Aerokurier

Our good friend Jörg Adam first came to Papua for the diving (Max Ammer / Papua Diving). In later years Jörg developed into one of the Europe's top aircraft photographers. At one occasion when Jörg visited to make a story on the Super Drifter (pls. click the picture to see the file) Max convinced him to do a second one on mission flying. The result were two TOP stories that both got the title page in the Aerokurier which is Germany's largest aviation magazine besides Europe largest aviation publication:

Here below some pictures to show how the mission title page picture was made:

A not yet published photo series was on Helimission (now Helivida)

Mission flying is spectacular in many ways. It's about helping people. Traveling in the interior of Papua is hard work, the nature is extremely beautiful but there is for the most part no level ground. During a recent flight with my friend and brother Geerten I asked the Papuan men that were on the flight if they were perhaps government officials so their flights were paid for. They told me they were not, just farmers going into town for supplies. So I asked them if the ticket was expensive for them which they confirmed. It is important that while the ticket was the equivalent of US$ 35 and might seem little to us these people only make around US$ 120 - 250 a month and a lot of people have no way to get cash as people still trade and have shell money.

So I asked them what they did before there was a flight connection. They replied they would walk the distance. When I asked them how long the 10 - 15 minute flight we were on would take what going the old way (walking) the answer was 4 weeks each way!