The crowd is electric with excitement as planes circle above, demonstrating
speed and agility. The audience focuses its attention on the Seawind,
an experimental plane, one of only 50 built by hand from a kit.
Sky king: Nancy El-Hajj
makes sure she lets the crowds know who is in charge of her piloting.
As 68-year-old pilot Nancy El-Hajj maneuvers, she talks over a loudspeaker
about the unique characteristics of the plane. When the tower gives
clearance, she makes a second, third and fourth pass, and begins telling
the crowd about God’s plan for salvation.
After the show, visitors take a closer look at the plane and see the
decals of a cross and a dove on the wingtip. They meet El-Hajj, who
attends Calvary Christian Center, an Assemblies of God church in Ormond
Beach, Fla. El-Hajj is eager to share about her plane and the Lord.
El-Hajj, a professional pilot since 1956, as well as a flight instructor
and Federal Aviation Administration-designated pilot examiner, has been
flying the Seawind since April 2000. Ted, her civil engineer husband
of seven years, constructed the plane.
"Because I am a pilot, Ted wanted to build an airplane," El-Hajj says.
"We decided on an unusual design called the Seawind, a plane that flies
up to 190 miles per hour, and an experimental amphibian of all-composite
material."
The plane took four years to build. From the beginning, the couple
planned to use it as a ministry tool. "We were at an air show, but we
didn’t see anything about the Lord or anyone talking about the
Lord," El-Hajj says. "We thought we could touch our little world with
the gospel using the airplane."
Now, the couple share Christ as they travel around the country demonstrating
the plane at air shows. They have had ample opportunities to share the
gospel through the decals of a cross, dove, eagle and the words "Glory
Hallelujah" on the wingtips.
"People will come, and when they see the wingtips they start asking
questions," El-Hajj says. "I start telling them about the airplane and
about the Lord, and I will hand them a tract." She came to know the
Lord in 1984 after attending an Assemblies of God church.
She and her husband have both prayed with people to accept Jesus as
Savior through the ministry. Their ministry has the support of Calvary
Christian Center.
"They’re faithful people," says Pastor Jim Raley. "Their ministry
with the plane has been uplifting to our church — to hear of the
opportunities that she’s been given. You have no doubt when you
look at their plane exactly what they represent and who they represent."
