“It is always in season for old men to learn.” - Aeschylus

Beautiful Lake Sentani- with many WWII aircraft in the bottom

Wednesday.  If you get the impression that professional pilots are always learning, you are right.  I have been a rated pilot for 25 years and the process of evaluation and instruction has never stopped.  Today is not my day for evaluation however, it is Phil’s.  Every 6 months MAF pilots undergo a “proficiency check”.  Today, Phil needs to complete the instrument flying check portion and Program Manager and Instructor Pilot Doug has a plan to complete it locally.  Sentani is normally a very busy place with airliners arriving from distant cities and local flights arriving from the interior airstrips.  When all of these aircraft converge on Sentani’s things get busy, add a little weather and things begin to get very interesting as well.  With no precision approach into Sentani, the holding patterns can get pretty full with traffic waiting to get in to land.

Today, however, it is crystal clear and beautiful and this time of day the traffic is light.  From the passenger seat behind Doug, I watch Phil fulfill the requirements of the Proficiency Check with slowflight, steep turns, unusual attitudes and an instrument approach to landing.





 

The remote beaches and blue waters look inviting



As Phil works, I cannot help but be amazed at the beauty of this area, with picturesque Lake Sentani and miles of unspoiled white beaches lapped by beautiful blue waters.