More Snow and More 182

With a fresh inch of snow on the ground today and flurries continuing on and off, tomorrow may be the first day in several where snow doesn't fall. But then there's supposedly a new storm building in the Gulf of Mexico that will swing north and then northeast crashing into the Jet Stream and by Monday we could be back in it all over again. We'll see. There are still many people in Coshocton County without power from the last storm. The snow is starting to drift with the strong winds we're having.

Alaska or Ohio?

The 182 project continues to move ahead. With the new windscreen installed, the fuselage is getting taped and prepped for paint. The wings and control surfaces were painted earlier this month.

Scott tapes the 182 fuselage.

David removes paint from one of the 182's doors.

Moody Aviation 182

Our main efforts are focused on the Moody 182 right now.

This morning Chuck and Gertjan removed the old windscreen
and prepped the airframe to install a new windscreen.

This afternoon, Gertjan and Chuck (inside the fuselage) have
nearly completed the new installation.

Closed Because of the Winter Storm

MMS was closed today because of the winter storm. We're going to try to make it back up the hill tomorrow...

Time Well Spent

Over the past week, work has continued to move forward with three projects simultaneously. In fact the Honduran 206, the Brazilian 206, and the Moody 182 fuselages are all being prepared for paint.

The Brazilian 206 is in the foreground, the Moody 182 in the background.

The Honduran 206

First, all three fuselages were relocated in Hangar A. After the initial paint removal came the detailing. After detailing came the pressure-washing. After pressure-washing came the etch and Alodine process which readies the aluminum for new paint.

David uses a dental pick to carefully remove paint around rivet heads.

Scott hits the Brazilian 206 fuselage with the high-pressure washer.

The Moody 182 after etch, Alodine and final rinse

It's a labor intensive, time consuming process requiring pains-taking detail work to find and remove every fleck of paint around each rivet head, in each corner, along every seam, and on every external surface.

But it's time well spent in doing the job right. We desire to make every effort to ensure that the result of our work not only meets our own standard of professionalism, but more importantly also pleases our Lord whom we serve, and the missionary organizations we support.

Winter Scenes at MMS

I thought you might enjoy some of winter snapshots of MMS taken this morning.

MMS Hangar facility and parking lot.

The main entrance to MMS.

Looking past Hangars A & B to Hangar C.

Looking back along Hangars A & B.

Facilities Manager Dave Shelly plows snow from the ramp in front of Hangar C.

Dave Shelly at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

Level 2

Well the snow's really coming down! The county's currently under a Level 2 snow emergency which means everyone is encouraged to stay inside and to restrict travel on the roads to reasons of absolutely necessity. At Level 3, should it come to that, no one is allowed on the roads except emergency and service vehicles. Several inches have already built up and the hill heading down from MMS is always worth a few moments of excitement.

But while the snow falls the missionaries still work.

David and Gertjan clean spark plugs for the Bellanca Viking.

Chuck and Scott lay out the components of the Robertson STOL kit
for the Honduran 206 while referring to the blue-prints.

Dennis and Dave perform maintenance on the MMS minivan.

A Cold Monday

Friday was snow, Saturday was rain, Sunday was snow, and today is just cold. Our three maintenance teams continue their work on the airplane projects in hangars A, B, and C while the administrative team works through the logistical, personal, financial, and organizational aspects of mission management.

Andy Porter, our newest apprentice, arrives from England this evening. If everything comes together for Andy over the next three weeks, he'll join the hangar crew early in February.

Thanks for checking in. We'll see about posting some more project photos tomorrow.

Closing Out Week One

As light snow begins to fall, and with another Winter Storm Warning in place, MMS's first week in 2009 draws to a close. Work continues on the main projects: the Honduran 206, Moody's 182, the Pfeifer Aztec, and literally just ahead of the storm, a Bellanca Viking landed and taxied up to the hangar. The Bellanca is operated by a US-based ministry that flies througout the southwest and into Mexico. It's here for an annual inspection. Today's photos:

Scott Grote signs parts out from the "AN" cart
for the Honduran 206.

David balances a control surface for the Moody 182.

Tim secures an exhast stack to the left
engine of the Pfeifer's Piper Aztec.

Gertjan reassembles a magneto for the Aztec after
cleaning, inspecting, and repairing it.

There's always something going on at MMS. Thanks for being part of it through your gifts and prayers.

Safety Wire and Magnetos

Josh continues work on the Aztec for the Christian singing group, The Pfeifers. While waiting for the magnetos to be overhauled, Josh removed old safety-wire from the propellers and then installed new safety- wire. Safety-wire is used to make sure that nuts and screws don't loosen over hours of operation. Key components of all aircraft are are also "safetied." A special type of plier is used to cut, twist, and secure the wire. Safety-wiring is quite an art.

Josh removes the old safety-wire before installing the new.

While Josh was installing safety-wire, Gerthan was in the engine shop learning how to disassemble, clean, inspect, and repair the magnetos for the Aztec. It was Gertjan's first attempt at magnetos and he quickly took to the task.

Dennis instructs Gertjan in torqing the main nut on the magneto.

SOP's and Chapter Tests

With inventory completed yesterday, everyone gathered today for our annual Standard Operating Procedure Manual review process. As a group we go page by page through our manual to review the different policies and procedures currently in place. It's a good reminder of what our standard procedures actually are and a wonderful opportunity to align what's written with what we do and align what we do with what is written. Changes are also recommended and discussed. It was five hours well-spent.

But once the review was over, it was back to the basics of preparing people and planes for worldwide mission service such as chapter tests for apprentice mechanics.

Bob (MMS Training Manager-on left) meets with Paul (right) to discuss the results
of the test he'd just completed. Paul scored 100%.

Inventory is Over

With all the parts, pieces, and raw materials located, identified, counted, measured, and calculated work on Moody's Cessna 182 and the Honduran 206 has resumed.

Scott works inside the cockpit of the Honduran 206.

Tim observes operation of the engine controls
as Josh works them from inside the Aztec.

Under Ian's supervision, David and Gertjan shoot primer
on the Moody 182 flight control surfaces.

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2009 Begins

Praise the Lord we're all back to the shop, rested after the holiday vacation, and ready to discover what the Lord has planned for us in 2009. Every new year at MMS starts out with locating, counting, measuring, and verifying all the parts and materials we have on hand to maintain the various missionary aircraft that come to us for service. It's not necessarily the most exciting time, but it's an important time as we exercise stewardship over the resources God has so generously supplied. We'll spend the next day or so conducting the inventory.

Dennis (waving) and Tim count parts in the Parts Room.

Mike counts bolts.

Dale counts washers.

David, Ian, and Gertjan count screws.

Josh, Chuck, Scott L., Scott G., Paul, and Dave are also counting!