Tame Amazonia aerial social project

✈️ Exclusive Benefits for Readers

Verified codes to save on your next trip.

We go deep into the Ecuadorian Amazon, in order to learn about the Tame Amazonia project promoted by the Ecuadorian Government with the support of Tame EP, for the benefit of the Amazon community.

Tame Amazonia maintains its operating permit in force and renewed in August 2018.

The main objective of this social project is to offer air connectivity to the most remote populations of the vast Ecuadorian Amazon, with regular service, of quality and at an affordable price for all residents of the areas covered with this noble idea.

Tame Amazonia

This ambitious project was officially born more than three years ago, after the need generated by the Ecuadorian Government, which has always had as a pending issue the development of regular air transport in the most isolated areas of the Ecuadorian Amazon, where previously to reach a city like Shell Mera (a 151 kilometers from Quito) could take from 4 a 9 days, according to weather conditions, availability of river transport and the area where the trip begins.

for some years, in the same way the Government together with the FAE, makes partially regular flights to some airports or Amazon runways with the famous and reliable Twin Otter, these flights under the TAE modality (Economic Air Transport) were temporarily the solution to serve the communities, albeit in a limited way, due to the type of aircraft not all the runways could be served and the humanitarian emergencies of the Amazonians could not be solved, putting the lives of settlers at risk, those who saw limited access in an agile way to health centers, only available in major cities like Macas (a 347 kilometers from Quito). These flights are currently operational., thanks also to the social mission of the FAE and the high demand for mobility in the Amazonian sector, where not only the FAE carries out these community flights.

Other companies, in this case private, They carry out flights on request or in some way also regular flights to tracks with greater demand such as Taisha under air taxi, where its more than 18.000 inhabitants are an attraction for these companies, which operate with Cessna or Caravan aircraft, according to demand and the runway where they need to land. These services or companies are based in the main minor Amazonian airport, Shell Mera, from which more than 40 daily flights are generated to more than 200 tracks in the amazon region.

Shell Mere Airport

Technical information
Airport	pasta
Name	Shell Mera
Ability	150+
opening	1939 by Shell Oil Company
Clue	Clue 1: 1540 meters
flights	100+ diaries
Navigation facilities	BEFORE, NDB
regular passengers 2013	1.2525 estimated

In all these projects, included Amazon Tame, the idea is the transport of people and cargo, the latter as the main source, or many unique cases, of income of the Amazonian inhabitants, those who move their agricultural or fishing products to the cities for later sale in local markets.

Given the complexity of the transfer, as indicated above, of people, medical and product emergencies to and from communities, the need to generate a permanent service that benefits the entire Amazon was raised, without restrictions and on a regular basis. This is how Tame Amazonia was born, a response between the Government and Tame EP to reach the depths of the Ecuadorian jungle, flying to prepared dirt runways, grass or gravel, no matter where and always with the mission of offering the best service to the most needy people in the most remote and inaccessible corners.

How does the project?

For the beginning of the project, the incorporation of 6 new North American aircraft Quest Kodiak 100, of which 3 are already operating in the country. These aircraft comply with all the certifications and technology necessary to operate in the complex Amazonian airspace, where short tracks and adverse weather conditions that change in a matter of minutes are a constant and put the riders to the test. 4 commanders who are currently enabled in this project, based on Shell Mera and Macas.

The 3 early Quest Kodiak operate daily frequencies at at least 6 tracks, with regular schedules previously socialized and requested by the different communities as well as the destination, which, depending on the case and needs of each group, can be Macas or Shell Mera. These same communities are responsible for the construction of the tracks, under guidelines provided by the airline and by the DGAC, which supervises its construction and technical aspects such as resistance, material and dimensions. Since the project began, more than 10.000 people between the different airports and runways served weekly.

Daily flights also depend on aircraft availability, which go through a rigorous maintenance process on weekends, since the flights are only offered from Monday to Friday, in order to rest the crews and comply with the indicated maintenance. The flights are arranged very early in the morning and have a rotation on each runway of no more than 15 minutes, in order to be able to meet the tight daily schedule of flights on time, where a maximum of 45 minutes separates each runway from the main airports of Macas or Shell. When a flight is suspended, either due to weather conditions or maintenance, the communities are alerted in time thanks to the UHF communication system owned by both parties, from which precise information is transmitted to the flight commander about the weather and runway conditions. Due to the complexity of the operation, each community requires a "Flight Manager" who is responsible for transmitting and processing the list of 9 maximum number of passengers per flight to the commander and also to notify any news or additional need.

