The Final Post for 2009

This is the final post for 2009. If the Lord doesn't call us all home in the mean time, we'll resume the blog the first week of January 2010. It's been fun writing about and posting photos of our ministry over the past year.

Over the next few weeks, please feel free to cruise and peruse the archives to review the many different ministries we served, the aircraft we've repaired, and the families we've sent out and the families we've welcomed in to ministry over the past year.

May we give God the glory as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Here are a few last snapshots for 2009:

Josh fabricates a floor panel for the Brazilian 206.

Paul makes repairs to the Brazilian 206's left inboard fuel tank.

Inside the Brazilian 206, Jim uses a set of locking pliers to situate a tiny nut beneath a hole in a floor panel in order to drive the screw in place.

Chuck and Dennis inspect the right boom structure of the Canadian 337.

Insulation, Glare Shields, and Starter Adapters, Oh My!

Honduran 206
After working through a vendor-related miscommunication, the insulation is now being cut, fit, and secured inside the cabin area of the Honduran 206. Once all the new insulation is in place, the plastic interior panels will be installed over it, the seats will go in and, after some weighing, balancing, and ground runs, the airplane will be ready for test flights early next year.

Andy measures insulation before cutting and fitting it inside the Honduran 206.

Brazilian 206
Due to some maintenance complications, painting of the wings has moved into next week. Repairs to the wings and fuselage continue in the meantime. Josh is working to install the control cables in the belly of the aircraft so the floor panels can be riveted in place. Mark is tasked with making repairs to the airplane's glare shield.

Mark makes repairs to the Brazilian 206's glare shield.

Canadian 337
Chuck continues to work through a long list of small discrepancies on the 337's airframe. Scott and Dale continue to prepare the accessories for assembly of the front engine.

Scott assembles the starter adapter for the front engine on the 337.

Chuck makes another structural repair to the 337's airframe.

Quick Snapshots from the Hangar

Here are a couple quick snapshots from the hangar:

Scott fabricates tooling to assist with the Canadian 337's engine assembly.

Chuck makes repairs to the 337's left outboard flap.

Paul makes repairs inside the Brazilian 206.

Mike organizes components prior to installing the interior panels inside the Honduran 206.

Driving, Closing, and Joining

Brazilian 206
Rivets of all shapes and sizes continue to be driven in the Brazilian 206 in preparation for painting the fuselage.

Paul drives rivets to secure the rain gutter he'd just fabricated. Josh bucks from inside.

Honduran 206
The Honduran 206 continues to creep toward completion. Final steps are being taken to clean and "close-up" various aspects of the project!

Andy vacuums beneath the floor panels of the 206 before securing the access plates in place and "closing-up" the floor.

Canadian 337
The airframe repairs and engine overhauls continue simultaneously on the Canadian 337.

Scott and Dale double-check critical data prior to joining the engine case halves for the front engine of the 337.

206 Tuesday

The progress on the Brazilian 206 continues.

Josh fabricates a radio mount.

Paul measures aluminum to fabricate a rain gutter for over the 206's cargo door.

Mark and Ian discuss repairs to the rudder pedal assemblies.

It won't be long now before the Brazilian 206's wings and fuselage will head back to Hangar C for paint.

Move Ahead Monday

Projects are moving ahead on all fronts today.

Honduran 206
The push is on to complete the project before December 24th. Mike is putting together the logbook entries to document correction of the more than 400 discrepancies encountered in the course of restoring the airplane. Andy is cutting and fitting new "floor boards" to protect the aluminum floor panels from damage in the rough and tumble world of missionary transportation. Jim will soon fit the plastic side panels to the cabin interior.

Andy cuts new floor boards.

Andy checks the new floor boards for fit.

Brazilian 206
The wings are prepped for paint and the rear window is going in the fuselage. Once the window installation is complete the fuselage will be ready for paint. After painting, new floor panels will be fabricated and work on the instrument panel will begin. In preparation for assembly, many of the other airframe components have already been painted.

Ian drives rivets to secure the 206's rear window in place. Josh is inside bucking the rivets.

Paul works with the bell cranks that guide the steel cables operating the 206's ailerons.

Canadian 337
As Chuck continues to inspect and repair the airframe, Dale and Scott are nearly prepared to assemble the first of its two overhauled engines.

Chuck installs an in-board flap on the 337.

Scott checks data and organizes engine components for assembly.

Happy Thanksgiving

"Oh give thanks to the Lord!

Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples.
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works.
Glory in His holy Name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord.
Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face evermore."

Psalm 105:1-4

Happy Thanksgiving from the crew at MMS Aviation.
We'll be back in the shop Monday.

Sealing and Wheeling

We had some sealing going on today. And a bit of "wheeling" if you will.

On the Canadian 337, Chuck sealed around the fasteners that secure the instrument panel access panels in place.

On the Brazilian 206, Paul was placing seal material around a newly installed fuel strainer inside the wing's fuel tank.

