BASEL / May 27, 2019 – Jet Aviation has recently supported the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) of Switzerland in bringing one of its decommissioned hydroplanes – a Cessna 185 – to exhibit at the Transport Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland. The historic MAF aircraft was assembled and installed pro bono by 10 apprentices working at Jet Aviation’s MRO and Completions Center in Basel. It is now on display as part of the museum’s Swiss Flight II exhibition, which opened on April 16, 2019.
As an international, humanitarian, relief and development organization, the MAF employs its aircraft and crews to provide help such as medical care and disaster relief to people living in some of the most remote places around the world. In support of their efforts, Jet Aviation agreed to let its apprentices do the reassembly and installation of a decommissioned Cessna 185 (PK-MCB) hydroplane belonging to the MAF of Switzerland at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Jet apprentices first worked with MAF personnel at the company’s Maintenance and Completions facility in Basel to help assemble and restore the aircraft, readying it for display as part of the Swiss Flight II ( Die Schweiz fliegt weiter ) exhibition at the Transport Museum. The apprentices then transported the disassembled aircraft to the museum, where they then re-assembled and installed the aircraft on the museum’s floating platform.
“It was really cool to work with the other apprentices on this project and put what we’ve learned into practice on such an old aircraft,” said Jannick Glaser, 3rd year Polymechanic Apprentice in Basel. “I couldn’t help but think of all that this Cessna has seen and done over the years and I’m quite proud to be a part of that history.”
The MAF’s Cessna 185 flew for 48 years, logging more than 23,000 hours for humanitarian missions in hard-to-reach areas of Borneo — today’s Kalimantan in Indonesia. It was disassembled and shipped to Europe in a container, arriving in Basel in early March.
Lukas Dill, Director Quality & Aviation Security Basel and former MAF pilot, said, “It’s not common for apprentices to have the opportunity to work on small propeller aircraft. Coupled with the hydroplane’s humanitarian mission history, the experience really provides our young talent great insight to another fascinating field of the aviation industry.”
Dirk Sapatka, General Manager Basel, added, “We are pleased to contribute to the success of this cooperation between the MAF of Switzerland and the Swiss Transport Museum. It offered an exciting learning opportunity for our apprentices, while demonstrating one of the many ways aviation benefits society.”
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) was founded by veterans shortly after World War II, with the aim of contributing to peace. Today, nearly 75 years later, 128 MAF aircraft are stationed across 26 countries to assist people in need. MAF Switzerland belongs to the leadership consortium of 16 member countries under the International non-profit organization. There are currently 23 pilots and aircraft mechanics from Switzerland who work for the MAF on an international basis.
