This week on the farm...

Just wanted to put in a update of our family life right now.  With spring here we are very busy with our farm work.  Grass is growing and the garden is being planted.  These are the survivors of our first pin or chickens.  I say survivors because free range birds are difficult to protect from nightly coon and possum visitors.  Electrified nets and live traps keep them at bay for the most part, but not entirely.  We raise our birds GMO free and free range.  

 The newest member of our farm was born a week ago.  He is a small but very health Jersey/Milking Short Horn cross.

 Monday our kids marched in the Memorial day parade, Noah and Luke with the scouts and Hannah and Joanna with 4-H.

 Last week as well Noah, Luke and I raised Noah's amateur radio tower.  He is seen here putting the radials on his 10 meter vertical antenna.  Luke was running him tools and pieces up and down the tower.  His call sign is KD8TIU.

Just wrapping up the engine for New mercy Ministries this week.  Paper work and forms for transporting it back across the boarder to Canada.  It should be headed that way next week.  I have started the next engine, it is for Missionary flights international's 206.  Thanks for checking in, Josh

Took the boys camping this weekend.  We had a great time at MVSR.  Ranger Ron's edible plant class and nature walk were top notch.  We also took time on Sat. to visit a near by cemetery and decorate the graves of the veterans with flags.  After putting out about a hundred flags you could look over the cemetery and see  how much sacrifice it takes for us to keep our freedom.

May God bless you all on this upcoming Memorial weekend.  If you enjoy your freedom, be sure to thank a veterans.  Josh

470 engine build

Jake, Ben and I continue to work on MFI's engines. We have already done alot of work including honing the cylinders, grinding the valve seats and valves, measuring the bearings, corrosion control, inspections and alot of cleaning and painting. Hopefully the engine will start to go back together next week.

We also had a tour come thru from a semi-local camp for troubled boys. Jake is busy explaning the tolerances on our engine by measuring a hair and showing that it was way larger than the gap in the bearings and other surfaces.
Also, we've borrowed a friends 4 wheeler for syrup season to help get all the kids out the the woods faster, but when not at work it is used in play. Here luke is trying to keep it inside the safe speed range that I set for him because he is a speed nut. I like to say he has more courage than he does common sense.
Hannah on the other hand is content to ride at a safe "normal" speed. She sits on the quad like it was a horse, she has excellent posture.

The best part for me is the fact they are having fun and you can hear them laugh over all the noise.

Where is Noah you ask? He is riding our quad but I somehow didn't get a picture of him.

Thanks for checking in, Josh

520 wrap up

Paul and I completed the test run on the engine with only a few minor adjustments. I am confident it made all 285 hp. It is hard for me to convey the feeling of pure, raw, power, that the engine produces, it is a beast.

While Paul wrapped the engine up for shipment I worked on paperwork. Trying to get all the necessary information off of our records and into the engine logbook took me two days on the computer and three different revisions. The owner picked up his engine, prop and accessories on Wensday.
Here the kids are unloading the trailer into our wood pile. All this wood is to be burned in the syrup stove over the length of a month or so. I'm guessing there is 8 cords or so and we'll burn it all and probably anything else we can find. I hope I have enough, but i doubt it. Keep watching syrup season starts next month.

Noah built this model of the Bismark for a home school project.

Thanks for checking in, God bless and stay warm. Josh

"Pain"t ball

It was Noah's birthday earlier this week and he got a Tippman A5 paintball gun. I set up a get together for Saturday and some friends were able to come.

Getting all the equipment out and set up to play is the first order of business. Guns are checked and tested. Safety equipment inspected for cracks and to make sure it fits right. Then the hoppers are loaded and the game is on. We play on our hill side so dominating the high ground is always the first part of any plan.This is Noah on the top of the hill looking down onto the playing field. Noah had a great time, his gun function flawlessly and he got to shoot his brother more that once which is a reward in and of itself.
Here's Luke, at 8 he is our youngest player. He sports a full helmet, body armor and gloves. His weapon of choice is a Tippman 98 custom. He more than holds his own on the field and even the older kids show him his dew respect. He is not afraid to empty his gun in your direction.
Micheal and Brian are brothers and practice together at home as a team. They get more playtime than my boys so they tend to win a few more of the rounds than Noah and Luke. This part of the field is the low section and is divided in two by the creek. When you play at our house you need to come ready to get wet and muddy. Micheal and Brian both have the A5 markers.

In the end everyone lost count of who won what, but keeping score was never that important, having fun was and fun was had by everyone. Josh

Yesterday

Yesterday was one of those days where alot happens in a very short amount of time.

