You help prepare aircraft to serve overseas

The refurbished Cessna 206 that will serve our aviation partner, SAMAIR Peru, is closer to being ready to fly than ever before. The mechanics at JAARS have installed the rebuilt engine that SAMAIR asked for. The engine is the same model as the one on their other aircraft in Peru, ensuring they have all the tools and parts they need to maintain it.

Tim Fox works on the avionics in the Cessna 206.

A big consideration in preparing this Cessna 206 to serve Bible translation in the jungles of Peru is replacing all the avionics (aviation electronics). But Tim Fox, a JAARS avionics technician, and his team have a bigger job: “Because this aircraft was built in 1982, we’re also replacing all the airframe wiring.” He and other JAARS aviation staff are replacing almost every wire in the airplane so that it will last as long as possible.

When Terry applied the vacuum, it sucked the plastic down onto the mold. Voila …a new circuit-breaker overlay!

Another challenge: The circuit-breaker panel’s plastic overlay was cracked and very costly to replace. So Terry Heffield, our Aviation Research and Development manager, decided to make one! He crafted a mold of the panel on the 3D printer and took it to the vacuum forming machine in the hangar. There, he mounted the mold on the machine and secured a sheet of plastic all the way around it. Then he warmed the construction in a furnace at about 350° F until the plastic hung down over the mold.

When Terry applied the vacuum, it sucked the plastic down onto the mold. Voila … a new circuit-breaker overlay!

Thank YOU for giving JAARS the ability to maintain and update aircraft so we can continue serving our Bible translation partners around the world.

Opportunity $1,984,100*

Your gift to Aviation Solutions enables us to provide safe, efficient aircraft to our partners overseas.

*All fundraising goals are based on the latest numbers available, and are subject to change as we deploy current projects and commit to new ones for our partners around the world.