Jason and Jonie Mellinger Connecting You to Tribal Missions Since Jonie and I got married only four years ago, we’ve packed up and moved almost 10 times with countless smaller trips in between. I have no idea how many times I’ve woken up wondering where I am, maybe for a single night or a whole week. Someday if I have nothing else to do I’ll figure it out. Maybe on my next 20 hour flight across the ocean…
However, through all that moving there has been one constant, one place I keep coming back to. Here at NTMA Arizona we’ve lived in 3 different trailers and stayed with 3 different families while visiting. But there’s a corner of the hanger that has been mine almost constantly for what amounts to a year and a half. Since I’ve left home I haven’t been anywhere else that long. Those two squares on the hanger floor have been part of my life for all this time. My tools are there and my 185 rebuilds. This is the 3rd rebuild/repair I’ve been part of, though this one is definitely the worst one I’ve worked on. Right now the wings are being rebuilt from the ground up. They are in really bad shape. The engine pushed into the firewall causing lots of damage to both. While skidding down the runway on it’s roof the ceiling windshield and tail suffered extreme damage. The propeller is a goner, but the engine should be able to be rebuilt. Thankfully though, I’ve got a couple other projects, the first more important than the Cessna.
