Several Christian pilots in WWII saw the potential of using small aircraft to help Missionaries who were working in remote areas, struggling with either difficult terrrain or distances and the logistics of supporting their pioneering efforts. Among them were some Kiwis.

1944   Kiwis Murray Kendon & Trevor Strong, World War II pilots, propose using aircraft to aid mission work  

1945   A group of war veterans in Melbourne, Australia meet with a vision for using aircraft to support Christian Missions. A similar group: Christian Airman's Missionary Fellowship is started in USA.

1946   The first aircraft from the UK flies to Africa to survey Nigeria and the Sudan for missions support.

1946   Betty Greene flies a 1933 Waco biplane: 4 seat, 220hp, from California to Mexico with 2 Wycliffe Bible Translators as MAF's first flight.

1947   The name of Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is adopted by the US and Australian groups. 

1951   First Aircraft in PNG - Auster Autocar: 4 seats, 130kph. Three months later the Auster crashed due to bad weather, killing pilot Harry Hartwig. After years of praying and planning and less than four months after commencing operations in PNG, the program was closed. It reopened again in 1952 and has continued meeting the physical and spiritual needs of church, mission and remote communities in Papua New Guinea.

1955   The C170 is introduced to PNG: 4 seats 165 kph 

1956   Nate Saint, an MAF US pilot, is martyred along with 4 other missionaries Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, and Ed McCully by Auca Indians, Ecuador. Seven of the nine killers and many others from the tribe eventually came to Christ. Tens of thousands of people around the world heard the story and volunteered to take their place.

1959   MAF NZ established as an Incorporated Society. 

The first Indonesian national missionaries are flown. They witness for three days and 1,000 tribespeople commit their lives to Christ.

1950s  For countless missionaries, the shortwave radios installed and serviced by MAF are the only way to communicate with the outside world.

1960   Four bases in PNG. The first C185 is introduced to PNG: 6 seats 210 kph 

1961   First NZ staff, Doug & Glenis Hunt, are sent to PNG.

An aircraft Engineering base is established in Ballarat managed by Kiwis Alex & Mollie Jardine.

          MAF introduces the Missavia transistorized radio, providing a light, low-power way to communicate over long distances.

1964   MAF conducts rescue operations in Zaire during a sequel to the Congo rebellion when many missionaries were killed or displaced.

1970   11 bases in PNG, and a C206 on floats in the Soloman Islands 

Using a plane with retractable skis, MAF launches a program in Afghanistan, which was later forced to close.

1973   Base at Elcho Island in Arnhem Land, Australia is opened, continuing the work of the Methodist Missions.

1975   Gove Base opened in Arnhem Land.

1981   MAF initiates relief flights in Ethiopia in support of famine intervention efforts.

1982   MAF starts a program in Alice Springs managing an Aboriginal Airline.

1985   Twin Otter DH-6-200 begins service in PNG: 20 seats, 300 kph 

1992   Communications and logistics support ministry initiated in Russia soon after the communist government crumbles.

1993   MAF US completes installation of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receivers on all aircraft. Using satellites, the GPS allows pinpoint location to within 50 feet anywhere in the world.

1994   Cambodia programme starts using a C206 based in Phnom Penh. Initially the aircraft was used for mine clearing, environmental protection and other Non-Government Organisation (NGO) work. Increasingly Christian relief and development and mission organisations have come to rely on MAF's service.

1998   In the wake of Hurricane Mitch, MAF conducts relief flights in Honduras.

2000   MAF flies hundreds of flights to support flood relief efforts in Mozambique after hundreds of thousands of people are left homeless.

2001   MAF launches Operation ACCESS! to identify and survey areas of the world where transportation, communications, and technology barriers prevent or impede people's access to the Gospel and to sustained resources that advance God's Kingdom. The research focuses on countries with pockets of people who are either forgotten or unreached. Such groups have little or no access to resources for spiritual nurture, or basic services to improve their quality of life.

2003   MAF-Air in Ballarat closes and the engineering Base is relocated to Mareeba Qld. HQ moved from Melbourne to Cairns. The Program in Alice Springs is closed.  

MAF US Learning Technologies publishes the Bibliologia. Complete on one CD, this pastor's reference library in Russian contains 19 Bible translations and 125 Christian books. The Bibliologia was downloaded more that 50,000 times from the Internet during its first year with more than 6,000 copies distributed initially.

2004   Introduction of the GA8 Airvan: 8 seats, 220 kph, to Arnhem Land.

2005   After the 2004 Tsunami in Aceh, MAF Australia, MAF-US and MAF-Europe locate 4 aircraft for famine relief. A GA8 Airvan is purchased to work with the C208 float plane, transporting food, medical aid and materials for rebuilding destroyed homes. When aid agencies left Indonesia a few months later, MAF was invited to stay.

MAF-International is proposed, bringing together the 19 MAF Groups into one organisation.

2006   Approval is given for restarting a program in East Timor. MAF-International is formed on 2 September

MAF releases the results of Operation Access! a landmark research project that surveyed 364 isolated areas in 64 countries.

Today, MAF is a global ministry partnership, serving the aviation needs of 31 countries.

Every three minutes, somewhere in the world, an MAF pilot and plane takes off or lands, covering more distance in six hours than David Livingstone did in his entire 28 years as a missionary in Africa.