Finishing Touches- MMS Aviation week #4

No flights yet, but progress continues as we see N207FD in the best condition ever, since leaving the production line at Cessna Aircraft Company in 1982!  Enjoy the photos:

For breakfast "pea soup" was on the menu!  Thick Fog blanketed Coshocton, Ohio

The sun came up and started to burn through.

The fog has not kept the crew at MMS Aviation from their work!  Our aircraft is in the back and the Cessna 172 in the foreground belongs to "Gospel Carriers" (Maryland) who minister among Chinese believers who live in the USA.

You can see that we've mounted the new propeller governor- the small component above the brown pipe.  We'll test its' settings when we run up the engine later today or tomorrow morning.

Also near the front of the airplane is work that has been done in the avionics bay, located just in front of the pilot's feet.

Here's a closer look into the bay.  Phil, one of the pros here at MMS, has created a "shelf" to secure part of the HF radio to.  Everytime you do work like this, there is a good amount of paperwork to send to the FAA as well as testing to make sure everything is in compliance and safe.

Here, in the cockpit, you can see Tim working on the other side of the avionics bay to attach lines through to the back of the HF radio control face.  The radio face is located in the center panel- the radio with the big dial.

Here is a closer look at the HF Radio control face.  It sits out from the panel a bit, but it is not in the way of any dials or cockpit functions.  This radio will allow our aircraft to speak to ground units all around the world.  It is especially needed in Africa where air traffic control centers are few and far between.  It will be linked into the audio system and can be used with the pilots' headset, just like all the other radios.

From the cockpit looking to the rear of the airplane, we see the other work associated with the HF Radio- the antenna installation.  Phil and Mike have mounted the radio tuner and are now making the holes in the skin where the antenna will go through.  The mattress is to help Phil as he lays upside down to work.

A closer look and you can see a tiny hole where the antenna will go through.  To the right, is the WX500 stormscope unit (black case).  The HF radio tuner will be attached to the "roof" of the tail- the bracket is being fabricated as I write this.

Here is Mike, working on that tiny hole for the antenna.

Yesterday I had visitors!  Larry and Debbie S. from Ashtabula, Ohio were in the area and stopped to say hello.  They attend the Edgewood Alliance (C&MA) Church (Pastor Gary Russel) and had heard that the aircraft for the Bongolo Hospital was nearby.  We had a great visit!  

 DID YOU KNOW???

MMS Aviation has been around since 1975 and has put in over 11,000 maintenance hours saving mission aviation organizations, like ours (Air Calvary), approximately $450,000 in labor expenses!  One of their projects was the restoration of the aircraft used in the movie "End of the Spear".  The project leader on our aircraft repair, Dale Coates, was also the project leader on that job.  In this photo, Dale (left) is standing with Steve Saint (center- son of martyr, Nate Saint), along side Dwight Jarboe (MMS president).