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Woods to be missionary pilot
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 1977
Page 3
WILDERNESS SPORT
[ By TOUMONAVA MULLINS
Battalion Staff
jThis summer while most people
re playing tennis, camping and
Bsiting the tourist spots. Dr. Calvin
pods will spend his vacation serv-
: a missionary pilot in the trou-
lled nation of Zaire.
Woods, 47, is professor of civil
ngineering at Texas A&M Univer-
Jty. He said his home base,
ananga, Zaire, is a shantytown of
0,000 people.
I Peering over his silver-rimmed
leading glasses, he sketched a map
f Africa.
“Kananga is located 450 miles
Joutheast of Kinshasa, the capital,
Ind is approximately 300 miles
lorth of the war zone,” Woods said.
“In the surrounding river valley
[rea 50 to 60 miles wide and 200
piles long, are scattered clinics,
pools, hospitals and missionaries.
"Sometimes, one or two couples
hay live in a remote area. There are
roads and the only way to get
applies or to leave in an emergency
sby air.
“My job is to transport patients,
binisters, fuel, food, medical
applies, gasoline, oil—everything
|iey get,” Woods said.
His sponsor, the Presbyterian
thurch in the U.S., usually sends
hissionaries on three- to five-year
|ssignments, he said.
“But this was an emergency,” he
xplained. “The pilot there now is
aving for another assignment and
replacement won’t arrive until
^ugust.
“I had inquired a year ago about
Ihort-term assignments so they
jsked me if I would go. I thought it
[vould be interesting and kind of
n.”
Neither Woods’ wife, Jeannette,
ir their sons, Bruce and Douglas,
II accompany him to Zaire.
There is no salary for the job,
'oods said.
“I’ll get a round trip airline ticket
d room and board while there—
|nd they wish me luck,” he said
th a hearty laugh.
Woods will live three miles from
Battalion photo by Toumonava Mullins
Dr. Calvin Woods
the Kananga airport in a furnished
stucco house.
“The house has a water heater,
shower, stove—and running water,
which most houses don’t have,” he
said. “But you have to carry the
water to the house by truck and
pump it into a tank on the roof to
have the running water.”
He said he will also have a van for
transporting supplies to the
airplane.
Woods will fly a Cessna 185 six-
place conventional gear aircraft,
with no copilot.
“The minimum requirement is
that I be a commercial pilot with in
strument rating—which means I
can fly through clouds by reference
to instruments only,” Woods ex
plained.
“And they need someone who can
fly in and out of short, rough fields.
Some runways are 1,100 feet—just
long enough for the aircraft,” he
said, adding that runways are ap
proximately 5,000 feet at Easter-
wood Airport in College Station.
“The aircraft not only provides
transportation, but also is a vital link
in the communications network,”
Woods said. “The missionaries have
their own radio network to conduct
business and, to a certain extent, for
their protection. With the threat of
a possible war, they wouldn’t want
to be without aircraft.”
As a professional engineer, Dr.
Woods will also help design and
build a hydroelectric plant to supply
electricity for a hospital. He said he
will also design the foundation and
&M scientists study
island’s environment
Texas A&M University’s airborne
dentists of the Remote Sensing
enter will spend this year and part
pf next on an environmental study
if Galveston Island.
Local government officials must
n devise a usable and coherent
land use plan which reconciles con-
icting pressures from developers,
ommercial fishermen and
nvironmentalists.
The purpose of Texas A&M’s
iroject is to provide them with the
nvironmental documentation
ceded to guide the future de-
elopment of Galveston Island,”
A. R. Benton, project head,
|said.
He explained how a barrier island
|such as Galveston works.
“Dunes on the ocean side give a
|natural protection to the land from
Istorms while on the opposite side of
Jsuch an island are marshes that
(provide a prime fisheries produc-
(tion habitat, ” Dr. Benton said.
The city is currently in an awk-
(ward position. Commercial de-
jvelopers are anxious to build on the
(marsh and dune areas in the south-
(western half of the island. Strong
(opposition comes from
(environmentalists and shrimpers
(who view this prospect as conducive
(to further degredation of that
(environmentally sensitive area.
structure for a public health center
and assist with plans for public
water supplies.
What about the language barrier?
“French is the spoken language,
and normally, this is taught during
the training for missionaries who
stay three to five years,” Woods ex
plained.
“I’ve had no French, but I bought
a verb wheel, French book and dic
tionary and am studying,” he said.
“Fortunately, the international lan
guage for aviation for flight control
lers and pilots is English.”
Woods said he has been told that
in Kananga the pace is slow.
“And there’s a good, friendly rela
tionship between missionaries and
those who live there,” he said.
“However, the town has quite a bit
of crime. ”
They also claim I should lose
weight and I’m counting on it,” said
the tall 200-pounder. “Every three
or four months they get food by rail
from South Africa. I imagine I’ll get
some American food supplemented
with African food.
“They do eat a lot of mannioc—
like tapioca—and I love tapioca!” he
added.
“I plan to keep a good diary while
there, and maybe write an article
when I return,” Woods said
enthusiastically. “It should be an in
teresting experience. I will be look
ing and observing.”
H e leaned back in his chair
thoughtfully and crossed his hands
over his stomach, his tiny glasses
resting on the end of his nose.
“It’s a unique opportunity to see
an entire operation from top to
bottom—a new culture I’ve never
seen before. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot
and I’ll be a member of a team con
tributing,” he said earnestly.
Woods said he will also do a series
of photographs for recruiting pur
poses for the Presbyterian Church
in the U.S.
And what will he take with him?
“My maps for flying, compass,
some engineering books, tooth
brush, razor and casual clothes,” he
said.
“When Zaire became an inde
pendent nation they passed a law
that no African would wear a
necktie—to indicate they would roll
up their sleeves and build their
country,” he related.
Woods said he will arrive in
Kananga during the dry season.
“It should be hot like El Paso, but
more humid like College Station,”
he said, adding that Kananga lies
just below the equator.
Woods said he has already had
shots for cholera, yellow fever,
tetanus and smallpox, and has
passed his flight physical.
Has he any fears at all?
“None,” he said emphatically. “If
they can live there, I can.
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