Some Much Needed Upgrades

 

I’ve been flying now for almost 20 years and it may come as a surprise that, in all that time, I’ve only ever flown one aircraft that was younger than I am. Seeing as I just turned 40 a few weeks ago, that means every airplane I’ve flown, other than one, was built pre-1981.

The current instrument panel in LAMP's 1977 Piper Lance

Flying with LAMP has been no exception as the two aircraft they use were built in 1977 and 1979. As you look around, you may notice that there’s not many vehicles on the road from the seventies, so why are so many smaller airplanes from that era still in use today? 

There’s a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, airplanes must be meticulously maintained. Just a couple of months ago, I was busy taking the planes apart for their annual inspection. The interior is taken apart and access panels throughout the airframe are removed so that all of the components can be thoroughly inspected. Any parts that are worn or no longer meet specifications are replaced and the airframe is inspected for damage and repaired as necessary.

Along with these inspections, other parts need to be replaced at specific time intervals and the engine must be overhauled after it has been run for so long, usually about 2000 hours, depending on the model. So an aircraft built in the 70’s is considered just as safe and reliable now as it was the day it came out of the factory, if it has been maintained properly.

The second reason is that the technology of small, piston powered aircraft hasn’t changed much over the years. Up until fairly recently, many of the aircraft built in the last few years were still built using around 1950’s era technology. For example, engines are air cooled and commonly use a carburetor. Unlike modern cars, there’s no computer control of the engine and everything is mechanical. The reason for this is that this technology works well and has proven to be extremely reliable over the years.

The one exception to this is avionics. Particularly over the past 10 to 20 years, the avionics on small aircraft have made giant leaps in developments that help to improve reliability and safety, so many aircraft owners have been upgrading the instrumentation in their older planes.

All of the current avionics in the LAMP aircraft are between 25 to 40 years old and getting outdated, so I was asked to write a proposal for a grant from the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) so that we could update one of our aircraft to more modern avionics.

The newer instruments produced by companies such as Garmin take advantage of advancements in technology.  They allow for far more accurate GPS positioning and can visually display nearby traffic and current weather conditions on instruments in the cockpit. They replace older, mechanical instruments that use air powered gyroscopes with newer, more reliable digital versions.

More modern equipment will also take advantage of newer aircraft tracking systems. The recently operational Aireon Satellite system will allow air traffic controllers to locate and track an aircraft anywhere on the globe. Considering we fly in very remote areas, knowing that someone on the ground is able to see where we are at all times is somewhat comforting. All these things will help to greatly improve safety and reduce the amount of risk in our flight operations.

What the new, upgraded instrument panel will look like when completed

Unfortunately, these upgrades come with a cost and that’s where the grant proposal comes in. This was the first grant proposal I’ve written and I’m happy to say that after voting on the various applications from many different mission organizations at their annual convention earlier this summer, the LWML has awarded LAMP the full amount to make these upgrades in our 1977 Piper Lance!

If all goes according to plan, we’re hoping to have this work done over the winter, when we’re not flying as much, so that the aircraft will be operational for next summer.

By doing these upgrades, it will allow this aircraft to continue to bring the love of Christ to those living in the remote wilderness of Northern Canada for the next 30 years.

We thank God for the faithfulness and generosity of the LWML for making this possible!