Week Six - The 206

I have a good excuse for the late blog this time, I promise!  I couldn't find my camera for a few days.  I actually considered writing this blog last Thursday, but didn't find my camera until last night.  It was hiding under a pillow on the couch.  Such sneaky things those cameras can be sometimes...

This week I worked with Paul again, which was fun.  (If you don't remember Paul, look at the picture on last week's blog.)  (Come to think of it, you should look at it again anyway.  It's a good one.)  I spent a day putting on the v-brace:

Recognize that picture?
The v-brace is the black metal that attaches to the front spar on the top left and right of the windshield and ties them to the instrument dash.  (It looks like a "V", eh?)  It is not standard equipment for Cessna 206s because for normal, paved airports, they are unnecessary.  It is good for floatplanes and airplanes flying in the bush because the brace prevents the fuselage from twisting when the gear hit uneven surfaces.  Twisting causes unintended stress on the metal, which could eventually cause it to fail.  This project saved Paul 2.5 days, putting him back on schedule!  I've been able to help him significantly, saving him almost 2 weeks so far.

I also got to give him an instrument proficiency check to get him instrument current.  As payment we went out to dinner!  The next day we got together and watched an old movie; we've become good friends, and I'll keep him in my prayers when he goes to Guatemala at the end of the summer.

The other projects I worked on this week were: preparing the tail of the airplane for the later installation of abrasion boots, which will prevent them from gravel and rocks that will be encountered on the airstrips this will be flying into:

removing the wheel pant attaching mounts and getting them ready to be sold on eBay:

and prepping the plane for paint:

(Paul is gone during week seven and hasn't seen the plane totally wrapped up, so the Scottish Andy suggested we get a huge red bow to put on top of it.  Maybe get some princess wrapping paper too.)

As for the weekend, I got to take Mater (the Cessna 172) to Cincinnati to visit Mike, one of my roommates from Purdue.  We had a good time and felt adventuresome :)

Now for "Facts That Don't Fit into Full Paragraphs and are Unrelated to Each Other":

I'm just now starting to get adjusted to living by myself in the house I'm renting from MMS here, which I'm happy about.  I guess I'm more of a people person than I thought!

It's getting to be time to figure out what I'm doing (or at least what I'm applying for) after graduation next May.  Please pray for wisdom for me and all the seniors this year as we battle through figuring out where God wants us in the next season of our lives.  Thanks again for all your support, y'all!

William

~ Freezer popsicles are really cheap and really good.