Work begins
as my dad and I settle in at Nampula,
Mozambique. Check out the progress on the
Cessna 210 as we repair the damage. Also
some sights of the local
area...
My Dad and I arrived in
Nampula, Mozambique at dusk on Tuesday the 1st of July
after a flight from MAF South Africa. We got
situated at the SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics)
compound and on Wednesday morning were taked to the MAF
hangar to begin inspecting and planning the repairs of
the C210. Although the bent aluminum didn't look
as bad as we thought we soon found that there was enough
repairs that would take up all our time here. Most
of the engine cradle would need to be rebuilt and one of
the lower extrusions that runs from the engine cradle to
the center of the fuselage would also need to be
replaced. That means the lower belly skin, and
many of the bulkheads had to be drilled out and
removed. The belly skin was also damaged and had
to be replaced. All the hoses and trim systems for
flight controls and gear actuation and power pump needed
to removed to allow us access. A lot of work was
ahead. We knew that on Wednesday night a fellow
MAF pilot and Manager of Safety, Roland
Trempert, from headquarters was going to show up to
help for a couple weeks. We got a tour of the
hangar and learned where all the tools were and began to
set our repair schedule in motion. Below are
some of the pics of the work as we progressed in the
repairs....
MAF Hangar
in Nampula, Mozambique - Damaged 210 in
Background
Damage to 210 - right side crushed, nose gear torn
out
Belly skin removed to assess damage -begin removing
plumbing
Removing engine cradle brackets and gear
castings
My Dad removing
pedestal for powerpack to access gear
fittings
Rolland and Dad.....
Right side damage removed and preped for newly made
parts...
All the
newly constructed parts primed and ready for
assembly....This has been a long week so far - It is now
Saturday night and we are ready for a
break....
Sunset
on Saturday from the Hangar door....We got to see a lot
of these! Breathtaking.....
Sunday drive to a local Restaurant and
hot spot...Interesting sights along the
way....
Mozambique'n RV? (bed on a bicycle)
Nice scenery at the local Restaurant....We got to climb
up part of this mountain. It's not as tall as you
expect and good footholds although
steep.
My Dad and I at the foot of the mountain pictured above
- He chose not to climb it (I dont blame him - it was
steep) Looking forward to the nest week of work on
the plane. I will continue the Update of
Africa - make sure to check for
it.....
