Farewell Summer of 2012!

Greetings! The school year has started! After a three month summer break it is time to get back to work.  Abigail is really glad to be in first grade and is enjoying her new class.  The two kindergarten classes last  have been mixed up for first grade so she is getting to know her new classmates better and can play with her old friends at play time.  

Miriam, Matthew and Abigail

Matthew is back at pre-school.  There are only four children in his class from last year and the rest of the children are all new.  His best friend Miriam is now in kindergarten so he is having to make new friends. He is really enjoying it and I haven’t had any tears when it’s time to go.  His new pre-school bag has hand prints all over it, so he likes to call it his “hand-bag”.  Thankfully a hand-bag is more commonly referred to as a “purse” in America so it only makes Andy and I cringe! Lol!

Parent and toddlers started again last week and it was great to catch up with the mum’s and grandma’s after three months.  Yesterday we had a new mum with her five week old boy and 2 year old girl.  It’s is always exciting each week to see who is going to walk through the door.

Sam and Sommer with 20 month old Savannah
 

We enjoyed our friends from Florida last week for three days.  Sam is a pilot so he gets to fly for free.  They flew to Ohio last Tuesday and stayed till Friday.  I knew Sommer when she was just six years old when her family lived in Dunoon.  Her father was in the navy.  We have kept in touch since and it was so nice to see them and meet Savannah for the first time.  Sam is Puerto Rican so we had three different accents going on - fun!

Eilidh 10 weeks old.

Eilidh is growing fast and is starting to giggle which has all of us laughing as we listen to her.   She is in 3-6 month clothes a month early!   I am just up once through the night usually for an hour or so with her.   It is still like being pregnant in some ways with the disturbed sleep and trying to take naps in the afternoon to make up it.  It is certainly a challenge getting three children out the door for 8.45am and punctuality has gone from my vocabulary! House work is in the distance and there is a bag of paperwork needing urgent attention.  If I manage to get the washing done and the meals and dishes done then it has been a very successful day.:0) I’m blogging with one hand while putting Eilidh to sleep in the other arm – mum’s you will understand completely!:0)

 

Andy is busy as always in the hanger and preparing a few presentations for our return to the UK.   His jeep died a few weeks ago.  The breaks have been dangerously worn and the floor has rusted out so much that the front passenger chair has come loose from its bolts.  He could no longer take anyone for lifts or put any of the children in it as he only had one seat belt working.   A few weeks ago it broke down a few miles from home.  We only have one mobile which I had so he had to walk two miles home after a day’s work, part of which was in a thunderstorm.  Some of our MMS friends helped tow it back to our house where it is awaiting a further adventure to the scrap yard!  I am home bound for part of the week and Andy is relying on lifts for the other half when I have to take Matthew to preschool .  We have a loan of a car for a month during September while Jeff (another MAF apprentice) is away to Zambia.  He is going with our neighbour (who has been giving Andy the lifts) for the month on a rapid response trip.  We are so thankful Andy will have transport while our neighbour is away.

We're still here!!!

As I flick through some of our old blogs, there are more than a few that start something like “Sorry it has been such a long time since our last post…” This time we can literally say that it has been a lifetime since our last post!!

When we last blogged, Eilidh was less than 24hrs old, and we were down in North Carolina after her adventurous arrival into the world! (See our last newsletter for the whole story; if you want to receive it but don’t yet, drop me a line and we can add you to the list!) Now she is a happy healthy 6 week old bundle of joy!

We're getting used to having another tiny little person around the house again!

It is fair to say that much of what we’ve been up to for the last month and a half has revolved around Eilidh. The day after we got back to Ohio, I took Abi and Matthew through to Columbus to collect Heather’s mum and dad from the airport. It was good to have them with us as we all adjusted to life as a family of five. My paternity leave lasted until the end of that week, so having another couple of pairs of hands to help with housework and looking after Abi and Matthew was a huge blessing. They enjoyed spending time with Abi and Matthew, and the rest of us, as well as getting to know Eilidh, and hopefully having a bit of a break as well!!

