Looking Forward to Spring

Here are some end-of-the-week snaps from the hangar. Rumor is we're finally going to have some sun and spring-like warm temperatures over the weekend. Everyone around here will certainly enjoy that! No tornadoes here, just lots of continual rain, wind, and/or clouds. Summer may arrive before spring really starts.

Dale provides instruction to Andy on some airframe repairs inside the Gabon 207.

Josh bolts the engine into the Gabon 207.

Scott takes care of some fabrication on an elevator for the Brigade 172 while Terry makes repairs to its air-box.

Tim provides instruction to Ben, our newest apprentice. Ben is currently working his way through Basic Training before starting on the hangar floor.

Dave deposits the last of the scrap from the Raise The Roof project into the dumpster!

Hangar Construction, New Door and King Air Repair

Hangar Construction
The hangar construction project has moved into a new phase. With the door installation complete, with the final trim pieces being installed around the hangar roof edges, our contractor brought in his demo specialist to remove the steel tracking for the old segmented, rolling doors and to improve the ramp conditions leading into Hangar A.

The current concrete transition between ramp and hangar is short and steep and creates a challenge to overcome when moving aircraft into the hangar. It will be much easier to position aircraft with the door tracks gone and the slope into the hangar extended in length and reduced in degree.

Here's the Bobcat with jack hammer at work on the old steel door tracking.

Close up of the jack hammer

Here's the new hangar door opened up!

Gospel Carrier King Air Repair
The Gospel Carrier International King Air arrived today for an unscheduled repair. They'd experienced environmental control issues with the airplane's air-conditioning system while on their current cross-country evangelical crusade (Arkansas, Texas, California, Utah, and Illinois are five of the states they've visited so far) arriving here in Coshocton, Ohio this morning.

Tim and Mark immediately started the troubleshooting process, quickly isolated the issue, and repaired the problem enabling GCI to return to the tour, keep their scheduled meetings, and complete their trip with increased cabin comfort. It's a blessing to be able to serve this ministry through providing critically needed short-term and long range maintenance services free of labor charges. Thank you for your gifts and prayers which make this possible.

Tim troubleshoots the problem while Mark operates switches and knobs in the cockpit.

The 402's Engines Are Being Rigged

Friday was a big day as both engines were hung on the Cessna 402. The guys are busy this week hooking up hoses, running lines, and adjusting control linkages to bring the engines back to life. With the spar straps installed, the engines nestled back in their nacelles, and the annual inspection well underway, the momentum pushing this project toward completion continues to build.

Mike hoists the right engine in place as Andy P. and Mark provide guidance.

Clearing lines, hoses, and linkages out of the way.

Inserting engine mount bolts.

On Monday, Mike used the left engine as a teaching tool for a class on turbo-charging systems.

The New Roof Is Going On!

As I sit in upstairs in my office, it sounds like there's a herd of elephants rampaging overhead! A herd of elephants that use drills and tools and power equipment of various sizes and shapes. There's a lot of banging and driving of screws and moving around up there. The construction crew is blazing away on the roof installation as I type. They're making great progress while the sun is shining as it's supposed to get wet and windy overnight and through tomorrow.

It's exciting to have the project coming so close to completion. Lord willing we'll be able to use our front hangar again by the end of next week.

Rolls of insulation ready to be taken topside.

Additional rolls of insulation inside Hangar A. How's that new door looking on the left of the frame?

Removing the old roof panels.

The crew chief takes care of the edge-work.

There's a whole lot of sunshine spilling in!

A workman tapes off the crossbeams before laying a roll of insulation in place.

Thanks for your gifts and prayers that have made this project possible!

Hangar Door Installation

The new hangar door has been installed on Hangar A! It's been a challenging week or so of wet, rainy, windy weather for the construction crew but the door is up, the insulation is in, and the aluminum siding is on!

The construction crew disassembles and removes the old four-panel steel doors. This was the last good weather the crew was going to see for a while.

With the door removed and weather tarps in place, the crew removes the final structure.

The crew positions the lighter, single-panel door structure.

The new insulation and new exterior panels are secured in place.

Here's a picture of the door nearly completed.

It's really exciting to see the project finally come together in the most literal sense. Thank you for your gifts toward the Raise The Roof campaign which made this all, and more, possible. Lord willing we'll soon conduct a door swing test to finalize the installation.

The construction crew is currently overhead working hard and fast at replacing the roof! The sun is out the sky is blue, the old roof is coming off and the new roof is going on.

Thanks for your prayers.

Wednesday Snapshots

The hangar crew is really busy. The Chuck, Jim, Mike, Andy S., and Mark are making the final preparations to install the 402's engines and Dale, Josh, Andy S. and Paul are working hard on the disassembly and repair of the Gabon 207. The Brigade 172 project is back on line as well.

Mark works with the 402's right side turbocharger.

Andy S. continues removal of the 207's gear box.

Andy P. test-fits a turbo system component.

Dale instructs Paul in assembly of the 207's nose gear.

Dale provides guidance to Andy S. in removing the 207's right side door sill.

Lord willing, I'll have a video up before the end of the week featuring the 402 and 207 progress.