It Shall Fly Again!

If you walked into our workspace in Georgia you might think, “That airplane will never fly again!”—especially if you have never seen an aircraft restoration project. I remember the first time I walked into a hangar and saw a fuselage with the wings and tail removed, no landing gear, and only a mess of wires where the panel used to be. It’s hard to believe that such an airplane can fly again, but let me assure you that it can!

One of our faithful volunteers, Dave, has been hard at work removing paint, cleaning, and inspecting the second airplane that we recently purchased for our ministry in Bolivia. This process will uncover any hidden corrosion or defects that need to be addressed before reassembling the plane and bringing it to Bolivia. Because of the unforgiving environment in which we fly (and the difficulty of getting parts here), it’s much better to discover any potential problems now while the airplane is still in the States.

Here are some pictures of the progress being made by Dave and his team of volunteers:

Stripping the front portion of the fuselage. The tailcone was removed for shipping, and will be riveted back into place.

Slowly but surely, the paint is coming off! It is a labor-intensive job that requires much attention to detail. Every chip of paint has to be meticulously removed, even around each individual rivet head.

We are excited about the progress that’s being made, and can’t wait to get the plane finished and imported to Bolivia! Just this week we were reminded of why we desire a second airplane. We received a call for an emergency medical evacuation of a baby in a remote village, but were unable to respond because our airplane was down for scheduled maintenance. Some members of the community attempted to take the child by river to the nearest hospital, but unfortunately he did not survive. We don’t know if the outcome could have been different, but with a second aircraft we will be able to continue to respond to urgent needs like this when one of our aircraft is down for maintenance.

We are grateful that God has provided this tool to be used for His purposes, and continue to trust Him for the completion of this project. If you would like to help by praying or giving, please take a few minutes to read more. Thank you, and God bless!