Flights having a social purpose are subsidized, so every flight, regardless of its duration and destination, for the people of the communities and medical personnel has a value of $15 US dollars who can carry up 2 children in arms or under 5 years per flight and 30 load pounds each, what benefits your economic activity. For other Ecuadorian or foreign passengers this cost increases up to $60 Dollars. These values ​​have been agreed in order to maintain a regular operation and shorten the gap as much as possible between a profitable operation under the modality of social or community flights.

Kodiak technology is state-of-the-art, which allows them to operate in the changing climate conditions of the Amazon. Equipped with Gamin G1000 navigation equipment, pilots can safely navigate hundreds of tracks in eastern Ecuador. Here is a sample of what the planes are like inside and the different navigation systems in the cockpit:

Currently, Tame Amazonia flights are developed in conjunction with the Institute for Amazon Regional Ecodevelopment – Ecorae to keep flights subsidized.

Technical information
pilots	1
passengers	9
Load	1600 kilos
Maximum speed	183 knots
Rank	1.032 nautical miles
Aircraft Tame Amazonia	HC-CPE (s/n 0090), HC-CPF (s/n 0100), HC-CPG (s/n 0103)

The Kodiak Quest 100 HC-CPF is without flying from the 5 of January of 2017 when he suffered an incident in Wachirpas, Morona-Santiago. at the time of take off, given the conditions of the track that had accumulation of water, the front axle “stuck” in a hole, causing train collapse and engine damage. It is unknown if the plane will be fixed.

We live the experience

After a car trip 5 hours traveling a little more than 150 kilometers we arrived at the flagship airport of the Amazon, from which more than 100 civil-military flights, which positions it as one of the most important airports in the country, despite its size and limited infrastructure.

At 9 In the morning the adventure began in the facilities and operations center of Tame Amazonia. The mission for the day was to fly to 3 new amazon tracks, for which the well-known inspection flights had to be carried out previously, in which the quality of the track is determined, tests are carried out and finally the community is informed about the new flights and their frequencies.

The runways assigned for reconnaissance were Ipiak, Juyukamentsa y Kapirna, the three located in the southeastern zone of Ecuador, a few kilometers from the border with Peru, province of Pastaza and Morona Santiago. The aircraft assigned for the day was the HC-CPG "hummingbird", the newest of the 3 first Kodiak. Once arranged with the mission of the day and security details, we boarded the plane, its comfort and technology were immediately noticed.

Each community is unique and its inhabitants especially friendly. In the 3 planned visits it was possible to see the hard work carried out by each one of them to have each of the tracks in the best possible condition. The care for details mark the nobleness of the project, where every inch of track is reviewed daily by the inhabitants, in order to ensure the continuity of the flights that are so important for these communities.

The first stop was in Ipiak, its dirt track with mixed parts of grass welcomed us with the community that very kindly gave us an exotic lunch and offerings in gratitude for the start of flights to this community. The flights for this community would take place on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. to Macas at the request of the community members..

our next stop, and the shortest of all, it was in Juyukamentsa, located just 3 flight minutes south of Ipiak. After a quick flight, where always before each landing the crew performs an overflight to verify the state of the runway in search of puddles of water, animals or people that could put the operation at risk and also alert the community of the arrival of the plane, so that they also help from the ground to inspect that everything is in order for the landing. your clue, the best of 3 visited, of very well compacted earth ensured the prompt start of a weekly flight to Shell Mera on Fridays at 10:00 a.m..

The last community to be visited was Kapirna, a few minutes from the border with Peru, where we were very well received with a spectacular lunch 100% Amazonian, which included the famous catfish fish, glove, madura, yucca, chinese potato and more. Its dirt track in good condition also ensured the start of flights to be carried out on Thursdays at 4:00 p.m..

The project in all its meaning shows the noblest of aviation, which is to serve the community, leaving behind a profitability that in this case is far, but that fulfills the social objective for which it was created. The passion of the pilots is highlighted in each flight, to whom we thank for their invitation and collaboration, teaching communities the benefits of flying for all, sharing with them and being part as one, looking for everyone's progress. The work of the communities, every day more adapted to current technology, thanks to their collaboration and need they make it possible for this project to stand out from any other, as the most noble project that we have been able to know until today, where the warmth of the people who make it up make it unique and worth spreading.

The whole adventure can be seen in the following video available on Youtube from the time of Tame Virtual:

✈️ Exclusive Benefits for Readers

Search here for hotels ALL over the world at the best price.