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.