Current Project Updates

Papua New Guinea KODIAK Aircraft

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a land of jungles, high mountains, and many small islands. About 80 percent of Bible translators in Papua New Guinea must travel to and from their remote village translation locations by airplane. There are more than one hundred translation projects making good progress, yet there remain at least 340 language groups with not one verse of Scripture written in their language.

These translators have been well-served by a fleet of small Cessna 206s, which require avgas—now very expensive and in diminishing supply. In fact, some major suppliers have already run out of avgas! Wycliffe Associates is committed to helping provide the Bible translators with the new KODIAK airplane before the Cessna 206s are grounded for lack of fuel. The KODIAK, using readily available, less expensive jet fuel, has a large cargo capacity, can take off and land on very short airstrips, and can climb quickly at takeoff in extremely mountainous terrain.

A Work in Progress

Thanks to gifts from faithful supporters, three of four KODIAK airplanes slotted for PNG have now been delivered.

These airplanes are actually some of the first KODIAKS to be used specifically for mission aviation.

KODIAK #3 was delivered to PNG in the fall of 2011. This KODIAK has a three-bay cargo “pod” with a 750-pound capacity which allows room for more passengers in the cabin. The first two KODIAKS will also be upgraded with these new pods.

Today 7,000 speakers of the Yopno language, living in a remote mountain range in the Morobe province of PNG, know the value of the KODIAK and God’s message of love. Last summer one of the KODIAKS, loaded with cases of Yopno New Testaments, landed on the rough airstrip hewn out of the mountain at around 7,000 feet, where nearby mountains peak at 12,000 feet.

Indeed, the KODIAK is the perfect plane for translators working in the remote, inaccessible areas of PNG to bring God's Word to people just waiting to hear Him speak in their heart language.

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