page_title: William Cameron Townsend
section_title: The Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS)
hierarchical_section_title: William Cameron Townsend / Peru / The Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS)
caption_attribution_description: English: Helio Courier Serial 001 in the JAARS Hangar.
context_page_description: William Cameron Townsend was a prominent twentieth-century American Christian missionary-linguist who founded Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics, both of which have long had as primary emphases the translation of the Bible into minority languages and the development of literacy and bilingual education programs in those languages. They have also been involved in developing medical and other services among minority language groups.
context_section_description: By 1948 Townsend created the third important corporation tied to SIL: the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service. Until this point operations were held together shakily only by a jeep and several two-way radios provided by the U.S. Embassy. A U.S. Army Air Corp Mission pilot, Larry Montgomery, contacted Townsend in 1946, informing him that a Grumman Duck, a navy amphibious plane, was on sale as Army surplus for a cheap price. The plane proved its worth and even served as the sole rescue transport for a crashed Peruvian military plane in 1947, but also required a hefty additional investment to achieve all the potential that Townsend envisioned. Furthermore, a small fleet of planes would also require a hangar, runway, mechanics, more pilots, fuel, and parts. The missing piece was funding. Townsend sought money successfully by soliciting several wealthy evangelicals including the son and heir of Quaker Oats founder Henry P. Crowell. The project also received many smaller gifts from civic organizations, churches and individuals, and thus JAARS was born.
caption: Helio Courier, a light C/STOL utility aircraft designed in 1949; in a JAARS’ hangar in 2005
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