Paul "goops up" with sealant.

Paul applies sealant to the rear, inboard corner of the fuel tank.

The "wheeling" was going on over at the Honduran 206 where Andy & Jim aligned the main landing gear for use under fueled and loaded conditions.

Andy reviews the technical data as Jim aligns the left main gear of the Honduran 206.

A New Week Starts

Honduran 206
While we'd hoped to have the Honduran 206 completed by the end of this month, it now looks like completion will drift into December. Problems have been discovered with the radios which necessitate removal and return to the manufacturer. Lord willing they'll repair and return the radios in rapid fashion.

But even as the radios are pulled, the Honduran 206 was rolled outside to have fuel pumped into its left fuel tank to test repairs made to the tank. Andy reported that the tank passed the test.

Andy pumps aviation gasoline into the fuel tank in the left wing.

On the Brazilian 206...

Mark continues repair on the fiberglass nose bowl pieces.

Fly-in Oil Change
Christian recording artist John Pfeifer flew in this morning so we could change the oil in his airplane's engines. We've performed the maintenance on his Aztec for several years now. When John returned from lunch his airplane was ready to depart thanks to Dale and Chuck's diligent maintenance efforts.

John's Aztec in Hangar C.

Finishing Friday With A Flourish

As this week draws to a close the guys are pushing hard to make headway on our three primary projects.

Honduran 206
Work on the Honduran 206 continues as the guys fabricate and install the last few structural pieces and instrument installations before the interior (which is prepared for installation) is can be installed.

Andy fabricates a floor panel for underneath the rudder pedals on the Honduran 206.

Brazilian 206
With the remaining paint removed, the fuselage was rolled into Hangar B to allow new windows to be installed. Other structural repairs continue.

Josh (outside) drives rivets while Ian (inside) bucks rivets as they install new windows in the Brazilian 206.

Paul fabricates a new oil stick access door in the Brazilian 206 cowling. The old door location, to the right, will be patched and permanently closed.

Mark repairs the Brazilian 206's right wing.

Canadian 337
While Dale and Scott begin the engine build-up process, Chuck continues with the airframe work.

Chuck removes the propeller unfeather accumulator from the rear engine's mount.

We hope these pictures provide a greater appreciaton of how God is working to expand His Kingdom through your gifts and your prayers in support of our ministry.

Brazil, Canada, and Honduras Updates

Brazilian 206
The fuselage of the Brazilian 206 has been relocated from Hangar A to outside the paint booth inside Hangar C and is in final preparation for being painted.

Josh applies paint remover to the passenger side window recess. All rivet heads will be detailed as well.

Canadian 337
Work continues on both the airframe inspection and the engine overhauls.

Dennis and Chuck research data before making a repair on the 337.

Honduran 206
Andy and Jim made final adjustments to the radio communication equipment on the Honduran 206.

Jim secures the access plate after completing installation of the High-Frequency radio antennae on the Honduran 206.

Forging Ahead on the 206's

Josh installs the overhead speaker in the Brazilian 206 fuselage.

Mark repairs the latch assembly in the left cargo door of the Honduran 206.

Jim repairs an interior panel for the Honduran 206.

The Best Aviation Maintenance Value Possible

Part of our ministry to those organizations sending us their airplanes is to make sure they receive the best maintenance value possible. If we can make it, we won't buy it; if we can repair it, we won't replace it; and if we have to buy it, we'll shop for the best deal.

The first two photos represent the second condition--that of making a repair so the entire component won't need to be replaced. Instead of replacing one of the Canadian 337's air selector assemblies for $200, Dale fabricated and then installed a bushing for $2.00 worth of stock material.

Dale fabricates a bushing from steel rod.

Scott and Dale install the bushing.

In our previous post, Paul was pictured inspecting one of the Brazilian 206's wings for fuel tank leaks. That process continued to the point of repair.

Paul inspects the fuel tank (inside the wing) for leaks.

Paul repairs the leaks found in the fuel tank.

The Brazilian 206, Honduran 206, and Calendar Mailing

While the Canadian 337 project is gaining momentum (the front engine is nearing build-up), the Brazilian 206 is going to dominate the blog for a bit, but that's okay. It's where the majority of our manpower is going once the Honduran 206 is completed later this month.

Logan drives rivets into a new belly skin on the Brazilian 206 as Josh bucks from inside the fuselage.

In Hangar B, Paul J. troubleshoots a leak in the right wing fuel tank of the Brazilian 206, Ian (on the ladder) fits the rudder tip fairing on its vertical stabilizer and, if you look into Hangar A you'll see the 206's fuselage where Logan and Josh are working.

Andy seals the magnetos on the Honduran 206's engine.

But not everything is airplanes at MMS. While Rena was in working on receipting donations received over the past four days, Karen, Dana, and Sherry came in to organize the annual mailing of pocket calendars to MMS supporters.

Karen, Dana, and Sherry organize the annual pocket calendar mailing.