October 16th I got up very early, O-dark-thirty I think, and drove an hour and a half to the the Port Columbus International Airport. It was the first leg of my journey to Ahuas, Honduras. There I was to assist Alas de Socorro personnel with a major inspection of a Cessna model 206. After 1,000 hours of flight time it's a really good idea to inspect a plane much more thoroughly than is done on more routine 100 hour inspection interval.
Ahuas (ah-wass) is in eastern Honduras and the two Alas de Socorro Cessnas primarily support a mission hospital there. Alas de Socorro (Wings of Aid/Help in English) is a charitable organization chartered in Honduras with all Honduran staff and leadership.
Most general aviation airplanes are simply referred to by their registration letters and HR-AUS, or "Uniform Sierra", was the subject of the 1,000 hour inspection. When I arrived most of the disassembly for inspection was done.
During the week there were flights to bring seriously ill people to the hospital. One flight took a patient on to a larger hospital better equipped to treat the patient's condition. Here the pilot deplanes from "Juliet Whiskey" (HR-AJW) after that flight.
With the tail feathers removed, mechanic's helper, Weily, cleans minor surface corrosion from the aluminum skin. The planes are well maintained but a 1,000 hour inspection is a good time to attend to the details. I inspected primary structure. Because of my structural repair experience, I helped replace a number of loose rivets and install a service kit on the horizontal stabilizer. One day during which the mosquitoes were particularly obnoxious, we stayed indoors and I gave Alas' Director, George, a refresher course in finding regulatory and technical data on the Internet. Especially important was how to keep up with Airworthiness Directives that identify unsafe conditions in aircraft.
George (left) was my host. He trained as a pilot and mechanic at Moody Aviation and worked with Mission Aviation Fellowship for several years. Wayne does quite a bit of the flying and helps George with maintenance also. The plane behind them, "Juliet Whiskey", was refurbished at MMS Aviation a few years ago. George, Wayne and Weily are all from the region of Honduras where they serve.
I arrived back home in Coshocton, Ohio October 23rd. Getting home is always the best part of the trip.
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