Thursday, December 23, 2010

Pushing Into Christmas

The guys are really pushing hard to accomplish as much as they can prior to shutting down in order to celebrate and enjoy Christmas with family near and far. Several of our families are already traveling home and several more of our families will head out tomorrow. Here are some snapshots as we wrap-up hangar and administrative operations for 2010.

Dale manages the paperwork as he oversees the Navajo's annual inspection.

Ian & Paul J. work to finalize all the details of installing the amphibious floats on the Asas 206.

The SR-22 undergoes engine run-up after inspection and prior to its successful test flight.

Paul G. repairs the 172's control surfaces.

Mark, Mike, and Andy work together on the Skipper's annual inspection.

Thank you for your gifts, prayers, and special donations that met ministry needs over the past year. We look forward to having you at our side through 2011 as, together, we continue to prepare people and planes for worldwide mission service.

We'll return to the hangar January 3.

Merry Christmas.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

The Floats are Installed on the Asas 206!

A major milestone was reached in the Asas 206 restoration project with the installation of the amphibious floats! This airplane will be operated from the liquid runway of the Amazon River and will taxi in and out of the river on a ramp that leads to the Asas de Socorro maintenance base in Manaus. We hope you enjoy the video.

Monday, December 13, 2010

A Typical Day at MMS Aviation

I shot this on a hangar walk-through last week. With five missionary aircraft in various stages of inspection, repair, and modification, our guys are keeping rather busy.



Not only that, but the Cessna 207 arrived from Africa on Friday!

The 207 arrives from Gabon, Africa.

Unloading the Cessna 207.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Navajo Maintenance: Part 2

Work on Arctic Barnabas' Piper Navajo is well underway. Here's a short piece showing Paul G. and Terry replacing the windows and Paul J. fabricating a new belly skin. This airplane is used for missions in Alaska. To see earlier clips of this project, click HERE and HERE.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Hangar Snapshots

Here are some hangar snapshots to update you on what's going on in our hangar:

Ian continues the finish work on the fuselage in preparation for mounting this Cessna 206 on amphibious floats later this month. This aircraft will be used for ministry in Brazil.

Here's the Cirrus SR-22 that's in for annual inspection. It's used by a Baptist Church for Stateside ministry.

This is a 1961 Cessna 172 that was donated to Brigade Air. Brigade Air sponsors aviation camps around the US geared toward encouraging young men to consider mission aviation as a calling. Brigade flew it down to us for inspection and repairs prior to putting the airplane into service.

Andy fits new skin under the right engine compartment of the Cessna 402 operated by Wings With The Word. A ministry based in Maine that operates throughout the northeast and into Canada. The guys are making repairs in preparation for re-installing the engines.

Jim assists with repairs on the Piper Navajo operated in Alaska by Arctic Barnabas. We're maintaining, modifying, and repairing this aircraft.

There are several other aircraft projects on their way in with more scheduled for work early next year. Our guys are going a great job as they face unforeseen complications, parts delays, and time pressures. It's all part of the missionary training, and mission reality, at MMS Aviation. Thanks for your gifts and prayers that make it possible for us to continue preparing people and planes for worldwide mission service!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Cessna 402 Spar Cap Project: Part 7

Here's a little video project that will fill in some history as both spar straps are now in place and the guys are prepping the engine compartments for engine installation. In this clip Jim, Terry, and Mike were making major progress with securing the left spar strap in place.



In other projects, Ian is shooting paint on the amphibious floats for the Brazilian 206; Jim and Paul G. are inspecting and repairing a Cessna 172 for ministry; Mike has just started an annual inspection on a SR-22; Andy and Mark are continuing the engine compartment work on the Cessna 402; Dale is conducting an annual inspection on a local airplane and following up on all the paperwork and problem-solving involved with bringing a containerized airplane from Africa into the US; and Scott, Paul J., Terry, and Chuck are hard at work on completing all the modifications and repairs on the Navajo used for ministry in Alaska.

Thanks for your prayers and gifts as we continue to prepare people and planes for worldwide mission service.