After Eilidh's dedication service.

One highlight of their time here was having Eilidh dedicated at our church here in Coshocton. It was good to be able to have that service here with our church family, and to have a connection with Scotland through having Heather’s parents join us. I put a little slide show together from the dedication...

Through the summer Abi and Matthew have been able to get involved in some different activities that have been running around the area. Most of the local churches run week long Vacation Bible School’s during the holidays, and Abi and Matthew have both been able to attend a few of these. Some of their friends have joined them at our church’s VBS, and they have gone to VBS at some friend’s churches. These have been a really good time for the kids, as well as giving mum a little bit of quiet time in the house to deal with Eilidh! It has also introduced a whole new repertoire of sing-along songs for our car journeys!!

They have also been to a couple of “camps” this summer as well. Abi attended an art camp at a local theatre, where they were involved in designing and decorating the set for a youth production of Jungle Book, and Matthew spent a week at soccer camp becoming a better footballer than his dad (not too tough a challenge!!)

Our little footballer!

Back at the hangar I have mostly been carrying on with work on the MAF Cessna 206. We are making good progress and now we have started building things back up, having spent the first part of the project dismantling the plane and dealing with corrosion and other issues. While I was off on paternity leave Phil and Jake had removed a damaged skin from the tail-cone and fabricated a new skin ready for installation. My first job back was to help Phil with riveting the new skin in place; we have also been busy rebuilding the landing gear box, reinstalling the main landing gear legs, installing new windows, reinstalling the cargo doors, finishing off some paint stripping detail work, and rebuilding the nose gear strut ready to be installed next week. After the nose gear goes on, we should be ready to wheel the fuselage to the paint booth, and move on to working on the wings!

Re-assembling the fuselage, ready for painting.

Thanks for your patience with our lack of posts, and for your thoughts and prayers as we serve with MAF here in Ohio.

It's a girl!!

Heather and I are thrilled to let you all know of the safe arrival of the latest little Swanson!!! As with most things, there is a bit of a story to tell, but that can come later!

We thought we were ready to have the baby on the due date (24^th June), but God’s timing is always perfect, and Eilidh Rose Swanson (pronounced like Hayley, but without the H) arrived exactly when she was meant to! 4^th July is a big day in America, and now our family really have something special to celebrate on 4^th July also!

Eilidh weighed in at 7lb 15oz, and both mother and baby are well.

Once things have calmed down a bit, we will get some pictures posted and tell some more of the story, but in the meantime, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

God is good!

A

Still waiting!!

Little Swanson number 3 was due on Sunday, but as you might expect with someone who shares my genetics, he or she is a wee bit late! Abi was 8 days past her due date, and Matthew came the day after his date, so we're not too concerned by going  a little over with this one too. The biggest hardship is with the weather; the first two were both born in Tummel Bridge, where the weather wasn't quite so much of a chore as it is here! This afternoon saw the temperatures hitting 99 degF (37 degC) so Heather is understandably keen to not be pregnant anymore! We will keep you all posted when he or she makes a grand appearance!

Hopefully the last pregnant Heather picture!

Life in the hangar is carrying on as usual. The summer months see quite a few people disappearing from the hangar for a week or two at a time, taking vacation time to visit friends and family, time to help with some of the many "Vacation Bible School" programmes run by churches across the States through the summer, or making "deputation" trips to share about what they are doing with supporters and at their home churches.
The 206 project has still been moving on though, and the last few weeks have seen me focussing on more of the painting related jobs. I have had good opportunity to spend some time in the paint booth painting the many small parts that have been removed from the plane over the last few months. Painting is one of those things that is 25% science, and 75% art, so once Josh had spent a bit of time going over the theory of it all, the best way to learn is just to do it! It is also one of those things that is incredibly satisfying when it all works out, so the last couple of weeks have been good fun for me!

Painting the 206's engine cowls

Wire brushing one of the rivet heads!

