Midweek Midwork

Brazilian 206 Restoration

Andy and Tim F. continue their efforts on the horizontal stabilizer modification.

GCI Cessna 172

Williams brought his 172 in for the guys to troubleshoot an engine squawk.

Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork

Chief Inspector Dennis Satterthwaite updates procedure and policy manuals.

LAMP Cessna 337

Volunteers Tim S. and Kevin wrap up their work on the 337.

Volunteers: Kevin, Tim, and Tim

This week we have several volunteers in our hangar: Kevin, Tim, and Tim.

Kevin and the first Tim are father and son. Kevin volunteered with us earlier this year as part of the missions team from LeTourneau University which spent a week with us in March. Kevin was interested in returning, shared MMS with his father, and Tim asked if he could accompany his son as an additional volunteer on a three day visit. Of course, we said, "Of course."

Kevin's been busy for the past two days cleaning engine parts from the LAMP Cessna 337. Tim worked on the airframe of the 337 and today assisted with an oil change on a local airplane. It's a blessing to be able to provide the opportunity for these willing men to help move mission aviation forward.

Kevin cleans engine parts.

Tim (Kevin's Dad) assists with an oil change.

Thank you Kevin and Tim for taking time out of your busy lives to spend three days in service with us.

Our third volunteer, and second "Tim" in the post headline, is in a little bit different situation as he already has his A&P certificate and is serving with Wycliffe Bible Transators in Papua New Guinea. Tim is volunteering with us to gain additional experience that will be of benefit on his return to PNG later this year. Providing additional or advanced training to missionaries already assigned to a field program is another way that MMS serves the greater mission aviation community. We look forward to getting to know this Tim better over the next few months.

Tim and the Honduran 206 horizontal stabilizer.

Welcome to MMS, Tim.

More Magnetos

Another magneto toubleshooting opportunity developed today. A Cessna 172 owned by one of our staff is scheduled to be used as part of a Christian aviation camp next week. In fact, three of our personnel: Ian, Scott G., and Paul are going to serve as staff for the week long aviation camp.

On an earlier flight with the 172, Paul had struggled to get the airplane started. Over the past couple days the guys had investigated the problem to identify the cause. Today they pulled the magnetos.

Ian checks the engine timing while Andy pulls the magnetos from the Cessna 172.

Ian oversees, and Andy observes, as Paul runs the troublesome magneto on the test stand.

Ian instructs Andy and Paul in what to look for when troubleshooting a magneto. In this case the trouble proved to be a bad coil.

With the bad magneto coil replaced and both the magnetos re-installed, the 172 started immediately and ran smooth.

Learning by doing. That's one of the strengths of the MMS ministry. Solving real problems in real time for real airplanes and then taking those skills to the mission field. Thanks for being part of this great learning & maintenance opportunity for Andy and Paul through your gifts and prayers.

Shooting Paint and Changing Oil

Ian and Chuck spent the day shooting paint on the fuselage of the of Honduran 206. They shot the primer this morning and shot the white base coat this afternoon. It's coming along well. They still need to tape and shoot the red and the blue. Lord willing, the airplane will begin final assembly later this month.

Ian sprays the forward part of the fuselage.

Chuck mixes paint.

Chuck shoots the inside of the nose wheel well.

While Ian and Chuck spent their day in the paint booth at the rear of Hangar C, Josh and Paul spend their day in the front of Hangar C troubleshooting a magneto problem and then changing the oil on a Cessna 172.

Josh adds new oil to the engine while Paul safety-wires
the oil filter to the 172's engine case.

Engines, Magnetos, and Wires

Paul and Andy finished up the tear-down process for the front engine of LAMP's Cessna 337 and have packed and boxed the steel components for shipment to specialty shops that will inspect, measure, test, and treat them as required. It not often one thinks about how important cardboard (and United Parcel Service) really is to the mission effort.

The engine case, cam shaft, crank shaft, engine gears and pumps, oil cooler, and fuel related components wait for pick-up by UPS.

Josh is back in the hangar after his month-long Rapid Response trip to Zambia, Africa. He helped Christian Missions in Many Lands modify a Cessna 182 for mission service. The trip went well and they made great progress on the airplane.

Josh and Dennis disassemble a magneto for inspection and troubleshooting.

Mike continues wiring the upgraded
navigation/communication stack in Moody's 182.

Magnetos and Maintenance

A regional pilot flew in this afternoon to bring us two magnetos. He asked if we could check them for proper operation. Dennis took the mags down to the engine shop and tested them while the pilot waited. It turned out that one of the magnetos did have a problem so we'll go ahead and repair it. It's a blessing to be able to serve the local and regional aviation community at the same time as we serve the worldwide mission aviation community.

Dennis adjusts one of the magnetos before running it on the test stand.

Chuck continues with the remaining airframe detail work on the Moody 182.

Andy fabricates new skin for the Brazilian 206's horizontal stabilizer.

Saving $2000 and 90 Days For Gospel Carrier International

Gospel Carrier International's King Air was back in for a repair last week.

It seems two tracks for the restroom privacy door had broken making the door nearly impossible to use. Our guys researched the parts and found that the two tracks cost $1,000 each and would take 90 days to be delivered. Both the price and the timetable were unacceptable but sometimes you have to pay the asking price and accept the unacceptable. But because of MMS and the ministry we provide, this wasn't one of those times, Praise the Lord!

One of two, broken privacy door tracks for the GCI King Air 200. At $1,000 each, this repair was going to cost $2,000 and it was going to take 90 days to receive the parts!

The door tracks aren't structural or related to the airworthiness of the aircraft. They are simply plastic interior pieces that can be removed and/or replaced as needed. Dennis, our Chief Engineer, remembered having some surplus PVC sheeting in storage of a similar thickness to the door tracks. He pulled the surplus, measured and traced the door tracks, and before long had fabricated new tracks that were stronger and substantially more durable than the factory's original foam/resin design yet with with similar weight characteristics.

The repairs were completed within the week, the materials were free, and GCI was able to return their airplane to service this afternoon.

The GCI King Air returns to service earlier this afternoon.
(Click to enlarge photo)

What a blessing to be able to save GCI $2000 of their ministry resources and 85 days of waiting!

Thank you for your prayers and gifts which allow us to return missionary aircraft to service in a timely fashion for far less cost than would be otherwise possible.