Cutting for Clearance

By Michaela Riley

Pilots recently spent a day cutting back the tree line from the sides of our 1,200-foot-long special procedures grass airstrip at JAARS.

During the annual inspection of the airstrip, they discovered that the wider wingspan of the Pilatus Porter PC-6 recently added to the JAARS training fleet required additional clearance on the runway to meet minimum requirements.

Many of the airstrips that missionary pilots encounter overseas, such as those in mountainous terrain, fall into the special procedures category. Normal aircraft procedures for landing and take-off can’t be used on runways like this, because of their short length or other obstacles. Being able to practice special procedures makes this airstrip an important training tool for missionary pilots, especially during orientation.