Over the last couple of years we have fallen into a bit of a routine, where I do the newsletters and Facebook page updates, and Heather usually writes the blog posts. I get in on the blog too, when there is something interesting in my world that we want to share, but I was shocked when I realised the other day that I haven't written anything on the blog since my last skin cancer update back in early September last year! (Heather has posted since then, but if you follow the blog for the aviation side of things, I am very sorry!!)
Life here is as busy as always; Heather is very involved in school work just now. November & December are always busy for music teachers with Christmas programmes looming large! The kids are also busy at school and all three of them are enjoying the music lessons that they are taking after school. Abi is still doing great on the piano, and has been joined in the Swanson family pianist ranks by Matthew who is also showing lots of promise! Eilidh has been learning violin, and enjoys her Wednesday afternoon lesson very much!
Hangar life is busy too. I am very involved in a renovation project on one of our 206’s which has been looking a little down in the tooth. We are busy with preparations to repaint her in the new MAF colour scheme, something that doesn't happen all that often within the programme. We usually send planes to S Africa to a paint shop, but that can be an expensive option, so we decided to do it in house this time around. As is usually the case, when you start stripping paint off a plane, you find all sorts of other issues that need attention; right now we are busy with some repairs and major inspections that are easiest done when the plane is broken down and stripped back to bare metal.
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| 5X-MSP part way through the paint stripping process. |
Alongside our big project, we have all the usual routine work going on. The rest of this blog post is a wee report I did for someone of a routine inspection we dida few months back; hopefully it will give you an idea of what our day-to-day looks like… and it should also have enough “airplane anorak” in there to satisfy those who have been waiting since last year for a plane post!!
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| Engine bay inspection on 5X-LDR |
So this week we have LDR in for a 200hr inspection. Every 100 hr’s of flight time, the Caravan’s come in for a routine inspection. We have two types of inspection a “minor inspection” (which we also call a 100hr inspection), and a “major inspection”, (which we call a 200hr). They alternate between minor and major every 100 hrs. These inspections give a basic (but thorough!) check of all the systems in the aircraft, to make sure they are still flying safely! On the major checks we go a bit deeper with the inspections, and also change lots of filters around the engine, and lubricate all the engine controls. As well as these regular checks, we carry out “Inspection Documents” which are part of Cessna’s Scheduled Inspection Programme. The aviation authorities have a requirement for us to check the plane thoroughly every 12 months. On smaller planes, an owner often does one big “annual inspection”, and they are then good to go for a year. On more complicated planes, or planes that are regularly used for flying commitments, taking a plane out of service for weeks at a time isn't practical, so Cessna have an approved system where they list all the required tasks in 25 “Inspection Documents”, which come around with different time intervals. These intervals could be anything from every 100 hrs, every 400 hrs, or even every 4 years. We schedule them in as tasks on the work order for our routine inspections, and do it all as one big check.
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| Routine inspection of pilot's door |
The 200hr inspection we are doing this week includes 4 inspection documents, with some simple, quick tasks, like inspecting the oxygen masks, or checking that the fuel tank vents are clear. There are also some tasks that are simple and straightforward, but can be time consuming, especially when we are short of hands on the hangar floor. These could be jobs like inspecting the crew doors, where we strip all the trim panels off, and inspect the door frames for cracks or damage, make sure all the mechanisms are working properly and are well lubricated, and then reassemble it all. Then there are the bigger jobs like the fuel level sensing system checks, where all the fuel is drained out of the plane and we add it step by step, making sure the gauges are accurately calibrated, and the low level alarms go off when they should. (Pilots like to know that “full” means “full”… and “empty” means “empty”!!!)
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| Martin safety-wires the firewall fuel filter, after cleaning and inspection |
As well as routine inspection work we have to fix all the defects that are raised during the wear and tear of normal operations. These are sometimes minor snags that don’t affect the airworthiness of the plane, but sometimes they are much more serious issues that would mean the plane would be grounded if we couldn’t find a solution. On this visit to the hangar, 5X-LDR is having it’s Comm2 antenna replaced. The second of 2 VHF radio antennas (used to keep in touch with ATC) had picked up some damage, and was no longer operating. It was changed for a new part during this inspection. Although it is important, it is possible to fly the plane (with some restrictions), without the Comm2 radio functioning. We also had to replace a clamping bolt on the cable that connects the engine’s fuel control unit to the propellor governor. It is part of the system that controls the pitch of the blades, and without this one little bolt, the plane would be grounded and going nowhere. It is a very specialised part, and there were none available to us in Africa, so one had to be shipped to us from USA . It arrived yesterday, and will allow us to put the plane back into service right after the inspection is completed on Friday.
It’s a busy week of work for us, but there isn’t much on a plane that is there for no reason. It’s obviously very important for the passenger’s safety that pilots know how to use all the equipment on the aircraft; it’s the hangar team’s job to make sure that it all works as it should when it is needed! Aircraft maintenance plays a huge part in the good stewardship of the resources we have in MAF-Uganda. By doing a good job in the routine line maintenance tasks, we contribute to the safe and efficient use of 5X-LDR as we look to see “isolated people physically and spiritually transformed.”
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| Cleaning the plane is an important part of maintenance |
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| Pierre inspects passenger seats |