With painting, one of the key things to getting a good finish is to start with a good base. We are now coming close to getting the fuselage rolled into the paint booth for painting, so this week has seen me spend quite a bit of time "detailing" in preparation for paint. The majority of the old paint was stripped with a chemical stripper a few weeks ago, but there are still little flecks of paint stuck in nooks and cranny's and around every rivet head on the surface of the plane. My job this week has been to spray thinners onto every rivet head  and rub it all down with a wire brush! I have to admit I am starting to go a bit cross eyed focusing on one rivet at a time, sitting a few inches from the side of the plane, but it has to be done, and it is a good job for someone who is hoping at any minute to drop everything and rush home for the birth!!


Thanks for all your prayers for the safe arrival of the baby - we will let you know when it comes!!

Tick -Tock.......

On June the 2^nd some of the women at our church along with myself organised a family fun day at a local park near our church.   Some people from the church have had a youth outreach programme going on there for a while building relationships with children who live around the park.  Our goal was to try and reach the parents as well and get to know them a little more.  We had super weather – not too hot!  Lots of volunteers from the church helped with the BBQ and with crafts and games and face painting etc.   The children enjoyed games like watermelon rolling, ( which Andy tried to duct tape together after it became a “watermelon throwing contest” :0).  Lots of local children came by themselves to the park and we were able to meet some parents who ventured out for a free hot dog.  It was a super success and the committee are planning another one in August.  

Rolling a duct-taped watermellon...

The next thing I had planned after the park party was to play at an outdoor wedding last Saturday.  Although 39 weeks pregnant, the wedding was in the morning and I was in the shade at the keyboard and all went well.  Our Pastor’s eldest daughter was getting married and it was a privilege to be a part of the wedding.   The ceremony was over in an hour and we did not stay for the reception as the temperature was getting up to around 85 degrees F.   I came home and Andy and I took the kids swimming.  It was so nice to get into some deep water to take the weight of the baby and feel lighter again!   There is no indoor public swimming pool near here, the public pools are outdoor and just opened at the end of May. 

A week ago Debbie Baisley arrived from North Carolina to stay with us until after the baby is born.  Abi and Matthew are loving having their American “mimi” to stay  and needless to say – so are we!  I am able to get more sleep in the mornings and uninterrupted afternoon naps and the house has never looked so good! : 0) Debbie is a home birth midwife and has known me since I was 10 years old.  I am really excited that she will be here to help deliver our new arrival when the time comes.   I have another midwife who is local who will assist Debbie with the birth.   After having two home water births with Abi and Matthew I am not too worried about having a third.  The major difference this time is the lack of gas and air for pain relief.   It is not standard in America and not available for births anywhere here.  I never used much at all with Matthew as it was quite a quick birth so I am hoping for another one like that!  Whatever happens I know God is always in control.   

Abi and Matthew have been quite humourous trying to make sense of all that’s going on.  After watching a facebook video of my sister’s dog licking her new born puppies, Abi asked Debbie “will mummy have to lick the baby’s eyes to get them to open?” lol! Matthew knew that the baby was going to come out when Debbie arrived so he is a little confused as to why it is not out yet and Debbie has been here a week.  He asked me again today if it was coming in June or July – I think he is getting a little impatient ;0).   Last week they both went to a local vacation bible school based on Ken Ham’s "Answer’s in Genesis".  They really enjoyed it and Matthew informed me on the second day that “if the bible says it, then that settle’s it”!  This week Abi is away every morning to an art class.  They are designing the set for a local Jungle book production in July.  I think she struggled today as there was a lot of talking and planning and she likes to be busy with her hands.  Hopefully they will get painting soon and she will settle into it.   Next week is vacation bible school at our own church.  As they get three months of a summer holiday it is nice to have a few things organised to keep them busy.

