Watch out for those pesky rodents

[OscarCVox]

Took the canopy cover off in the hanger and there it was. A pile of chewed
paper on the seat. Flaming mice have got in again.
We now have to derig it and use a borescope to find if they have left anything
in inaccesable places.
When it last happened a few years ago on another glider we found one wing
rattled. Eventually we removed about 12lb of hazle nuts from the wing!

Be careful this time of year. The little blighters are stocking up for the
winter and a glider wing will make an ideal home

nigel

[Derrick Steed]

"Eventually we removed about 12lb of hazle nuts from the wing!"

Imagine how you would feel if some marauding giant suddenly turned up at
your home, chucked all the food out, and changed the locks!

[John Giddy]

On 09 Nov 2004 18:22:47 GMT, OscarCVox wrote:

> Took the canopy cover off in the hanger and there it was. A pile of chewed
> paper on the seat. Flaming mice have got in again.
> We now have to derig it and use a borescope to find if they have left anything
> in inaccesable places.
> When it last happened a few years ago on another glider we found one wing
> rattled. Eventually we removed about 12lb of hazle nuts from the wing!
>
> Be careful this time of year. The little blighters are stocking up for the
> winter and a glider wing will make an ideal home
>
> nigel

Sounds like you need a good hangar cat !
Seems to have fixed that problem for us.
Cheers, John G.

[Tony Verhulst]

Derrick Steed wrote:
> "Eventually we removed about 12lb of hazle nuts from the wing!"
>
> Imagine how you would feel if some marauding giant suddenly turned up at
> your home, chucked all the food out, and changed the locks!


Hey, if he wants to help out with the insurance and the annual, we can
talk! :-)

Tony V.

[COLIN LAMB]

Many years ago an Ercoupe lost a wing in flight because the mice had
urinated on the spar enough to corrode it.

I had to remove the cover of my Ercoupe wing because mice had made a nest
inside - and it was in a hangar.

So, maybe when the last words on the cockpit recorder on the crashed Boeing
are "Nuts", we should suspect mice and squirrels?

Colin N12HS


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.783 / Virus Database: 529 - Release Date: 10/25/04

[Chip Bearden]

Not just rodents. Many years ago in a 1-26 contest in the U.S., one
poor pilot flew several days barely able to tolerate the smell from a
dead bird somewhere in one wing. I'm not sure how he removed it but I
seem to recall that part of the solution (no pun intended) was to
partially fill the wing with water from the root rib, slosh it around,
then stand the wing up on the tip of the spar and pour it out.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"e

[Mike Lindsay]

In article >, Chip
Bearden > writes
>Not just rodents. Many years ago in a 1-26 contest in the U.S., one
>poor pilot flew several days barely able to tolerate the smell from a
>dead bird somewhere in one wing. I'm not sure how he removed it but I
>seem to recall that part of the solution (no pun intended) was to
>partially fill the wing with water from the root rib, slosh it around,
>then stand the wing up on the tip of the spar and pour it out.
>
>Chip Bearden
>ASW 24 "JB"e

I heard a story about someone who felt a tickling sensation on his right
knee at the top of a thermal.
Looking down, he saw a mouse sitting on his knee.
--
Mike Lindsay

[Bob Korves]

We had a pilot at Soar Truckee who was flying a Diamant on a 500K out and
return badge flight. After takeoff he felt something crawling up his pant
leg. After he got up well into oxygen altitudes, the crawling up his leg
subsided, but continued again each time he got lower. Needless to say, he
tried to stay as high as he could! He was able to complete the flight, but
at the end of the landing rollout he jumped from the cockpit and pulled down
his pants. A chipmunk ran off into the bushes. He deserved the badge...
-Bob Korves

"Mike Lindsay" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, Chip
> Bearden > writes
> >Not just rodents. Many years ago in a 1-26 contest in the U.S., one
> >poor pilot flew several days barely able to tolerate the smell from a
> >dead bird somewhere in one wing. I'm not sure how he removed it but I
> >seem to recall that part of the solution (no pun intended) was to
> >partially fill the wing with water from the root rib, slosh it around,
> >then stand the wing up on the tip of the spar and pour it out.
> >
> >Chip Bearden
> >ASW 24 "JB"e
>
> I heard a story about someone who felt a tickling sensation on his right
> knee at the top of a thermal.
> Looking down, he saw a mouse sitting on his knee.
> --
> Mike Lindsay

[F.L. Whiteley]

I googled a bit for the snake tales previously posted to RAS, but it also
brings up a lot of other topics.

