1. After the flight
At the end of September we started a C check on MFU. We were given three and a half weeks to complete the check and have the aircraft ready for service. To me it seemed like not enough time, as there was a lot of inspections called up, 1000, 1500 and 3000 hourly inspections, let alone defects. But in the end we were able to have the check done in time, even though we had to await some parts. MFU is the oldest aircraft in our fleet and out of our Twin Otters at forty two years old, that is quite old for an aircraft. The three Twin Otter’s we have operating in PNG are maintenance intensive, in time and cost. They do require a lot of time and work. But I really like the Otter, it’s performance and what it can do. There is currently nothing out there that can perform with the Twin Otter for the work MAF does in PNG (Except for the new 400 series which is in the process of certification).
2. Kalex & Stanley up the back
The other week after some overtime, MFU was ready for it’s return to service flight. An aircraft requires a check flight after any maintenance that affects the flight characteristics of the aircraft and one is normally done after a C check, especially as a large amount of work is done. I had never flown on one before and at the very last minute I got on with a few of the guys. People always talk of them being a bit wild and occasionally people needing a sick bag. So I was quite looking forward to it. We took off more steeply than normal, quite steep. and gained a lot of altitude. During the check flight the pilots go through a set of checks. Some being stalls, tight and steep banking turns etc. But the one thing I enjoyed the most was pulling positive 2G’s in these turns. Something that I have not experienced before in a plane, two times my body weight pulling down, especially on my face. And the other one being negative G (1G) so you lift up, I did want to undo my seat belt, but was instructed not to. So the return to service flight was a lot of fun. But it was a real encouragement to see the aircraft serviceable and flying.
November 16th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Sounds like a lot of fun, especially the -1G! I don’t think I would have been able to resist taking it off and trying to “float around”.
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