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This piece of gear is categorized as ground
support equipment (GSE). Originally used to
keep the back yard lawn looking nice and trimmed, or to
haul garden materials from one place to another.
Here, we use this converted John Deere tractor for one
purpose; to safely tow our aircraft, up to a 10,000 lbs.
By doing so, we can ensure no damage occurs while
traversing
the dangerous crossing between the Mercy Wings
International (MWI) apron to the runway. So
reliable is this machine, that it is easy to give little
thought to its maintenance. But in the real world,
equipment that is not strictly maintained will fail.
Come to think of it, even if it is strictly maintained
it will still fail; it will just be longer between
failures and it won't be a surprise.
In the case of our tow tractor, the ignition switch
is frozen, key broken off, and jammed in the
mechanism. What this means is that aircraft must
now be moved by hand. At 8,000 feet above sea
level this can and will leave you panting like a
dog-in-the-sun-on-a-hot- day. It has been said
that "necessity is the mother of invention", and is true
in this case. The manuals had long since gone the
way of Egyptian papyrus, so the best-guess method was
used to position jumper wires across ignition switch
terminals to achieve start.
OK, remember we are in the Western highlands of
Guatemala and parts like these are not readily
available. Using the internet an appropriate parts
list was obtained and a new part was purchased and
mailed to our U.S. headquarters in Caddo Mills, Texas.
Very fortunately for us, a ministry member was traveling
from Texas to Guatemala and hand carried the part right
to our doorstep.
With the part in hand, a quick comparison was made to
ensure like terminal configuration, button it up, and
away you go; easy right?
While it was a great thing to be able to start and
stop the engine without juggling live ignition wires,
but the diesel fuel filter, and slow leaking tires were
making statements of their own.
But that's another story.......
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