PUC Launches Adventist Aviation Mission Museum in New Facility

The Pacific Union College aviation program recently introduced the Adventist Aviation Museum in its new facility to alumni, students, faculty and staff, and community members.

Across from Fisher Hall, where the program currently houses one of its simulators and classrooms, this new facility, aside from the Virgil O. Parrett Field Airport, serves as a modern-day exhibition honoring fellow Adventist missionaries and aviation pioneers while offering ample space for students in the fast-growing program.

A preview of the museum was held during PUC’s Alumni Homecoming weekend in April 2026. Approximately 150 people attended the opening program, titled “Carrying on the Legacy: Conversations with Adventist Aviation Pioneers,” where Adventist mission pilots who had served in places such as Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Solomon Islands shared their experiences. Attendees were exposed to a broader picture of past work, with a passion for keeping the mission moving forward.

“Seventh-day Adventists have always been a people of hope,” said PUC Flight Center Director Nathan Tasker in the museum’s promotional video. “It is a hope baked into our very name– a constant, forward-looking gaze toward the blessed hope of our returning King.”

For Tasker, one of the most prominent driving forces behind the establishment of this honorary museum was to highlight the Adventist mission for service to reach incredibly remote places—first by foot, then by air. The program is in the early stages of development across the facility, with the purpose of showcasing stations dedicated to these legendary accounts and honoring missionaries who have given their lives in service to remote communities accessible only by air.

An important part of PUC’s focus on Adventist aviation history is the acquisition of “Charlie,” which was added to the fleet in January. A powerful Cessna 206 with a large cargo capacity, Charlie pioneered the Flying Doctor program, which provided healthcare and education, and also carried church workers, Bibles, and building materials in Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Vanuatu. Thousands of lives were saved throughout Charlie’s faithful service, and many more were touched by the tangible work of the Holy Spirit.

A second aircraft to be featured in the museum is a Piper Aztec known as the J.L. Tucker. Named after the founder of The Quiet Hour, an organization that donated more than 50 aircraft to serve the Adventist church throughout the world, the J.L. Tucker was the first twin-engine aircraft to serve the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It provided safe, reliable transportation throughout the South Pacific, visiting more countries than any other aircraft at its time. The J.L. Tucker will undergo refurbishment for static display within the museum.

Each artifact in the new museum is an important piece of history, but some artifacts especially represent incredible sacrifice. Janelle Alder, a missionary flight nurse in the Philippines, went missing in 2023. Her shoes are now housed in the museum, a silent witness to the personal cost of service, and inviting the next generation of pilots and nurses to fill them. Other artifacts include items from Bob Roberts, Gary Roberts, and Jim Arrabito–missionaries who lost their lives, but whose influence remains with those they served.

“Our pilots have been the hands and feet of Jesus, serving as a lifeline to those whom the rest of the world has forgotten,” said Tasker. “But as we celebrate these millions of miles, we must pause and look at the tail numbers and flight logs and realize that it has come with a cost. Every miracle flight has been underwritten by a legacy of sacrifice. To fly for the gospel is to step into a realm where the risks are as real as the rewards.”

Today, air service is one of the only ways to reach people, especially in more remote areas of the world. Young people are needed today who will answer the call to service. PUC’s Adventist Aviation Museum is here to remind the next generation of the sacrifices of the past, and to inspire them to follow God’s call to service, no matter the cost.