Dave Turley's Republic of Georgia Web Site

Life and Aviation in the World of Post-Soviet Eastern Europe
 
A Panoramic View of the city of Tbisili

David Turley, Air Serv International Pilot for the World Food Program
Located in Tbisili, Former Republic of Georgia

Gamarjoba, and welcome to Tbisili, Georgia.  This is a beautiful country, which has suffered greatly from the conflicts which followed the end of the Soviet era of  political control of Eastern Europe.  Although rich in culture, education, agriculture, and natural resources, the economy of Georgia has been in a downward spiral since the early part of this decade, due to a large number of factors.
 
 

 
World Food Program, a department of the United Nations, is working to restore the functionality of the systems that work to produce, transport, and distribute food resources.

WFP has had three major thrusts: 


This work has been supported through the use of a dedicated air transport department, utilizing a King Air 200.  The aircraft is maintained, managed and staffed by Air Serv International, a non-profit organization whose purpose it is to support and assist the process of Relief and Development activities in developing or recovering nations.  Air Serv has been in existence since 1985 and has flown millions of passenger seat miles in "challenging" environments (like war-torn countries, bush airstrips, no weather reporting, no or unreliable navaids (before GPS), poor charts, land mines- you get the idea).  Since 1985 (as of December, 1996) nearly 334,000 passengers have ridden on 116,000 Air Serv flights, all without a single serious passenger injury or fatality. (I slipped and fell out the cargo door of a Twin Otter once (on the ground, mind you) and hurt my pride VERY BADLY, but nobody seemed to want to record that in the statistics!)   If you could see some of the places we've flown in and out of you would wonder how this perfect safety record has been possible.  I believe it is due in great part to high expectations and standards. Air Serv looks for experienced pilots with a high regard for safety, maintains high standards for aircraft maintenance and pilot checkout and re-currency training, and backs its staff 100% when the pilot says "I don't like the looks of  "_____" --- I think we should delay or cancel this flight".  Air Serv teams new staff with experienced field crews, has a very extensive checkout system, and has the track record to prove that maintaining high standards and expectations works well in this demanding environment.

OK, sorry for sounding like a paid advertisement for Air Serv, (which it is not, even though I asked!)  but in my humble opinion this is a First Class aviation organization.  ASI gives the most reliable air transport possible in the most challenging arenas of the world.  It also has been a tremendous learning experience for me personally and professionally !

                                                

OK, so you want to see some pictures of this challenging place that I call home now?  The following are pages representing "Life Here" in its different, challenging, and sometimes humorous capacities.  After viewing each page you can press the "Back" button on your browser, or click the "Next Page" link at the bottom of each page to jump directly to the next one.

Home life: Simple yet Satisfying
Driving: a Study in Repressed Anger (Not Mine)
Staying Warm: In the Heat "of the Moment"
Tbisili Airport
Electricity Wars: "Wire" we in the dark again?
The Mountains
The Market
My New Apartment
ParaSailing or How to Walk Funny for Weeks 
Russian Jets and High Winds - "Tips for Travel"
Ancient Cities and Monasteries in the CIS 
 
 

Gordon Wall, AirServ's program manager, also has a (new) web page with more pictures from Tbisili! Press Here
 If you want to know more about ASI (or if you are interested in a trip to a far off and interesting place for a year or two) you can check out their Web Sit at  http://airserv.org/

  Press Here to Email Dave!  (dturley@geocities.com)
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