Airplanes

Saturday I went out to look at an airplane for sale. It was a Cessna 140, which is an older airplane, but was, and still is, a great trainer airplane. One of the best advantages is it is very inexpensive to purchase and very inexpensive to operate and maintain.

I had only done research on the airplane online and other articles about it, but hadn't really seen one in person, so I took the opportunity of a local guy who has one for sale to go check it out. It really is what I expected! He was a CFI as well and has done considerable training in the airplane and had good things to say about it for that purpose. Even though it is small, I was able to get in it and be comfortable. His had received an offer on the airplane the night before, and it wasn't equipped with instruments the way I am looking for, so I really wasn't considering that particular airplane, but it was great to see it up close and talk to a guy who had owned one for awhile.

I did find another option for an airplane in Clearwater, though, and if it is still available when we make it down to Florida in two weeks, I will take a look at that one. It is the later model of that kind and has the perfect instrumentation setup, so it is high on the prospect list. Asking price is $24,900. Plus, being close to us, it would be easy to do the inspections and purchase transactions.

Some of the advantages of purchasing the airplane sooner, rather than later, is that I will be able to use it for instruction here, before going to Ecuador. That will give me a chance to really get to know it and do some work on it here. I will be able to get to know the airplane really well, and have a much better idea of what to expect as far as needing parts and expected maintenance once reaching Ecuador.

One of the things God is teaching us is reliance on him. We have seen his hand in all that we have gone through, and his provision at just the right time. One of the verses that I read recently and I think will be a theme for all that we are doing is Proverbs 16:3, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." We are committing to him these plans we have and we want you to watch with us how God provides for it to happen.

In some aspects, it may seem we are doing things a little backwards. We don't have any of the funds yet for the airplane purchase or to get it to Ecuador, but the way God has worked in our lives is that we obey him first, head in the direction he has called, and he will provide at just the right time. So I am busy trying to find the right airplane and make all the other necessary arrangements and then we will wait on him.

One of the things I need to do is to find a way to put the information about our venture on a website. I have seen other people do what I want using blogspot or wordpress, but I don't know how to set those pages up like a traditional website. If you know how to do that, please let me know, so I can get that going. I am afraid the information coming from this blog alone is a little fragmented so I want a place I can consolidate the information.

Above is the picture of the airplane in Clearwater that is for sale. Please join us in prayer that God will show us if that is the right one, and that he will provide for the purchase.