We tend to skin and cook the rattlesnakes at owl canyon

Hypoxic chippies, hah! Unfortunately, chippies above 5000msl are often
carriers of plague. Wonder if the altitude affects the fleas.

Frank Whiteley

"Bob Korves" <bkorves@winfirstDECIMALcom> wrote in message
...
> We had a pilot at Soar Truckee who was flying a Diamant on a 500K out and
> return badge flight. After takeoff he felt something crawling up his pant
> leg. After he got up well into oxygen altitudes, the crawling up his leg
> subsided, but continued again each time he got lower. Needless to say, he
> tried to stay as high as he could! He was able to complete the flight,
but
> at the end of the landing rollout he jumped from the cockpit and pulled
down
> his pants. A chipmunk ran off into the bushes. He deserved the badge...
> -Bob Korves
>
> "Mike Lindsay" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >, Chip
> > Bearden > writes
> > >Not just rodents. Many years ago in a 1-26 contest in the U.S., one
> > >poor pilot flew several days barely able to tolerate the smell from a
> > >dead bird somewhere in one wing. I'm not sure how he removed it but I
> > >seem to recall that part of the solution (no pun intended) was to
> > >partially fill the wing with water from the root rib, slosh it around,
> > >then stand the wing up on the tip of the spar and pour it out.
> > >
> > >Chip Bearden
> > >ASW 24 "JB"e
> >
> > I heard a story about someone who felt a tickling sensation on his right
> > knee at the top of a thermal.
> > Looking down, he saw a mouse sitting on his knee.
> > --
> > Mike Lindsay
>
>

[Bill Gribble]

Bob Korves > writes
>Needless to say, he tried to stay as high as he could! He was able to
>complete the flight, but at the end of the landing rollout he jumped
>from the cockpit and pulled down his pants. A chipmunk ran off into
>the bushes. He deserved the badge... -Bob Korves

Presumably, so did the chipmunk?

Though I'd guess his claim would be disqualified for not using oxygen...


--
Bill Gribble

/---------------------------------------\
| http://www.ingenuitytest.co.uk |
| http://www.cotswoldgliding.co.uk |
| http://www.scapegoatsanon.demon.co.uk |
\---------------------------------------/

[Gil Kirkpatrick K3]

Hmmm... sounds like the Truckee pilot is a candidate for the popular
British sport "Ferret Legging":

***
Spectators stuff their pant legs inside their socks and women pull
their skirts tight around their legs so they won't become part of the
game. When the time comes for the game, tables are moved back and
everyone who wants to enter puts a ten pound note on the bar. Then
they get into a huddle like a football team. When everyone is ready,
they dump their ferrets down their pants and hang on to one another.

Within seconds the chase is on with ferrets racing up one pant leg,
over the top and down the other, not caring whose pants they are in
nor whether their needle sharp claws are attacking fabric or bare
skin. The attrition of players is rather rapid as they dance out of
the ring trying to shake ferrets out of their pants. The last man with
ferrets in his pants wins. Ferrets are returned to their cages while
the winner picks up the money and buys drinks for the house. It's a
lot more fun to watch than a chug-a-lug contest.
***

"Bob Korves" <bkorves@winfirstDECIMALcom> wrote in message >...
> We had a pilot at Soar Truckee who was flying a Diamant on a 500K out and
> return badge flight. After takeoff he felt something crawling up his pant
> leg. After he got up well into oxygen altitudes, the crawling up his leg
> subsided, but continued again each time he got lower. Needless to say, he
> tried to stay as high as he could! He was able to complete the flight, but
> at the end of the landing rollout he jumped from the cockpit and pulled down
> his pants. A chipmunk ran off into the bushes. He deserved the badge...
> -Bob Korves
>
> "Mike Lindsay" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >, Chip
> > Bearden > writes
> > >Not just rodents. Many years ago in a 1-26 contest in the U.S., one
> > >poor pilot flew several days barely able to tolerate the smell from a
> > >dead bird somewhere in one wing. I'm not sure how he removed it but I
> > >seem to recall that part of the solution (no pun intended) was to
> > >partially fill the wing with water from the root rib, slosh it around,
> > >then stand the wing up on the tip of the spar and pour it out.
> > >
> > >Chip Bearden
> > >ASW 24 "JB"e
> >
> > I heard a story about someone who felt a tickling sensation on his right
> > knee at the top of a thermal.
> > Looking down, he saw a mouse sitting on his knee.
> > --
> > Mike Lindsay

