. In the meantime I have already completed 1 week of substitution and have successfully completed the official Maintenance Control Course of the PNG Aviation Office.

New Year's Eve

Fondue with Australian cheese and homemade bread. The fondue turned out amazingly well and was almost as good as at home. The cheese, mostly imported from Australia, is quite acceptable and doesn't make me miss Swiss cheese that much. Here in Hagen in the big grocery stores you can get a good range from tasty to soft, Gorgonzola and Feta. However, at least at Swiss prices, or even a bit more expensive. 😏

First bike tour

Together with two other MAF employees I finally made my first bike tour here in PNG. On all roads, except the main national roads, you need a mountain bike here. As a white man on a MTB, you attract the same attention on the road as if you were riding in the Tour de Suisse in Switzerland. 😃 Every 5 meters you are greeted euphorically. You always have to have enough breath to greet back friendly.

Cover picture

When a MAF pilot at Kundiawa in Chimbu Province was testing her aircraft before takeoff, she noticed that the flight controls were a little harder to operate than usual. It was decided to fly a engineering team there to evaluate the problem on site and hopefully repair it. I was part of this team. For me it was an exciting change to be able to do some mechanical work. After a few hours of searching, we found the problem and were able to repair it on site.

Trip to the countryside

One weekend we drove with two cars out to the countryside. About 1,5h drive outside of Mt. Hagen is a lodge which is known for the fact that one can observe many bird species in the direct environment. This was not promised too much. It was exciting to be able to observe the many different exotic bird species.

Cleaning out

All those containers in the picture are filled to the brim with every kind of material, parts and binders full of papers. Stores and two other teams stored stuff in container number 7. One Friday we cleared out all the contents into the space. All the teams involved went through their stuff and threw away everything that was no longer needed. We found expensive water filters that had already been declared lost and old souvenirs that will be kept as mementos. Most of it, however, was distributed or thrown away. At the end the container was only one third full. All in all a successful day.