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.

Engine Work Continues on LAMP's Cessna 337

With the rear engine already pulled, disassembled, and with the steel components sent to speciality shops, Scott and Paul pulled the front engine out of LAMP's Cessna 337 this morning.

The 337's empty rear engine compartment.

The 337's empty front engine compartment.

Paul disassembles the front engine for inspection.

Making The Most of What We Have

We're kind of spread out right now in regards to man power. Josh is spending some time with his family after being away from them on a successful, month-long Rapid Response trip to Zambia, Africa; Ian & Gertjan are down in Alabama receiving a weeks' worth of factory training from an aircraft engine manufacturer; David and Gertjan are in the process of testing for their A&P certificates and beginning their transition to field service, Scott L. and family are back serving in Alaska for a couple weeks, and Tim's getting ready for a week of vacation.

That means, for a short time at least, the rest of the work load falls on Scott G., Paul, Andy, Mike, and Chuck. There's a lot to do, but they're up to it.

Please pray for our guys as they work to accomplish the mission with the resources (and man power) at hand. Your prayers are a heavenly resource we need to get the job done.

Scott and Paul prepare to remove the front engine of LAMP's Cessna 337. The rear engine has already been removed and disassembled.

Andy implements an approved modification of the horizontal stabilizer for the Honduran 206 so it can be installed with screws instead of rivets allowing for easier removal and repair.

Mike completes the final wiring for the 182's avionics installation and upgrade.

Chuck has spent the day with his arms inside the wings of the 182 adjusting the flap rigging by feel.

Wrapping Up the Week Again an Hour Later

An hour and a half ago I posted about the Cessna 337 and wrapping our work week. Well, another major event occurred five minutes ago...the Honduran 206 fuselage was moved to the paint booth in Hangar C!

Is this a big week or what? The Canadian 337 was moved from Hangar C to Hangar A for major maintenance and the Honduran 206 moved from Hangar B to Hangar C for paint. Wahoo! Big things are afoot.

Here's the move:

Mike and Ian pull the Honduran 206 from Hangar B

across the ramp between Hangar B & C

along Hangar C

through the roll-up door

and into the paint booth.

I'm guessing the next time you see this fuselage, it's going to look a bit different. What a way to end the week!