Here is a really fun time-lapse video of a
Cessna 182RG aircraft being reassembled after its landing gear was damaged in
an accident. It's composed of several thousand photos taken over several weeks
and assembled into a short two minute video. Although there is no sound on this
video, I think you'll find that it is really fun to watch.
Paul Jones, who for the last year has been
training at MMS Aviation in an aircraft maintenance apprenticeship, created the
video. According to their website,
MSS Aviation is a faith supported ministry
that has prepared people and planes for worldwide mission service since 1975.
After a 30-month hands-on apprenticeship performing maintenance, modification,
repair, and restoration of actual missionary aircraft, graduates can join an
allied mission aviation organization and operate one of their aircraft
somewhere in the world.
From what I've read, Paul is a former captain
at a regional airline. After completing the training program he will take the examinations
for the FAA airframe and powerplant mechanic license. He has also created a
number of other excellent videos that you will find listed on his page at
vimeo.com. I particularly liked the opening flying sequences for the first
video that he posted more than a year ago.
Another fun video shows a Cessna 206 being
disassembled and loaded into a shipping container. Don't be misled by the still
pictures used at the beginning of the video. Forty-five seconds into the video you will find excellent time lapse video that is fun to watch.
Another video shows half a dozen aircraft currently
being worked on including a fully stripped Cessna 206, a Skylane, an engine
test cell, Skyhawk, and a SkyMaster that recently had its engines overhauled.
Other videos I watched show the Cessna 182 from the time-lapse video being
restored to service in a flight on a beautiful day in Ohio and Paul talking
about repairing the plastic instrument panel in a Cessna.
There
are many videos on Paul’s site. I've only looked at a small sample, but I'm
sure you'll have fun poking around and exploring them yourself. You can find
out more about MSS Aviation on their website and at their blog. Who knows, perhaps
in a couple of years will be watching video reports from Paul Jones as he flies
missionaries in the jungles of South America or Africa!
Interesting video. Just goes to show how much work goes into rebuilding even a fairly simple airplane.