Big scopes and little scopes...

One of the first things I was told when I started training at MMS was that the thing that makes a good aircraft mechanic is the ability to switch seamlessly from microscope to telescope and back to microscope. In other words, you need to be able to focus on the minute detail of the immediate task in hand, whilst keeping in mind the bigger picture of the whole aircraft system. The microscope / telescope analogy is just as applicable to mission aviation, and this week has given me a few good examples of this at work.

I am still assigned to the Gabon 207 project and it is satisfying to feel like real progress is being made as jobs are slowly but surely being ticked off the big list of things to do. To the casual observer though, I am still hunched over the same bit of the airframe as I was 3 weeks ago, and you would be forgiven for thinking I haven’t moved too far. The level of detail that goes into every task and the work that needs to be done on every component is impressive, and is a great reassurance to anyone who will fly in this aeroplane in the future.

Towards the end of the afternoon on Tuesday, I was refitting a nylon fairlead around a control cable where it passes through one of the gearbox bulkheads. It is a small 2-part nylon grommet held in place with a little spring clip. As I squeezed the clip in place, the fairlead moved slightly and I heard a ping as the little clip took off a few months ahead of the rest of the plane! It is not an expensive component and it would not have been a big deal to pay a dollar or two, order a new one, and move on to the next task to keep the project moving along.

The little clip - all 1/2" of it!!

The problem lay more with where the old clip had landed. Smaller and more insignificant things than this clip have become jammed in control cable pulleys causing loss of control, or have bridged electrical terminals causing short-circuit’s and fires. The hangar I am working in is home to 3 other operational aircraft and 2 more “mothballed” planes, all of which might have been within firing range of my little clip. So for the rest of Tuesday afternoon, and the first 5 hours of Wednesday, I hunted every corner of the Gabon 207, the hangar floor around it, the aircraft beside it, the floor below them – everywhere! I definitely felt this was a “microscope moment”, after spending most of my time with my face 2 inches from the floor! My reserved Scottish personality didn’t go quite as far as a “whoop-whoop” or a “high-five”, but I was definitely chuffed when I finally found the clip lying about 30 feet from the launch site!!

The detail is so important when it comes to aircraft, and the responsibility sits squarely on those who work with these planes to ensure the microscope stays in focus.

Back where it's meant to be!

My “telescope moment” came on Thursday when we were able to join representatives of http://www.brigadeair.org/ as they held a dedication service for their Cessna 172 which has been one of our main projects for the last few months. It is a 1961 model which was donated to Brigade Air, still bearing its original paint work and lots of other “retro features”. The transformation over the last few months has been immense, and N7792X will soon be flying out of Coshocton to take part in the first of many summer camps, inspiring the next generation of young people into mission aviation service.

Brigade Air's Cessna 172

At the dedication, Ron Wyrtzen shared a few thoughts from Exodus 4, v2. Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

The chapters that follow feature Moses’ staff in all sorts of miraculous events, but it wasn’t a magic wand, just a stick that was used in amazing ways in obedience to God’s plan. The planes we work on are just planes, but when they are used in obedience to God’s plan they have a life changing impact on countless people, whether on summer camp in America, on a med-flight in Africa, or in any other corner of the globe.

MMS is filled with people who want to be obedient to God’s plan for their lives, they want to serve in whatever corner of the world God wants them in, and they want to see God glorified in all they do. For us, our “staff” is the aeroplane we see flying off after spending time in Coshocton, or the spanner we use to get it in the air. Just an object, but dedicated to bringing Christ’s hope to a world that needs it.

Thank you for being part of this with us!