Noah and Rowan were promoted to First Class and received the patch and neckerchief denoting their rank. After the Court of Honor the Boy Scouts preformed a flag retiring ceremony and invited Luke to help them since he was in uniform.
Before all awards and ceremony the kids and I were working in the garden digging sweet potatoes. They were the largest we have ever grown. Some of them could be entire meals in and of themselves.

Kristi's back is doing better now that she is going in regularly for traction. We continue to hope and pray that surgery can be avoided.

Thanks for checking in, Josh

New project

Don't ask me why this is all underlined, because I cannot figure it out.

The 207 is all but finished and is only waiting on a new propeller governer to complete the engine set up before the test flights.

I have been assigned a new project and will once again be working with Paul Gettle. We will be doing an inspection on an engine involved in a prop strike. The engine must be completely torn down and the important parts sent out for professional inspection. We will then reassemble the engine and run it before returning it to the owner.

Last weekend the scouts had fall camp and although a bit cold and wet everybody had a good time. Luke is seen helping to learn how to make rope. We also worked on knots, wood working and athletics.

Hannah went with the scouts last weekend as well and got to participate in most of the activities. She is seen below helping in the fire safety portion of the weekend.

I only have one more thing to add and it is a request for Kristi. We found out earlier this week that she has two herniated disk and one ruptured. Most likely surgery will be required to fix her back. She has suffered with back pain for almost two years now. I ask that you pray she is willing to go thru with the surgery, that the surgery is successful and for the finances to cover it. Also pray for her she is depressed and in pain, not a good combination. I'll also be going to Florida for two weeks to help a mission down there, you could pray for her extra while I'm gone.

Thanks, Josh

Thanks again, Josh

Last week

I'm sitting outside the paint booth waiting for my first coat to dry enough so I can put on the 2nd. During my break I thought I'd fill you in on last week.

Last week we took our family vacation to Williamsburg, VA. The kids had a great time seeing and hearing about our history. We spent 4 days exploring and learning the town, I think everyone's favorite part was the big meeting that would be held each day towards evening. Being able to hear Martha and George Washington speak or Thomas Jefferson.

We also had time to visit the beach one day just long enough to get really burnt. The kids picked up sea shells and "other" interesting things they found on our walk.
On Saturday, in the rain we visited Jamestown, I was amazed at the size of ships that were used in crossing the ocean. I would't have wanted go in a boat that small. As we toured the boats the 20 or so visitors kept bumping into each other and getting in each others way and that was only a small fraction of the people that would have been crammed into those boats. Think of an average sized living room, with 40 people in it.
Hannah also celebrated her 10th birthday last week. So, after we got back home she took her birthday money and bought herself a puppy. Her name is Lady and she is a Yorkie. When Lady and Bree are nose to nose, Lady is about the size of Bree's head.
Thanks for checking in, Josh

Family Days

We celebrated Luke's 8th birthday last Sunday with our fellowship. He really turns 8 tomorrow. He wanted paintball equipment and being a loving and supportive father I got him some and I'll soon get me some. Noah spent Saturday creating a small paintball field in the woods beside our property and Sunday morning we had 11 players on the field. As you can see Luke is the smallest and youngest. I made him some body armor out of gray indoor/outdoor carpet. He took several shots without complaint until one sneaked in under his armor and hit him in the arm pit. After some tears and encouraging he was back on his feet and ready to play again.
Here is a group shot just after walking off the field, this was taken right after Luke's armpit shot. You can see he is smiling and in good spirits. We are wanting to start playing once a month so more pictures should follow.
Noah is at Scout camp this week and doing great, almost to great. He is taking swimming, sailing, archery, orienteering and model building.
On Monday morning Noah and troop 403 had the privilege of doing the flag raising ceremony. We drilled and practiced the night before and some in the morning on the parade field. The boys did a great job represented 403 very well.

Camp is done Saturday morning and the life of fun and leisure will come to an end for Noah. Back to reality, there are beans to pick and the yard needs mowed.

I'll post on the progress of the 207 again next week, I should be painting.

Please keep praying for us purchasing our house. It is going smoothly but slower than expected.

Thanks for checking in, Josh

Catching up

The Air Calvary 207 made a nice step forward this week. We have completed enough of the repairs that kept us from reinstalling the engine and nose gear. As you can see we've started putting the front all back together. Paul has already finished the nose gear install and it is all signed off. He has moved up to the right hand side of the engine and is helping me with all the wires.

This is the exact same project that Paul and I will be doing for CMML in Zambia so this has been an excellent opportunity to familiarize our selfs with the work and plane. So expect more of the same in the coming month, pictures wise.

