From the Flight Deck- August

Chief Pilot Update from August

Summary:  August was the second busiest month of flying so far in 2014- 22.6 hours.  24 passengers and over 2300 pounds of cargo moved- a good mix of hospital staff, visitors, and some seeking medical care at Bongolo.

Chief Pilot, Rob, transports "TB" patient.

Notable Flights:

TB Concerns...maybe?  A patient was referred to Bongolo from a hospital in the capital city of Libreville (photo).  We were told he had Tuberculosis (TB), however, it was later discovered that he had cancer.  As it turns out, the referring hospital had no means to treat the cancer and they decided to use the TB diagnosis as a cover to discharge him.

New Destination:  It was my (Rob's) first time to Franceville, Gabon to bring Pauline L. (Bible translator) to Lamberéné, for the Team Forum.  It was about 4 hours of flying (round-trip) instead of 3 days of traveling. Pauline was especially appreciative of it since he has a nerve problem in her back when she sits for an extended time.

Maintenance Items:

Fuel Injector Issue:  I had an obstructed injector in flight that required... READ MORE




 ...cleaning at Libreville. I cleaned all the screens including the flow divider and the injectors in Yaounde and have not had any further problems since them. My dad donated his special 1/2” socket required to remove a TCM injector for the airplane toolkit. I had to borrow one from DHL.

Engine Health:  The 4 new cylinders are doing well with good compressions.  We averaged 15.1 gallons burned per hour in August- year-to-date average is 16.0 gph.

Accomplished:  The following was work accomplished while visiting the SIL (JAARS) hangar in Yaounde, Cameroon for the 50 hour inspection: replaced attitude indicator, replaced turn coordinator (dying), replaced HSI gyro, replaced altimeter (to unit including millibars), replaced transponder antenna (severely chipped), biannual altimeter & transponder FAA inspections, exhaust pipe clamp replacement.

Projects:

In Process:

Fuel shipment:  Determining details regarding shipment of 16 drums of AvGas from the US.  (READ MORE)

Solar:  Thanks to the generous team of international workers, here in Gabon, we received project funding for the solar system and ordered parts to come on the shipping container projected for arrival in late October or early November.

Parts and Equipment:  Other items coming on the shipment include; ELT battery, shop supplies & shop equipment (including used grinder- thanks to Rob's dad!); stainless steel hardware for fuel cart; an overhauled cylinder (thanks to JAARS).

Bat Eviction!: Ordered items to light the hangar at night to discourage bats from sleeping in our hangar.

Other things:  Returned 3 cylinders to the US; sent an attitude indicator to the US for overhaul.

Rob with a full flight.

A busy August with a busy September to come the includes a visit from Missions Safety International for their triennial audit of our program!  Your prayers, encouragement, and support are greatly appreciated!!!