I was trying to get home but got swarmed!

Maule Driver wrote:
Visions of runaway fuel trucks danced in my head but I was relieved to
hear that a swarm of bees had decided to take up residence on my Maule!


I can recall bailing out of a C-172... twice.... at a grass strip because a wasp
flew out of the wing root air vent. Fortunately it was very early in the take
off run so I just pulled the mixture, stopped it, and ran like hell. When I
thought he was gone, I tried again. The same thing happened.

I hate those little beggars.... almost as bad as I hate mosquitos, which is my
current plague.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote

I can recall bailing out of a C-172... twice.... at a grass strip because
a wasp
flew out of the wing root air vent. Fortunately it was very early in the
take
off run so I just pulled the mixture, stopped it, and ran like hell. When
I
thought he was gone, I tried again. The same thing happened.

I hate those little beggars.... almost as bad as I hate mosquitos, which
is my
current plague.

chuckle I had to learn (when I first started in construction) that
falling off a ladder to get away from wasps, is a good, sure way to get hurt
way worse than a sting. It is a hard lesson to remember, when one (or
several) is buzzing around, after your blood! Also a good thing to remember
while in an airplane! g

Remember the distinction that the bees were on the *outside* of the
airplane.
--
Jim in NC

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message
om...

I can recall bailing out of a C-172... twice.... at a grass strip because
a wasp flew out of the wing root air vent. Fortunately it was very early
in the take off run so I just pulled the mixture, stopped it, and ran like
hell. When I thought he was gone, I tried again. The same thing
happened.


I have a friend with a life-threatening allergy to wasp stings. He once
nearly killed himself in a truck when a wasp got into the cab and he
immediately forgot that he was driving while attending to this new threat.

I often wondered if there are any pilots with this condition. It always
seemed to me that it would be fairly common for wasps to get into those 70's
Cessna cockpits.

Icebound wrote:

I often wondered if there are any pilots with this condition. It always
seemed to me that it would be fairly common for wasps to get into those 70's
Cessna cockpits.

A major item on my pre-flight check for a Cessna is to check the vent intakes
for wasp nests. I used to keep a can of bug spray in the gang box at my
tie-down. Other people stuff plastic scrub pads in the holes.

The Maule was a different matter. I never got wasps in the vent system (it's
under the cowl), but they loved to build nests inside the wings near the hole
for the aileron counterweight. I would move one aileron to check it out, and by
the time I got around to check the other one, there would usually be a wasp
sitting on it wondering what was going on. I've gone out for a flight and come
back to find a little wasp family buzzing around waiting on home to return.

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.

I've never had the counterweight nest before... something else to worry
about. They probably skip the Maule and just add to the hundreds of mud
dauber nests in my hangar. Damn, I'm sick of them!

Mauledriver, AKA Bill Watson, AKA Foureyes

George Patterson wrote:

The Maule was a different matter. I never got wasps in the vent system
(it's under the cowl), but they loved to build nests inside the wings
near the hole for the aileron counterweight. I would move one aileron to
check it out, and by the time I got around to check the other one, there
would usually be a wasp sitting on it wondering what was going on. I've
gone out for a flight and come back to find a little wasp family buzzing
around waiting on home to return.

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.

George Patterson wrote:
Icebound wrote:


I often wondered if there are any pilots with this condition. It
always seemed to me that it would be fairly common for wasps to get
into those 70's Cessna cockpits.


A major item on my pre-flight check for a Cessna is to check the vent
intakes for wasp nests.

Had wasps a couple times in Cessnas at the flight school where I rented.
(CFI's spilled Pepsi smell good to 'em?) Not allergic so I ignored
them and they returned the favor.

Bees are valuable, though. If you called a local beekeeper I bet they'd
come in full bee-suit and happily carry off the swarm. Or know
professionally what to do if they're the wicked crossbred kind.

Icebound wrote:

I have a friend with a life-threatening allergy to wasp stings. He once
nearly killed himself in a truck when a wasp got into the cab and he
immediately forgot that he was driving while attending to this new threat.

I often wondered if there are any pilots with this condition. It always
seemed to me that it would be fairly common for wasps to get into those 70's
Cessna cockpits.

I have some pretty serious reactions to bee stings (or at least I did
25 yrs. ago. I've avoided them since). Oddly enough, I get no reaction
to wasp stings, besides the excruciating pain. I almost crashed a
motorcycle once, when a wasp flew into my open visor, got past the
first layer of padding, and became trapped in my ear. I was trying to
slow down from 60 mph while this thing kept repeatedly stinging the
inside of my ear. It was all I could do to keep the bike on two wheels
until I could get it stopped and yank my helmet off.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

"Icebound" wrote in message
...

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in
message om...


I have a friend with a life-threatening allergy to wasp stings. He once
nearly killed himself in a truck when a wasp got into the cab and he
immediately forgot that he was driving while attending to this new threat.

I often wondered if there are any pilots with this condition. It always
seemed to me that it would be fairly common for wasps to get into those
70's Cessna cockpits.
Yes there are (at least one).I am that lucky person.
I plug the air inlets in the wing root of my C150 with those
plastic scouring pads made of curly plastic strings woven
into a ball.I have had a couple of interesting sessions with
bees in the cockpit.

Bob Barker N8749S