Interior and landing gear

The last week or so, we've been working on 5Y-BLG, along with some other things, too.  I worked on getting a lot of the interior re-installed, and Tim Carpenter has been working the bugs out of the landing gear.  Boy, I tell you what...Cessna 210 landing gear can sure be a pain to disassemble, repair, re-assemble, re-install, and rig properly.  And I'm not even the one doing it!  I don't envy Tim at all, but I'm greatly encouraged by his dedication to the task.  He has the patience and endurance to stick to the job until it's done right.  I think I would have been beating my head against the wall long ago!  Anyway, here's some pictures from the work on BLG.  

Here I am putting some of the interior panels in.  

You know, there really isn't a whole lot of room in the baggage compartment for an adult.  

Howdy!

Just so you know, I didn't climb in through that little hole...

What the interior looks like now...I still have some more to do, but have been focusing on some other things the past few days, mainly Cessna Caravans...

Changing out some nutplates on the baggage compartment back wall.   

Tim Carpenter, running the gear up and down.  Definitely fun to watch.  

Almost up!  

I caught Tim deep in thought the other day...

Sometimes you just have to slow down, read the manual a bit, and think about how the whole thing works.  Thanks, Tim, for your super hard work!  

Brown Aviation Tool Supply

Many of you may be wondering who in the world these people are in this picture.  Well, this is the staff of Brown Aviation Tool Supply, which is the major aviation tool company where I purchase my aviation tools.  I figured that I would post a few other aviation related things and this was naturally one of the first to come to my mind.  Brown Tool is a great company and provide a wide variety of tools, while also providing superb customer service.  Thanks, Brown Tool, for providing a fantastic resource for the aviation industry all over the world!

5Y-BLG, Cessna 210M

     BLG is AIM AIR's Cessna 210.  It has been in the fleet for many years and has been a faithful servant to the ministry.  It came due for a Check 3 inspection sometime around spring of 2009.  Well, most airplanes at AIM AIR that require Check 3 inspection seem to get pushed into the corner and only get worked when all other maintenance is done, as there really isn't enough people for someone to be constantly devoted to that project.  BLG wasn't really any different; however, when the accident occured in August 2009, that just pushed it to the side a bit more.  You see, Ryan Williams was the one doing most of the tinkering on BLG, and after his death, none of the rest of us really have too much Cessna 210 experience. 
     So...it sort of became the prodigal child, taking up hangar space, but not much else.  Well, in the past 6 months, we've been working little by little with it to get it back to flight status.  Especially now, with the issue regarding US-registered aircraft not being able to do much flying in Kenya, the need has escalated for BLG to be operational again.  We have begun pushing hard now to get BLG back into the air (operationally, that is) so that AIM AIR can have another Kenyan-registered plane available. 
     Below are some pictures of the work we've been doing.  A Cessna 210 is a new can of worms for me.  This is the first one I've worked on, and while it is very close to a Cessna 206, there are some oddities that Cessna developed that create "wonderful" learning situations.  Anyway, it is a neat airplane, and I'm looking forward to it being back in the fleet, contributing to the mission that AIM AIR is serving throughout East Africa. 

Here it is where BLG currently sits, in the back of the hangar.  Notice that the left gear leg has been removed.  We are in the process of replacing the pivot assembly. 

I changed out the old pilot inertia reel and seatbelt assembly with a new one.  Actually, it is an STC to install two inertia reels, one for the pilot and one for the co-pilot.  This is the "before" picture.

Here's what the new inertia reel looks like.  It is an STC by B.A.S., Inc.  It was a pretty straight forward installation for the most part.  The directions were a little hard to interpret, but we made it happen. 

Tim Carpenter caught this picture of me on top of BLG while I was drilling the holes for the new inertia reel kit.  Hang on, hang on!

And here's the "after" picture.  The old style reel assembly came out from the plastic escutcheon in the middle of the ceiling.  Now, the new ones are mounted on either side of the escutcheon.  Much more effecient.

This is what BLG looks like on the inside.  Since I took this picture, I've put the covers back up next to the compass and the OAT gauge in the top of the windshield, and also the sun visors.  I'm currently working on getting the insulation and side panels back together as well. 

Sometimes you just have sit down and read the manual.  This is currently my "office" next to BLG, where my toolboxes live and I can work comfortably.  As you can see, I am sporting my custom-made, one of a kind, none others in the world, hoodie with the logo from my A&P school, Missionary Aviation Institute.  I am proud to represent my school to those around me who went to some other school called "Moody" something or "LeTourneau" who?  I'm proud to be an MAI A&P grad!

Instrument panels and wiring a Cessna 206

So the past couple weeks, we haven't really worked on 5Y-CMA too much because there has been a lot of fleet maintenance occurring.  However, David Marwa, our avionics technician, has been steadily doing his wiring while he has free reign of the aircraft.  Nate Killoren also has been helping him by fabricating the instrument panels.  Here's a few pictures of the past week.  I'd like to give a big shout out to David, who's been doing a great job!

Here's Killoren punching the holes out of the panel.  That hydraulic press was made in Travelers Rest, SC, which is where my aunt and uncle used to live!  Crazy!

Fitting the removable right side panel onto the subpanel. 

Check out all those wires David has installed!  He's almost done!  We've already tested all of the radios and lots of the electrical items as well... 

...including landing and taxi lights!  Nice!

Our famed avionics tech.

Call to action!

Below is a video posted by Brian and Jami Staples.  Brian is a pilot/mechanic who is coming with his family to serve with AIM AIR here in Nairobi, Kenya.  They are hoping to be out here by July.  Please watch the video and respond in the way that the Lord is calling you.  You can view their website here. If you have trouble viewing the video, you can also view it here.

AIM AIR - Serving those who serve

Supercharged IO-550-N, N341EA, Cessna U206G

Below are some pictures that I found on the website of Forced Aeromotive showing the new supercharger installed in N341EA, the Samaritan's Purse floatplane that is scheduled to arrive later this summer.  It sure looks good, doesn't it?! 

What I see...

This past week, lots of things were happening around the hangar.  Below are some pictures of what I witnessed. 

Look above the propeller blade...what do you see?

Here's a closer shot.  It's Mount Kilimanjaro!  This is like the tallest peak in Africa, and its down in Tanzania!  On a really clear day, you can see it from the hangar.  Wow!

Here's the view of the hangar with the DC-3T in the door. 

This was the view I had the other morning.  They were working on getting it out the door.  It's been in the hangar for about 4 weeks getting an avionics/wiring overhaul. 

Marko, cheesing for the camera while riding in the cockpit operating brakes when needed. 

The now empty hangar...but it was only empty for about 15 minutes.  We filled it back with airplanes that had to live outside when the DC-3T filled the hangar. 

Yikes!  I found this picture on my camera the other day...looks like the Wolfman!

But wow!  What a difference a haircut makes!  Jeremy really had people doing double-takes when he showed up clean shaven.