After every 50 hours of flight, our aircraft undergo inspection. The parts that need to be changed are changed, and the flight equipment is checked.
All this is done for the safety of our flights. By this we show care and zeal for those who fly with us.
One of our missionary pilots and mechanics, Lauro Pasquini, explains how the maintenance of our aircrafts works:
“We maintain all the airplane equipment to keep it up to date and don´t allow it to go past its expiry date according to the manufacturer's instructions. We change the parts whenever it´s needed or when they pass their expiry date. Usually we need two mechanics to work on the maintenance. If the maintenance job is bigger we request more help from our head base in Anapolis. Recently we did a maintenance check on three of our aircraft. We needed six mechanics. Three of the mechanics were from our base in Porto Velho and three of the mechanics were from our base in Anapolis. It is a joy to be able to take care of what God has blessed us with and to adequately maintain these aircraft so that we can make these missionary flights happen.”
Difficulties?
“The airplane parts all come from the exterior and sometimes they take a long time to arrive. Another challenge is the heat in the northern region of the country! Working in the hanger in the heat of the day and sometimes out in the sun is exhausting, but necessary. Another challenge is all the paperwork and bureaucracy involved so that we meet all the requirements for ANAC (which is the FAA of Brazil). It is quite a lot of work to maintain everything adequately, because besides the two mechanics who work on the aircraft, there are at least two mechanics at our headquarters in Anapolis working on checking the documentation and paperwork for each plane part and they also send in the documents and communicate with ANAC.”
But is it worth it? Is it really worth all the work and effort?
“Asas de Socorro has been flying for 68 years, and there has never been an accident as a result of a mechanical failure in the aircraft. God has protected us, and also equipped us in the meticulous work in the maintenance that is necessary for each flight to happen. We follow all guidelines and regulations for maintenance set out for us by the aircraft manufacturers. We follow a sequence in the maintenance of our aircraft. There is a 50 hour inspection, 100, 150, 200 hours, etc. Every 50 to 50 hours we stop operations with the plane and do the required maintenance check.”