80th Anniversary of Missionary Aviation

The Historic Flight of Betty Greene That Changed Missions Forever

By: Chuck McConkey

This year marks a major milestone: the 80th anniversary of the first recorded missionary aviation flight in February 1946. Lest we forget our heritage, it is essential to look back at the historic event that paved the way for modern missionary aviation and forged a legendary partnership that forever transformed how we reach isolated communities with hope and help.

The Historic Flight to Chiapas

The history of modern missionary aviation began with a flight to the Wycliffe Bible Translators Jungle Camp in Chiapas, Mexico. This landmark trip established a historic partnership between Wycliffe Bible Translators and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).

In February 1946, Elizabeth Everts Greene—known throughout her life both personally and professionally by her nickname “Betty”—flew a red Waco biplane from Southern California to Mexico City on MAF’s first-ever official missionary flight. Betty was no novice aviator; during World War II, as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), she served as a copilot on B-17 test flights at altitudes of 25,000 to 30,000 feet at Wright Field (before it became Wright-Patterson AFB), testing oxygen and high-altitude equipment.

Upon arriving in Mexico City, Betty connected with Wycliffe and Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) founder William Cameron “Uncle Cam” Townsend. Townsend requested that Greene fly him deep into the southern state of Chiapas to visit Wycliffe’s remote Jungle Camp near Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The camp served as a wilderness training base designed to prepare young linguists and missionary recruits to live in challenging jungle environments.

Drama in the Skies of Mexico

The journey to the camp nearly ended in disaster. After refueling at the village of Minatitlán, Greene flew straight into a tropical rainstorm. As she turned back to escape the severe weather, the biplane’s engine suddenly died in mid-air.

Drawing on her expert military pilot training, Betty remained calm, switched fuel tanks, successfully restarted the engine, and made a safe landing back in Minatitlán. She later discovered that the fuel tank she had been using contained water contamination. Unfazed, she successfully completed the flight to Tuxtla Gutiérrez the very next morning.

A Logistics Revolution

Prior to this flight, reaching the Jungle Camp or the isolated tribal communities required an arduous 10-day trek on foot through dense, unforgiving rainforest. Betty Greene’s flight proved that an aircraft could cover that exact same distance in less than two hours.

This single historic trip solidified Townsend’s vision for technical aviation support in missions, directly leading him to initiate the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS) in 1948. Unofficially, Uncle Cam considered Betty to be the very first pilot of JAARS as well. The partnership pioneered at the Mexican Jungle Camp revolutionized remote travel for missionaries around the globe.

Personal Memories of a Legacy

My motivation to research and share this story comes from a deeply personal blessing. In the summer of 1969, after my first year at Moody Bible Institute, I served as a guest helper at the MAF headquarters in Fullerton, California, where I had the privilege of getting to know Betty. Later, while at JAARS in Waxhaw, North Carolina, my wife and I lived in an apartment in the backyard of Uncle Cam Townsend and got to know him very well.

It remains a profound honor to have known and worked alongside both of these faith pioneers. As we commemorate this 80th anniversary, their courage and vision continue to inspire us to clear new pathways to the most isolated places on Earth.