First JAARS Day of 2009 Offers a Special Treat
The public will experience the future of mission aviation—JAARS new Kodiak airplane—at the JAARS center in Waxhaw March 7
For more information, contact:
Arthur Lightbody, APR
JAARS Media Relations Officer
1-704-843-6048
arthur_lightbody@sil.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WAXHAW, N.C. — March 3, 2009 — JAARS new Kodiak airplane arrived at JAARS Townsend Field January 10. Now visitors who attend JAARS Day March 7 can see it or purchase a ride on it before it begins its tour of cities and arrives for its mission in Papua New Guinea in August. The next stops for the Kodiak will be Lancaster, S.C., and then Atlanta and Orlando.
Traditional aviation gas, or avgas, is expensive and hard to obtain in Papua New Guinea, where access to Bibleless people throughout the country is difficult. But the Kodiak provides a solution. The Kodiak, developed by Quest Aircraft Company of Sandpoint, Idaho, is a 10-place aircraft with a turboprop engine with STOL (short take-off and landing) capability that uses readily available jet fuel and can carry a total load of 3,100 pounds.
JAARS Day is always an opportunity to see how the life-transforming work of Bible translation is done and how to become a part of it. According to JAARS, nearly 2,400 language groups around the world have no Scriptures.
Many different areas of JAARS ministry will be showcased on March 7, in addition to the introduction of the Kodiak airplane to the public. However, this Saturday the event’s focus will be on the logistical support JAARS provides to the Bible translation movement in the areas of construction and maintenance and purchasing and shipping.
The opening program begins in the Townsend Building at 9:45 a.m.
In addition to the March 7 event, JAARS will host three other JAARS Day events in 2009: on May 2, JAARS Day’s focus will be transportation (land, air and water); on August 1, the Vernacular Media Services department will be highlighted; and on October 3 information technology will be in focus.
Guests can meet representatives from every major JAARS department and see demonstrations each JAARS Day. Missionary travel can be experienced by taking the “Mission Adventure Ride,” a four-wheel drive trip through the woods followed by a brief airplane ride on the STOL Helio Courier airplane, taking off from a dirt airstrip. The "Mission Adventure Ride” and helicopter rides each cost $22, and the Kodiak ride is $20.
JAARS, staffed by members of Wycliffe Bible Translators and volunteers, provides training and worldwide coordination for technical services that speed Bible translation. Log on to www.jaars.org and www.wycliffe.org for an informative and interesting look at these two related organizations.
JAARS daily tours begin at 9:30 a.m. For reservations or more information, please call the JAARS tour office at 1-704-843-6130 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, or send an email to: tours_JAARS@sil.org.
More information on JAARS Days, daily tours, and also on the Mexico Museum and the Museum of the Alphabet, can be found on the “Get Involved” section of www.jaars.org.
There is no cost for the JAARS Day program or visiting the JAARS Museum of the Alphabet or Mexico Museum. Aircraft rides and lunches can be purchased on JAARS Day. A Voluntary Release of Rights and Waiver of Liability must be signed by all who fly (by a parent or guardian if a minor). See the JAARS Day section on www.jaars.org for a form to be signed prior to a visit if a child is not accompanied by a parent or guardian.
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