MMS Aviation in Black and White UPDATED

Greetings faithful Blog Followers!

We just returned from a trip up to MMS to help evaluate our latest candidate for service. The evaluation went well. Watch for our upcoming newsletter with photos of us orienting Joshua Johnson after he was accepted for apprenticeship with MMS Aviation.

While Karen and I work on the "people" side of things, our current apprentice mechanics and hangar staff continue to maintain, modify, and repair missionary airplanes from around the world. Here's a few hangar snapshots from our visit. I'm just partial to black and white images.

Apprentice Candidate Joshua Johnson (left) works with staff mechanic, and FAA Mechanic Examiner, Chuck Egbert (right) to fabricate a new "door skin." They are using the old, corroded, weakened door skin as a pattern. Cessna doesn't make these panels anymore. We could buy a complete used door for $1000, but even then we'd have to repair/modify it before it could be installed.

So by donating our labor, we can make the specific piece necessary out of stock aluminum sheet for less than $100 saving $900! This keeps another missionary aircraft flying while it provides valuable experience for our apprentice mechanics. You can't always buy the parts. So when we can, we make them. And all missionaries like airplane doors that stay closed on the ground and in the air!

Josh Adelsberger (left), our Engine Shop Supervisor, leads apprentice Matt Woods (right) in a test run of the engine Matt just overhauled. This engine is used by another agency that trains missionary pilots and mechanics for service. They didn't have the staff capacity to overhaul it themselves so we gave them a hand. So, another agency benefits from our shop and another apprentice mechanic gains critical experience they will ultimately use on the mission field.

A factory-rebuilt engine of this type runs $42,500.00 off the shelf. Matt and MMS did the work at a cost of $16,000 in parts and materials. This represents a saving to missionary aviation of $26,500!

Apprentice Dale Liff installs an electronic engine monitoring system on the engines of this twin-engine missionary aircraft used in Alaska. Dale is an electrical engineer and recently joined us as a "wire guy." There are lots of "wires" for this "guy" to work with. 

Better him than me. Dale brings a career of professional electronic wizardry into our hangar. He is installing an engine monitor on the other engine as well. This will increase the operational safety of the aircraft as it flies over remote Alaskan terrain. Pilots are funny about their engines. Dale's making some missionary pilot's life easier AT NO LABOR CHARGE to the operating mission saving them approximately $14,000! As they don't have the capacity/expertise to do this work in their own hangar, it's cheaper for them to fly it down to MMS.

Staff mechanic Jack Harper puts the finishing touches on this amphibious Cessna 206. We updated their control panel and made other upgrades to the airplane getting it ready for ministry. Next week, we'll take the entire airplane apart, carefully pack it into a shipping container, and send it to Papua New Guinea where it will operate from remote rivers carrying the help, hope, truth, and compassion of Jesus Christ to those who have not heard.

Apprentice Tyler Sensenig works with staff mechanic Dale Coates, our Chief Inspector, to inspect and set a strategy to repair this lower engine cowling. There may be corrosion eating the aluminum, there may be worn rivets needing replacement or specifically, in this case, there are major cracks in the piece Tyler and Dale are discussing. Will they "stop" the cracks as an airworthy repair or fabricate a new aluminum skin as a replacement? 

Apprentice Sharee Sensenig (Tyler's wife) drills out rivets on a damaged portion of the upper engine cowling. The "skins" under Tyler and Sharee's repair are for a missionary airplane assigned to operate in the Philippines.

For additional context...these cowls are no longer manufactured. They must be purchased used on the open market. Dale found a used but incomplete set of these specific cowls on eBay for $3,000. (Yes, you can buy airplane parts on eBay!) So, instead of making that purchase Dale put Tyler and Sharee to work. They completely disassembled the cowls, cleaned/repaired all the components, reassembled them, and primed and painted them for...$110 in parts and consumables. That represents a "realized" savings for missionary aviation of approximately $2890!  And the Sensenigs gained "priceless" maintenance experience that they'll soon use on the mission field.

UPDATED PHOTO! 3.8.23 UPDATED PHOTO!

Tyler and Sharee assemble the repaired cowlings after priming them for fresh paint.

Facilities Manager Bob Campbell cuts steel studs to build our first, dedicated "Avionics Lab" for our "wire guys" to work in to fabricate components and make repairs. We cleared storage space and created the opportunity to increase our ability to serve our missionary partners through this build. Lots of work goes into facilitating the work of our mechanics.

Thanks for being part of this amazing ministry. 

It's an honor to have you as partners on this team! Your monthly gift has already saved missionary aviation $43,390.00 in labor costs over the first two months of this year.