I have very much enjoyed getting back into the role of the teacher as I have shown them many tricks I have learned as well as allow them to see in practice what was only hypothetical classroom projects. In the picture below they are removing an engine from a Cessna 182 that had a prop strike on a beach landing. Over 2 days they removed and dissassembled the engine. Next week we will start the inspection and repair procedure.

The first is a six cylinder engine that failed in flight. The pilot was able to fly it back to the airport and asked me to investigate why he had an “unrequested decrease in power”. Turns out three of the six cylinders had the heads coming off. He is lucky to be alive as there was fuel spraying all over the engine and exhaust. The plane should have been on fire!

Second is an exhaust stack. The owner came in with an “exhaust leak”. I found where it was leaking, and even though he was hoping we could weld the “crack” I was forced to get an entire new piece.

The third problem is and exhaust valve failure. This plane was flying overhead when his engine stopped making power. He glided to the airport and I found the following. On the left you can see the valve is missing several pieces. One piece destroyed this cylinder and piston, which we replaced. Luckily for him I decided to pull all the intake pipes and look for the missing piece. I found it waiting to get sucked into a different cylinder, which would have caused the same problems all over again.

We also have our own aircraft down for maintenance. I am happy to report that the engine issues with one of the Navajo’s now appears to have been fixed, and the King Air is only a part away from having the landing gear reinstalled. More on that next time!

To practice a few of us have been going every night there is not practice to bike and run on the local trails. On Saturday morning we were in for a surprise. We spooked a moose who was on the trail, and after we turned around she apparently finally decided to leave the trail and head through the woods. We circled around and tried to take a different trail. The moose came out of the woods with her ears back and running full bore for us! Needless to say, I found the “Second gear” that I had not been able to find earlier. Luckily for us one of the ladies finally scared her and she wandered back into the woods. We on the other hand went strait back to the parking lot.

I have also started to play rugby again. I played in college, and tried to join the team last year but was never able to actually make it to a practice. I hope the tri training will have me back in shape enough to be effective. I have learned that while triathlon is good exercise and the group is fun, it is a solo sport. I can be exhausted after tri practice but still have enough energy to show up to rugby practice and run for 2 more hours. There is something that is just extra fun about team sports.

If you want to read about any of these events here are a few links:

www.tritheKenai.com

www.HammerManTraithlon.com

Also if you did not receive the newest newsletter, it is now posted. It is four pages, so make sure you see them all. You will need Adobe Reader to view it. The link is provided on the newsletter page.

Good news, I figured out how to add pages with pictures on them! Thank you Greg for explaining it to me again, and adding the flickr link. If you want to see pictures of me FINISHING the TRIATHLON they are now available under the pictures tab above. I hope you enjoy them.

I have also updated the prayer requests, please stop in and and say a quick prayer for the people listed there.

The shop work is going well. In the picture below you can see three parts that broke on the King Air. To the left is the Flap Dynamic Brake Relay. I troubleshot this part as being the culprit for why the flaps were not always working. Not a good thing to have happen. In the middle is the HF radio we are going to be replacing with something newer, perhaps a GPS tracking devise. On the right is the EPA can float switch. This switch turns on a pump that returns extra fuel not needed after engine shutdown to tank instead of letting it drip on the ground. This little switch is $1200!! Our parts guy found one for only $900, a great find.

Hopefully two more aircraft will be done tomorrow. Check back for news on them.

It was a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, and it was a great party. I had said that I was viewing the actual race as a “graduation party”. I had already put in all the hard work, all those days of practicing and eating right. On the Tuesday before I had done the entire race, just to prove I could. So all I was doing on Sunday was showing the World, that I could in fact, swim 500 yards, bike 10 miles (it felt up hill the whole way), and then run a 5K.

My bib, Finisher Medal, and Finisher T-shirt

Tuesday I had done the race in 2:05. I was really hoping the adrenaline would help me make it under 2:00. IT DID!! I finished in 1:47:06. My transitions were very fluid and I felt fast changing to the appropriate attire. The swim and the first transition happened in 12:34. I was money on the bike like I have never been before. I was even able to haul myself up the hills and pass a few people on the way up! Being one of the bigger (AKA Clydesdale Division) racers, I obviously had the momentum and passed on the few downhills as well. The bike and transition 2 took 44:56. Obviously that leaves most of the time left for the run. Not my strongest part of the race. Turns out everyone I passed on the bike passed me on the run, and then some. My run was 49:36, and I am going to work on that part especially for next year.

To answer the most asked question, Yes I am going to do one again. I challenge all of you to do one with me. Its a lot of fun, and for the rest of your life you can say “Yes, I am a Triathlete!”  I will be posting the tri picks hopefully in a few min. If they are not in the picture tab in a few min, come back tomorrow at lunch to see them.

Check out the Tri the Kenai @ www.trithekenai.com

Both engines are freshly overhauled, so we expected them to be fine. Well one of them is having problems. In the picture above you can see the fuel pump, an oil seal, and the adapter the seal is suppose to be installed in! After the last flight, we found oil all over the side of the plane. After investigating, we concluded it was coming from the fuel pump drain. We removed the fuel pump and found the oil seal not properly installed. Good News, as this is a relatively easy fix. The other problem the engine is having we hope will also be solved by fixing the oil seal. If not, we will replace more parts.

PS, the house video will be posted this weekend. I have made a video (easier then photos) for all of you who have asked to see it. So come back and check it out!

I am back! Sorry I took so long writing again, but here is what has happened:

I got back from training where I had a great time, and learned a LOT!  We learned about the engines that we have on the King Air, and all about the new airplane designed for mission aviation, the Quest Kodiak.

On the flight home I stopped in Oregon and Seattle to visit friends who have moved down there. I got to watch a MLS game, visit the Boeing wide body facility, and explore the area.

After I got home, I got very sick for several weeks. I ended up going to the ER for a quick trip, and all told the doctors and hospital ruled out everything, but do not know what I have. The best guess is an ulcer or acid reflux, so I am on medicine for that. Praise the Lord with all your prayers I seem to be getting better.

It is a good thing too, since Travis left on Tue I am “alone” in the shop. I will have the help of some pilots in the shop but all summer it is just me. Please pray for all the “EMERGENCIES” that are sure to crop up.

Come back soon!

That morning I was able to fly the full motion Kodiak simulator. The benefits of the simulator are numerous. As I was flying the instructor was able to fail all of the different instruments. Normally for pilots this allows them to practice how to fly in dangerous conditions without actually being in danger. For the mechanics it allowed us to see what various issues look like to pilots so we can better interpret their “squawks” when they come back from a flight. On top of the simple display issues the instructor was able to actually give us mechanical engine failures. This allowed me to practice my troubleshooting without actually damaging an engine. To put it in perspective, if I was to actually go back and damage one of the two engines on our King Air, the replacement value is in the neighborhood of $300,000 – $500,000. Obviously the training received here is valuable, if for no other reason then to keep us from breaking parts on real planes.

I now head out for a week of vacation. Since January 1 I have averaged 55 hours a week at work, and I am really looking forward to getting my mind off maintenance. Since I am already in the northwest I am going to visit a few friends I have in the area, and my cousin. I will be back to work next weekend, and ready to put my knowledge gained here into practice.