[Ray Lovinggood]

Ferrets are NOT rodents! They are 'mustilids' (sp?),
in the same family as minks, otters, weasels, ermine
(sp?), etc.

Sometimes, they can be 'pesky', but when awake (not
too many hours per day: They sleep a lot.) they are
very playful, giving the cat a tough time now and then.

Problems can come not only from rodents in gliders,
but also from insects and spiders. Our club's L-13
Blanik used to be the normal bare aluminum with racing
stripes, but due to oxidation, we decided to have the
ship painted. Now, it's mostly yellow. Seems wasps
are attracted to the yellow color and in the summer,
we have to keep a watch on wasps getting in the vertical
fin and other places on the glider. Seems like they
like the fin the best.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
LS1-d 'W8'

At 05:00 22 November 2004, Gil Kirkpatrick K3 wrote:
>Hmmm... sounds like the Truckee pilot is a candidate
>for the popular
>British sport 'Ferret Legging':
>
>***
>Spectators stuff their pant legs inside their socks
>and women pull
>their skirts tight around their legs so they won't
>become part of the
>game. When the time comes for the game, tables are
>moved back and
>everyone who wants to enter puts a ten pound note on
>the bar. Then
>they get into a huddle like a football team. When everyone
>is ready,
>they dump their ferrets down their pants and hang on
>to one another.
>
>Within seconds the chase is on with ferrets racing
>up one pant leg,
>over the top and down the other, not caring whose pants
>they are in
>nor whether their needle sharp claws are attacking
>fabric or bare
>skin. The attrition of players is rather rapid as they
>dance out of
>the ring trying to shake ferrets out of their pants.
>The last man with
>ferrets in his pants wins. Ferrets are returned to
>their cages while
>the winner picks up the money and buys drinks for the
>house. It's a
>lot more fun to watch than a chug-a-lug contest.
>***

[Bob Korves]

"Gil Kirkpatrick K3" > wrote in message
om...
> Hmmm... sounds like the Truckee pilot is a candidate for the popular
> British sport "Ferret Legging":
>
> ***
> Spectators stuff their pant legs inside their socks and women pull
> their skirts tight around their legs so they won't become part of the
> game. When the time comes for the game, tables are moved back and
> everyone who wants to enter puts a ten pound note on the bar. Then
> they get into a huddle like a football team. When everyone is ready,
> they dump their ferrets down their pants and hang on to one another.
>
> Within seconds the chase is on with ferrets racing up one pant leg,
> over the top and down the other, not caring whose pants they are in
> nor whether their needle sharp claws are attacking fabric or bare
> skin. The attrition of players is rather rapid as they dance out of
> the ring trying to shake ferrets out of their pants. The last man with
> ferrets in his pants wins. Ferrets are returned to their cages while
> the winner picks up the money and buys drinks for the house. It's a
> lot more fun to watch than a chug-a-lug contest.
> ***
>
> "Bob Korves" <bkorves@winfirstDECIMALcom> wrote in message
>...
> > We had a pilot at Soar Truckee who was flying a Diamant on a 500K out
and
> > return badge flight. After takeoff he felt something crawling up his
pant
> > leg. After he got up well into oxygen altitudes, the crawling up his
leg
> > subsided, but continued again each time he got lower. Needless to say,
he
> > tried to stay as high as he could! He was able to complete the flight,
but
> > at the end of the landing rollout he jumped from the cockpit and pulled
down
> > his pants. A chipmunk ran off into the bushes. He deserved the
badge...
> > -Bob Korves
(snip)

Hi Gill,
Long time, no see -- since the Calistoga days.

Interestingly, the pilot at Truckee with the chipmunk problem was also
British, and his contest number was UK. 'Nuff said?
-Bob