Mission Aviation Fellowship

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is a Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indigenous villagers in the world's most remote areas. There are three major operational centers – Nampa, Idaho, USA, Ashford, United Kingdom, and Cairns, Australia. These centres provide operational support to programs in the Americas, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. In 2010, MAF served in more than 55 countries, flying 201,710 passengers with a fleet of some 130 aircraft.

MAF began with several World War II pilots who had a vision for how aviation could be used to spread the Christian faith. After the War, Jim Truxton of the U.S., Murray Kendon in the United Kingdom, and Edwin Hartwig of Australia, with the support of like-minded Christians, founded missionary aviation agencies in their respective countries.

The U.S. organization was the first to take to the air, under the name Christian Airmen’s Missionary Fellowship (CAMF), later known as Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). In 1946, pilot Betty Greene flew the first MAF aircraft on its inaugural flight, transporting two missionaries of Wycliffe Bible Translators to a remote jungle location in Mexico. In addition to Truxton and Greene, other early members of CAMF include Charlie Mellis, Nate Saint, Larry Montgomery, Grady Parrott, George Fisk, Clarence Soderberg, and Jim Buyers. The earliest MAF fields of service were Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. Over the years, the organization expanded to serve many countries of Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Eurasia.

In the U.K., Missionary Aviation Fellowship was initially organized as a wing of the Mildmay Movement (a Christian outreach organization), though it later became an independent organization. Murray Kendon was instrumental in the agency’s founding, as were Jack Hemmings, Stuart King, and Tom Banham. MAF-UK conducted a survey of Central Africa in 1948, followed by service in Sudan in 1950. In subsequent years, the U.K. organization expanded service to other African countries.

The organizational meeting for an Australian MAF (AMAF) organization was held on June 30, 1947. Early members included Edwin “Harry” Hartwig, Leonard Buck, John Nimmo, Bruce Morton and Ken Cooper. After the purchase of a de Havilland Tiger Moth aircraft in 1949, Hartwig and Alex Friend undertook a survey of northern Australia. Hartwig then completed a needs assessment survey in New Guinea. In 1951 Hartwig, along with Bob and Betty Hutchins of MAF-US, established service in New Guinea, based at Madang. On August 6, 1951, Hartwig was killed when his aircraft crashed in the Asaroka Pass in the Central New Guinea Highlands. In the years following, work in Papua New Guinea and Dutch New Guinea (later called Irian Jaya, now Papua, Indonesia) continued through the joint efforts of the Australian and U.S. MAF organizations. Later, AMAF established service in central and north Australia (Arnhem Land), Borneo, and Bougainville.

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