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| By Carmelo Turdo |
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| Manos de Compasion |
Caring
for over fifty foster children in southwest Guatemala is a challenging, and very
rewarding, mission fulfilled daily with love by the Manos de Compasion (Hands
of Compassion) children’s home ministry. Nestled within the wooded landscape
near the Bay of Santiago Atitlan and between two volcanoes, the Manos de Compasion
property includes five houses, a school, gardens, livestock and…an airstrip.
And now, a newly-arrived airplane. That airplane, and the support of missions
aviation, has united members of the St. Louis, MO aviation community to the
work of Manos de Compasion.
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| Tom Stukenberg, Mynor and Dave Reichard |
The
airplane, a twin-engine Piper Geronimo, arrived at the Manos de Compasion
airstrip on February 27 after a layover in Guatemala City since leaving St.
Louis three weeks earlier. But that was the shortest portion of the journey.
This aircraft has been working its way from the Louisiana/Arkansas border to Big
River Aviation in the St. Louis, MO area during a nearly two-year restoration
process culminating in the delivery flight to Guatemala last week. More of this
story, and the work of the Manos de Compasion ministry, will unfold in Parts
Two, Three and Four of this series.
The
current Director of Manos de Compasion, Dave Reichard, and the former Director
and Dave’s father-in-law, Tom Stukenberg, visited Big River Aviation at St.
Louis Downtown Airport several times between November 2019 and February 2, 2020
as the aircraft was nearing completion. They participated in evaluation flights
following the most recent aircraft updates and assisted in trouble-shooting
some stubborn mechanical and electrical issues.
“We
ended up here in St. Louis through a chain of references, actually starting in Guatemala
with some other bush pilots down there,” Dave Reichard told The Aero Experience. “The big issue was
that the plane we had purchased was in the middle of nowhere, and we didn’t
know any mechanics down there. Luckily, Paul Voorhees at Big River Aviation
decided that he would take on the challenge and head down there. Then we flew
it up here, my father-in-law and Nick Turk with Turk Aviation. Then the work
started here…”  |
| (Paul Voorhees photo) |
Paul
Voorhees describes the situation after arriving to inspect the aircraft. “The
airplane was gutted from nose to tail. Everything in the nose compartment, all
the air ducting going to the heater. The nose gear was not even connected. The
steering was all disconnected. All the electrical had been removed out of the
nose and was all just piled up around this hangar. It had no electricity…It
took six trips.”
“The
plane will help us as a ministry," Reichard continued. “My father-in-law had a
plane down there years ago, and it worked wonderfully. It was a great help…God
ended up providing for a plane, we found a plane, and now it’s finally fixed
and we’re excited to use it again. This isn’t new for this ministry, having a
plane. We’ve used it before, and it was very advantageous.”
The
nature of the children’s home lends itself to the use of an aircraft to support
the frequent logistical needs of the ministry. “Court hearings are a big part
of why we have to transport the kids,” Reichard said. “Each child has court hearings.
You’re constantly going to where they’re from, whether it be Guatemala City,
sometimes we have to fly north to Quiche, and there are other towns all over
Guatemala that we have to fly to, or drive to, to do these court hearings for
these kids.” The roads are often affected by weather (flooding and avalanches),
and there are criminal elements with which to contend. Flying from their own
airstrip to these destinations saves time and avoids ground-based dangers.
“There,
flying saves us weeks of our lives,” Reichard told The Aero Experience during a
break in the work at the Big River Aviation hangar. “We calculated that if we only flew to Guatemala City once a week for a year, we would save about sixteen days of travel time. The
plane helps us spend more time with these kids preparing them and helping them
for their future.”
Tom
Stukenberg agreed, having flown a similar type of aircraft in previous years. “It’s a real time saver. There are little
tiendas [stores] that are not able to supply for fifty kids between the
different houses. We have to buy all the groceries…There’s a Price Mart in the
city, it’s like a Sam’s Club or Costco, and we buy the stuff there that we can
along with the local vegetables from the market...That’s where the airplane really
comes in handy.”
Upon the aircraft's arrival in Guatemala, Paul Voorhees of Big River Aviation wrote this on his
Facebook page: “Mission accomplished! Thanks to all that helped get this ready
for service. Steve Long, Kevin Hammon, Nicholas Turk, Wayde Spenner, Brandon
Schnicker, Mike Read, Nelson Miller, Trinity Propeller, Wings Of Hope and
anyone else that helped the Big River Aviation team! I look forward to helping
Dave Reichard and Tom and Susan Stukenberg keep this plane in service!” We will
include many of these contributors in the next several parts of this series.
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| (L-R) Dave Reichard, Steve Long, Nick Turk (Nick Turk photo) |
Nick
Turk, of Turk Aviation added, “Steve Long’s One Spirit Engineering, and Paul
Voorhees’ Big River Aviation, spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of man
hours on the Geronimo project. Many of the systems on this 60 year old plane
were checked, repaired or overhauled. Engines were tuned and operated after
years of neglect…The panel was rebuilt by Steve Long, avionics repaired, ADS-B
installed, circuit breakers replaced fuses, state of the art engine analyzers
discounted from Electronics International were installed adding a nice digital
touch to the panel. After a few flights the radio stopped malfunctioning, fuses
stopped popping, engines kept running, and the heater worked.”
All
told, returning the aircraft to service for the Manos de Compasion children’s
home was a significant achievement for all involved. The Aero Experience was privileged to cover the process from the
St. Louis area over the last year, and we will provide detailed coverage in the
next three editions that we will post over the next week. We thank Big River
Aviation, Manos de Compasion and all involved with this aircraft restoration
and its return to service in the mission field. Check back frequently for the next three parts of this amazing story!
We hope that you will support the great work of Manos de Compasion by contributing directly to their ministry. Please consider visiting their website and making a generous donation to support their work as a foster family to these beautiful and wonderful children!
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