Aircraft Maintenance - what really keeps them flying.

As the name suggest, one of the Missionary Aviation Repair Center's main functions is aircraft maintenance. Mandatory inspections, servicing, modifications, repairs, and lots of paperwork are just part of what is required to keep an aircraft flying.

MARC performs maintenance on many aircraft:
1. The MARC Fleet (2 Beechcraft King Airs, 1 Piper Navajo)
2. Aircraft operated by other missionary groups in the region
3. Personal aircraft in the area (revenue used to help offset MARC's operational costs)

Many of the pilots are also mechanics but usually there are not enough mechanics for the amount of work that could come in the hangar doors. More mechanics means more aircraft maintenance that MARC could take on and help offset the costs of their primary purpose: flying and maintaining missionary aircraft.

That is why they need more people. More staff would allow MARC and affiliated groups to further enhance air transportation logistics in support of the Christian Church and in effect God's Kingdom in remote road-less Alaska.

It has been a very rewarding experience being able to put my skills as an aviation maintenance technician to work for such a worthy cause and purpose.

King Air progressive inspection and servicing

Kodiak 100 hour inspection and servicing

Flat tire on a Cessna Caravan at a gravel airstrip in the boonies

Weighing a local aircraft on digital scales to compute weight and balance info

Fueling aircraft

My specialty: aircraft electronics and wiring

A day in the life of a Missionary Pilot in Alaska

Time flies when you are working hard and having some fun. And working up here can be fun. We have been so busy I have not had much time to keep track of everything going on. So while I may not be able to update here as often as I would like, I try to take pictures of the action as it is happening to share later.

A couple of times recently I have had the opportunity to ride along for the day with a MARC pilot to gain a better understanding of how they serve the remote areas of this land.

We start at 8:00 AM for a short time of devotion and prayer. This allows us to share with each other, connect with God, and focus on what we are working towards.

Shortly after, we preflight, retrieve and load the aircraft full of groceries, two push lawnmowers, and even large heavy pressurized propane tanks (that was kinda unnerving at first...).

The first day we were gone about 12 hours from base and made the following flights:

1. Groceries and propane tanks from Soldotna to Tanalian Bible Camp at Port Alsworth (1hr flight)
2. A load of Bible camp kids from Port Alsworth going home to Dillingham (1hr flight)
3. A load of new Bible camp kids from Dillingham to Port Alsworth (1hr flight)
4. Another load of Bible camp kids going home from Port Alsworth to Dillingham (1hr flight)
5. Another load of new Bible camp kids from Dillingham to Port Alsworth (1hr flight)
6. Another load of Bible camp kids going home from Port Alsworth to Dillingham (1hr flight)
7. Pick up some more new Bible camp kids in Manokotak going to Port Alsworth (1hr 15min)
8. Drop off our last load going to Tanalian Bible Camp in Port Alsworth and head home to Soldotna (1hr flight)

We got back to base in Soldotna around 10PM. Nine flights, hundreds of pounds of groceries, hundreds of pounds of propane tanks, two lawnmowers, and dozens of Bible camp kids.

That was just one day of the week. There are other flight crews with other aircraft flying similar missions in other parts of the state at the same time. Summer is busy up here.

A day in the life of...

...someone that works at an airport.

Many job descriptions sound pretty self-explanatory. Aircraft Mechanics. Flight Line Personnel. Aircraft Cargo Loaders. Parts Room Clerks. Flight Followers. Pilots. Secretaries. Grounds Maintainers.

But what usually happens in aviation is that people do many things outside their allocated job description. For many of us there is a wild card category called "Jack-of-all-trades." Such is the case here in Alaska.

Here are just a few things I did in my first week of volunteering at the Missionary Aviation Repair Center:

1. Facility Familiarization
2. Assist with yearly inspection, servicing, and repair of local bush aircraft
3. Load missionary aircraft with construction supplies headed to remote places
4. Prepare aircraft for departure
5. Clean windshields and condition de-ice boots for possible flight in bad weather
5. Fuel aircraft
6. Transfer fuel from ground tank to mobile fuel truck (2000 gallon truck, takes hours to fill)
7. Troubleshoot transient aircraft electrical problems
8. Cleaning up the hangars and machine shop when not doing the above
9. Run errands to another local airport
10. Aircraft Maintenance Paperwork
11. Unload inbound aircraft from the bush
12. And the list goes on and on...

Each morning to start the day people gather in the office for a short devotion and prayer time. It is a nice way to remind us why we are here working and keep things in perspective.

Everyone works together to get the job done, not matter what one's specialty skill set may be. The trick is to be flexible and willing. Besides, being a "Jack-of-all-trades" keeps things interesting vs. being stuck doing just one task. To be honest I prefer it.

The pilots often have long days. Although the King Airs they fly are pretty fast, it is not uncommon for them to be gone overnight. They sometimes zig-zag across the region hauling people and supplies before returning to base. Earlier this week one of the planes had a flight to Eastern Russia and back.

Today we celebrate our Independence. MARC was closed for the day so everyone could enjoy a three day weekend. For a day trip I drove out to the Kenai Mountains and hiked up the Skyline Trail. It tops out on a ridgeline traverse about 3000 feet above the valley below. Treeline around here is around 2000 feet so I very much enjoyed the alpine tundra scenery. There are some pictures of it on the 2014 photos page.

We have been busy up here to the point I forget to take more pictures. Stay tuned and I should have more coverage coming of the work being done with Missionary Aviation here in Alaska.