Andy is still busy working on the MAF 206 from Haiti.  They are starting the process of painting the plane and Andy is busy painting landing gear parts.  He is awaiting the call home any moment for the birth.  He is looking after another MMS'ers garden and animals while they are away for a week, and got a call at the hangar today to say that their cow gave birth to a calf... not the delivery he was hoping for!! He will get two weeks off when the baby is born which we are all excited about.

My parents are due to arrive in Ohio on the 10^th of July for a month so I am feeling very blessed to have so much help around this time and in the coming months.   The baby is due on Sunday 24th of June so I am counting the days! Health-wise, myself and the baby are doing fine although I am getting very uncomfortable and probably a lot more short tempered than usual.  The weather has been very hot and I am preferring to stay indoors and so thankful for our big old air conditioning window unit in our living room.  It spouts out black dirt which we can't seem to find the source of, but that's a small price to pay for the relief of some cooler air!   Our next blog post will hopefully be about our exciting news! God bless x

Not quite retired....

Although we work with MAF, while I am training at MMS I spend most of my time working on aircraft that serve with other organisations. For the last wee while though, we have had an MAF plane in the hangar, and I’ve enjoyed working with Chuck and Phil on this project for the last couple of weeks.

Hard at work in Haiti

N-6MF is a Cessna 206 that came back to the States at the end of 2010 after a busy missionary career. It started with MAF in the 80’s, and served in Nicaragua and Venezuela before spending four years between 2006 and 2010 flying as HH-PTL in Haiti. It looked like it might be retired from MAF work, but it was decided to give it a bit of a make-over, fix a few problems and return it to MAF’s fleet. It will be used in America as a training aircraft for pilots looking to serve overseas, and also as a demo plane that will be seen at air-shows across the country promoting the work that MAF do.  

Most of the work that needs to be done to this plane while it is here in Ohio is just the result of being a 31 year old plane which spent its last few years by the sea. There have been quite a lot of little bits of corrosion that we have been dealing with, and lots of parts that are just worn and tired.

Since I started working on this project I have been involved in a few different jobs on it. I disassembled the landing gear legs and the nose gear strut, then stripped them of the old paint and inspected them to ensure that they are in an airworthy state and good to be reinstalled. They are now ready to be repainted when we get to that phase of the project.

I then moved onto the gear box for the main landing gear. This was the same area as I was working on this time last year, on the Gabon 207, but this time the only damage that needed attention was one cracked casting that we have to replace after the years of landing on rough grass strips had taken their toll. I removed the old casting, leaving the rest of the gearbox in place, and cleaned up the corrosion that was underneath it. We are now just about ready to get the new casting prepped and installed.

Repairing rivets on the engine mounts

Another issue that had to be addressed was in the engine bay. Over the years some of the rivets that hold the engine mounts in place had started to work loose, and had to be replaced. As with many areas on aircraft, a lot of rivets are in awkward places, and give a bit of a challenge in getting them drilled out and then driven again. Also with “working rivets” like these, the holes that they are in have worn that little bit bigger, which gives its own set of problems when you are installing new rivets. Some of the holes we had here were ok and could be filled with the same size rivets as before, but some holes were a bit too worn and had to be filled with rivets of the next size bigger.

Bucking rivets for Phil

In between times, I helped Phil when he needed another pair of hands for some riveting jobs. He has been kept busy replacing a stringer in the cabin roof and the pilot’s door sill, among other things. In the picture above I am bucking rivets in the pilot’s foot-well as Phil drives them from the outside.

Last week had me working on the side skin below the co-pilot’s window. When the plane first arrived at the hangar it had been decided to pull that skin off to attend to some corrosion beneath the frames below it. When we pulled it off we found a section of channel that had quite a bit of damage, as well as some corrosion on the skin itself. We managed to source a new channel for a reasonable price, and I set to work fabricating a new skin.

Starting the skin removal...

Skin removed!

I used the old skin as a template to work from and drilled all the rivet holes to match where they fit on the plane. Then I cut the skin to the size of the original, dressed the edges, primed the inside surface (the outside will get painted with the rest of the plane) and checked to make sure it all fit together properly! 

