I'm back!

Well it's has been way too long! A lot has been going on over the last couple of weeks- mostly studying though. This past week I took my General and Airframe Written, Oral, and Practical tests and I passed them all!! This means that I am now a certified Airframe mechanic and can fix and inspect the airplane. What I can't do is anything on the engine (Powerplant). At the end of August I will take my tests for the Powerplant portion and then be rated as an A&P (Airframe and Powerplant) mechanic. This might help.. The A&P is like M.D. for a doctor after their name. And the test(s) I take are like board exams.
I had been studying for quite some time and it all paid off, except for one section. Each section (General, Airframe, and Powerplant) have 3 sections- the written, oral (Os) and practical (Ps). I took the General written back in the Fall and last week I took the Airframe written (multiple choice test). Then on Tuesday was both the general and airframe Os and Ps. I started with the Oral part- where my instructor/ examiner asked me questions and I answered them. I had to get at least 70% on all the sections and unfortunately I failed 1 section (Painting). But that's alright, I just moved on with the rest of the test. Next I did the Ps- this included finding information in the logbooks and maintenance manual, filling out paperwork correctly, making hydraulic fluid lines, finding corrosion, troubleshooting electrical problems, safety wiring, inspecting parts for airworthiness, riveting, and much more. The whole test took about 7 hours. For the oral section I had failed I just had to see an instructor/ someone who is Airframe certified and have them go over the questions and subject material with me. Then they wrote a letter to the FAA saying I was good to retake that section and then I retook it and passed it with flying colors! 
God definitely provided for me in giving me the knowledge to do well with the whole test and the comfort to not be anxious but take it one thing at a time. Praise God!

Pete and me flying the C310

Another awesome praise this week was that I got to fly again! And not just in some tiny C172... but in a Twin Engine Cessna 310! WOW! It was so cool to fly a multiengine. My friend flies charter flights and asked if I wanted to come and be co-pilot because on the way back there would be no passengers so I could be instructed then. We flew about an hour north to Harbor Springs, dropped off 2 passengers and then on the way back I flew left seat. I got to start up, taxi, take off, climb to 10,000ft, talk to the tower/ ATC, plow through some clouds, descend, and land (with the help of Pete- my friend), and shut down the airplane! It was one of the coolest planes I've gotten to fly so far!
I praise God for putting opportunities in my life like this.

The alternator I rebuilt! With a yellow tag= GOOD... At first it had a red tag (Bad) but I fixed it.

Andrew with the Continental IO-520 engine

 

that we will work on.

So, that's most of the stuff that's been going on in my life right now. I'll try and do some short updates here and there this week and the following.

Here's a short list of things we've been doing in school:
We took apart/ put together and have/ are testing alternators, carburetors, magnetos, and we get to run up engines and check different things.


We are now into the Powerplant curriculum so we get to tear apart and engine and put it back together in the next 4 months in our groups of 4. (More on that subject later)

Getting ready to run and C-85 engine on the stand.

Fly with Christ,
Helen Hagg, A