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Kodiak moves closer to completion

Today, New Tribes Mission’s first Kodiak is scheduled to make a big move.

The plane has been in stage five of the seven-stage production process. At each stage, the plane moves to another position on the factory floor, and specific tasks are carried out. In stage five, the engine, landing gear and flaps are installed.

Just last Friday, the plane’s wiring harness arrived, and was being installed this week. The cabin doors were also being fitted. And once the wiring harness was in place, the windshield could be installed.

Late this afternoon the plane is expected to move into stage six. There, the interior will be installed, among other things.

And this Kodiak’s production has been a bit of a family affair.

Husband and wife Donald and Chrissy Lesicka, employees of Quest Aircraft, are part of the crew that has helped build the plane. Joining them in that task has been Travis Lesicka, their son, who serves with New Tribes Mission Aviation.

Everything is on track for the plane’s construction to be complete in December, at which time it will be painted in NTM Aviation’s colors: red and white with a gold stripe.

That’s also when the plane’s registration number, N498KK, will be painted on. N is the first letter for all aircraft registered in the USA, and the 498 is simply a number assigned to the plane. But the KK celebrates the role that the Kodiak Kids -- a group of then-third-graders in Indianapolis -- had in funding the plane’s purchase.

The plane is scheduled to be turned over to NTM Aviation in January 2010.

Tags: Aviation, Mission News, Prayer, United States,
POSTED ON Nov 19, 2009 by Ian Fallis
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