Transfering rivet holes into the new aluminium sheet

Dressing the edges of the new skin ready for installation.

Last Friday, Chuck and I got started on riveting it in place, and by the end of the day on Monday we had pretty much finished installing the new skin on the plane.

I thought you might like to see this video of one of the more unusual flights this plane was involved in while it worked in Haiti.

  

Thanks for your interest and support as we train here in the States on planes that are having a real impact around the world. 

(The video link for those who get this blog-post by email is http://youtu.be/Fk_ls9WNpwM )

First visitors of the year!

It’s hard to believe how fast the time seems to be going by just now! I had planned to write another blog-post weeks ago, but between working to finish my theory chapter tests, getting ready for the arrival of “Little Swanson #3” and hosting our first visitors of 2012, time has just run away on me!

The first visitors we had this year were my mum and dad, who have never been to the States before. As this was their first trip across the Atlantic, they were keen to check off as much “tourist stuff” as possible, as well as seeing our home here in Coshocton, spending time with the kids (and me and Heather!) and visiting the hangar to see what we are actually doing here in Ohio!

Their tourist trail started in New York, where they spent the weekend while we were driving back from North Carolina (see the last blog post!). After a few days in the Big Apple, they flew to Columbus, where Matthew and I met them at the airport. Dad had planned on doing some driving while here, but when they saw the traffic on the Interstate I think they were glad that they had their own team of chauffeurs for their stay with us!! It was good to be able to give them their first taste of American life, and Abi and Matthew enjoyed showing their Granny and Granda around our home here. (Think demonstrations of “The Pledge of Allegiance”, “bug tour’s” of the garden, peanut butter milkshakes from “Earl’s”, and reading bedtime stories at the end of the day.) A great time was had by all!

Bedtime stories

The other tourist thing on the list was a visit to Washington DC. As most of the things to see in DC weren’t really of interest to Abi and Matthew, and a 7 month pregnant Heather didn’t fancy another 6 hour car drive, we decided that I would drive with my folks to the capital, and get my fix of museums and memorials without the rest of the family! We had a great weekend there checking off as many of the iconic landmarks as we could in the short time we were there! We also managed to squeeze in a Gettysburg battlefield tour visiting one of the most important Civil War sites in America, and learning a bit more about what happened there.

Climbing the steps outside the Jefferson Memorial with my mum.

When we got back to Coshocton, we had a few days to relax here; I was back at work, and my mum and dad were able to visit Abi at her school. They had lunch in her class room, saw some of the work she has been doing, enjoyed some “recess” time in the play ground, and met the rest of Abi’s class. We were also able to give Heather a “home day” to herself when the kids and I took granny and granda through to the zoo in Columbus. As it is still off-season not all of the displays were open, but it was also much quieter and we were able to have a good look around the zoo at our own pace.

Abi showing off her classroom

Abi and Granny meeting the shark at Columbus zoo

Matthew helps with some shopping at Miller's Bakery

Mum and dad went back home at the end of April, and then I had just enough time to finish off all my chapter tests before our next visitors arrived! The chapter tests are done to ensure we cover all the theory we need to know before sitting our FAA exams; even though I have finished those now, they did a great job of confirming how much I still need to learn, so the studies will continue!!

Last week we had our good friends Mitch and Elizabeth, and their wee boy Robert, visiting us here in the “north”. Although Elizabeth has been here before, Mitch hadn’t, so it was good to be able to spend time with them here, and show them around the hangar. They had a great time exploring Amish country, letting Robert have some time playing with his “Scottish cousins” and sampling the compulsory cheese tarts from Miller’s Bakery! It was also a good chance for them to relax away from their daily routine’s as Elizabeth is expecting their second child in August.

Mitch, Elizabeth and little Robert.

Thanks for your patience since the last post – we really appreciate your interest and support as we train here in Ohio. Up at the hangar I am working on a MAF Cessna 206 just now, and will hopefully have a post about that coming up soon!