Post 199: Airplane In A Box

November 26, 2023
6 mins read
Even the most stoic mechanic will leap around and shout like a spirit-filled Pentecostal if the airplane goes down when it was supposed to go up.

The container has arrived, and with it much rejoicing and a lot of work. Rejoicing because the container had in it a lot of our stuff, like Adi and Elliot’s school curriculum (the school year has been delayed because we were waiting for it) and a lot of hard work because now we’re putting an airplane together.

Shipping a container is kind of like participating in an egg drop contest where contestants compete to see who can package an egg so it can survive the highest fall. Except in this case the egg is an airplane (along with other odds and ends) and you don’t get more than one try to get it right. Turns out we didn’t need any packaging because all the red tape slowed down the container so much, we got tired of waiting for it to hit Papua New Guinea soil. I’m very relieved that the egg has landed in our nest safe and sound, except for one bent trim actuator which is unfortunate but replaceable with only minimal teeth gnashing.

The container was shipped from MMS Aviation in Ohio where I helped disassemble the airplane and package into the container. It was really neat to be on both the sending and receiving end of the project. It also gave me more motivation to pack it well because I knew who would be helping to fix it if it was broken: me!

To disassemble or assemble a Cessna 206 on floats, you need to suspend the entire airplane in the air from four eye-bolts on the top of the fuselage. It can be a challenge to do that.

At MMS, the leadership team carefully calculated the bearing load of the hangar beams. They bought a new chain hoist for the project. Several meetings were convened as the process of hoisting the entire airplane from the ceiling of the hangar, disassembling it, and packaging it was discussed. Napkins were assaulted with pens. Whiteboards were struck with dry erase markers. We came up with a plan after sorting through one hundred different available options.

First, all the control surfaces were removed, except the flaps which could be secured while installed on the wings. Notice the hugest roll of bubble wrap lying on the floor, just to the left of all the airplane parts. The propeller was also removed.
Next we removed the wings.
Here Jack is spraying ACF-50, a corrosion inhibiting fogging spray, into the wing to keep the metal healthy during it’s extended stay in a hot, humid container. We sprayed everything we could to prevent corrosion during transport.
Next we suspended the fuselage from the ceiling and removed the floats from underneath it. We put Tim on top to work the hoist.
We mounted the fuselage on steel mounts which were mounted to a 4×4 wooden frame using earthquake isolators for sensitive shop equipment. They were rated for 1000 lbs each and were purchased from McMaster Carr. They worked very well but we did have the forward 4×4 cross piece crack on the way. I’m not sure if it was stress or just natural splitting as the wood dried. It never collapsed. If I did it again, I’d reinforce that front cross piece because the mounts sit near the middle of beam and apply more bending force. We used furniture dollies to move the whole assembly around willy nilly.
Then we packed heavily padded control surfaces and seats into the fuselage to save space and to also protect them since they are made from thin aluminum that’s easily damaged.
We made a wooden frame to hold the floats stacked on top of each. We turned one upside down on top of the other because that was the shortest configuration and also required less wooden structure. We also used a hydraulic hose pressure testing rig to lower the main gear. Be careful! If there’s no hydraulic pressure holding in the lines, the gear will collapse once the main gears go past over-center.
Finally, we slid everything into place. This was the moment of truth! Would our measurements hold out? Yes! It was pretty satisfying.

In Papua New Guinea, we were left with the only plan available. It was kind of like looking in the fridge for something to eat. You’re looking for steak but after opening and closing the door several times, you find yourself gnawing on a stiff slice of week old pizza.

We started out by sizing up our hangar rafters and asking each other if we thought we could hang an airplane from it without the hangar collapsing. Nick even climbed up to get a closer look at metal beams and after a few loving pats of the rafters caused a snowfall of peeling paint and rusty debri, we decided to move on to another option. Next we were going to rent a big old crane from a Chinese construction company next door. It was originally available but after the container was delayed multiple times (and months), that option was no longer available. Then we tried to rent a crane from the Yugoslavians who helped build the hospital. Then it came down to a Nick having a conversation with a man he found in a parking lot who had a glorified pickup with a crane on it.

“Could your crane lift that car?” Nick said, pointing to a car that he estimated was about the same weight as a Cessna 206.

“Yes.”

“Can you come by the hangar at 1?”

This was the first time the man was attempting to lift an airplane with his crane and he did a fine job except for the few times when he went down instead of going up. Even the most stoic mechanic will leap around and shout like a spirit-filled Pentecostal if the airplane goes down when it was supposed to go up. That same thing goes for pilots, actually. Still, you can’t argue with success, as I like to say, and the airplane is sitting on its floats and is near completion.

We ran cables and rigged them while the airplane was on its cradle because once the plane is on floats, you need a ladder to get inside the wings.
Emil holds up the propeller while a slow mechanic (me) runs around trying to find the torque for the bolts. Turns out it was right on the propeller the whole time.
We assembled the floats and got ready to put them under the fuselage.
The stressful part: lifting the airplane trying to get six tight tolerance pieces all in the right spots at the right time.
Sitting on wheels again for the first time in 8 months!

I’ve been learning a lot in the hangar and as much as I want to take off the training wheels, I can’t quite yet.

“What’s the deal?” you may be asking, “I thought you got your license?”

Yes I did, but Papua New Guinea doesn’t allow you to directly transfer an A&P license (which is an American license) without additional testing because America doesn’t operate under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. ICAO rules are basically aviation standards set forth by the United Nations governing aviation. PNG is a part of ICAO and so my American license isn’t worth as much here. The good news is that since I have a foreign license, I don’t have to take as many exams.

So once again I’m an apprentice without the ability to sign off my own work. I’m trying to get in the rhythm of studying again to remedy this. At least this time I’m not starting from ground zero. And, truth be told, I’m sure I’ll learn things going through the books again.

Thanks to everyone who are enabling us to do this work on behalf of the people of Papua New Guinea.

Until next time,

Josh

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1 Comment
  • Angie Klarke
    November 26, 2023 at 7:41 pm

    This was very interesting to see how you take apart an airplane and put it back again! Thank you for the photos and explanations. Thank you for all the hard work you do to provide flights to people who need emergency care.

    Reply

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