Did you see the map above of CMML's location. The hangar is located midway on the runway.

I was recently reminded that I did not post any pictures of Noah's bridging ceremony.

After being escorted from the cub scout side of the bridge to the boy scout side Noah was welcomed into the troop. They removed his cub scout colors and replaced them with the troops. He was also charged with being an asset to the troop and a leader to those younger than him.
Just recently Luke's scout group toured the local airport. The highlight was this flying "chain saw". The chopper in the back ground carries the saw and flies up and down the power lines trimming trees. It is quite an impressive sight.
Thanks for visiting, Josh

Reassembly

Paul and I finished the repairs that were preventing us from rebuilding the nose gear area today. The parts painted green in this picture are new and are replacements for parts that were damaged in landing. Fitting all these parts together and checking the alignment will take us another day or two and then riveting and reassembling will probably finish off next week.

Noah, Luke and Hannah raced last weekend in pack 403's pine wood derby. Hannah raced a car for a scout who was not able to attend and got first place in her class. Noah took 2nd in his class which was the same Hannah won and best in show. Luke had to learn how to be a good looser, it was tough and a few tears were spilled but after he found out that the looser got to choose which type of ice cream we had for desert the tears were gone.

Noah will be bridging to Boy Scouts on April 2. At the ceremony he will be presented with the "Arrow of light", the highest award a cub scout can earn. He will then be stripped of his cub scout colors by the boy scouts and redressed with boy scout colors. The boy scouts will then walk him over a bridge and welcome him into his new troop. Noah is very excited and I'm very proud. Noah and I have worked very hard to get him to this point and we are not even near finished, next stop Eagle Scout.

Josh

What?!? Friday already???

The 207 continues nicely, I've removed all the damaged parts in this area and have began ordering or fabricating new parts. Build up will begin on Monday and hopefully end by the end of next week. I'll then move on to the main landing gear area. Paul has the nose gear disassembled and inspected. No cracks were found but one bent brace was found. Considering what it has been through that is very good. He is planning to paint next week and then build the gear back up.
I took a day this week to help paint "Brigade Air's" 172. We had a professional painter volunteer to come in and paint it and I jumped at the opportunity to pester him with questions. He was very gracious and I learned alot and will have more opportunities to put what I've learned into practice as the rest of the plane still need finished.
We are knee deep in sap and syrup and everyone takes their turn at watching the stove. Luke is working on his math, later Hannah came out to do her reading outside. With all the rain we've gotten and are getting the fields have been impassable for the truck. We've been ferrying sap back and forth with the 4 wheeler, but that is a slow and muddy job.
I think we are up to 11 gallons of finished syrup and we'll get that canned up tonight. All the rain will give us a much needed break this weekend.

Thanks for visiting and check back soon

Klondike 2011

It was after dark when we began setting up camp. The temperature was dropping as fast as the tents were being set up. It was forecast to be the coldest night of the winter and the forecast proved to be true. We got the camp set up and settled into bed around 9. Bed consisted of two sleeping bags opened on the floor for insulation, a 15 below sleeping bag for Noah, Luke and I and then warm cloths to sleep in as well as hats. When we left our tents in the morning it was about 4 below and we were told that it got down to 11 below at the lowest. Just so I am accurately representing the trip, the boys and I had a small propane heater to take the chill off the tent while we were waking up and getting changed.

Imagine this, if our body temp is 98 and the outside air temp is -11 there was a 100 degree temp difference between the inside and the outside of our sleeping bag. Noah said he slept so well that he forgot that he was camping!

Luke stayed the night with me and Noah but wasn't allowed to participate in the activities because of his age. This was a boy scout event and the boy scouts invited Noah and Rowen to join them. Saturday was full of events to compete in, knots, fire building, orienteering and first aid were some of the events. The boys were judged according to how well they completed the task and given a score.
Late Saturday night the winners were announced, I didn't figure that we would place at all because our troop was one of the smallest but as they counted down 3rd, 2nd and then first they called our troop 403. We all stared at each other in disbelief but willingly took the first place pennant. Over all it was a very good time and the boys had a blast. We learned alot and had a great time getting to know the boys in troop 403 better. Noah will bridge up to boy scouts in the spring and will himself be a member of Troop 403 soon enough.
April will bring the next camparee. It is said that that this one will be a "disaster" with a focus on first-aid. Look for that blog around the end of April.

There are plans to run the Asas 206 today, I'll get some pictures and post about it soon. Also in the works is a return trip to Zambia to help CMML this spring and a door has opened for us to buy our house. Each one of these will get it's own blog in the near future so stay tunned. Josh