I was trying to get home but got swarmed!

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

was a Sportair attendee. They both said that the bees were simply on
the move and that they would probably be gone in 2 hours or 2 days. That
made sense to me so I checked back into a local motel and
decided to try again the next day.

"Un-bee-leave-able"?

JohnH wrote:
was a Sportair attendee. They both said that the bees were simply on
the move and that they would probably be gone in 2 hours or 2 days. That
made sense to me so I checked back into a local motel and
decided to try again the next day.

"Un-bee-leave-able"?


That has to bee the worst pun ever.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

("Maule Driver" wrote)
[snip]
The bag-o-bees apparently extended out from the tip about 4 inches and
hung down about 6. They would seemingly attack any cars or other noisy
objects approaching the aircraft. Hornet spray was deployed which
killed several hundred but the rest remained.

By the time I arrived the next morning, the bees had migrated to the
spinner and a large number were flying in and around the cowling. Fish
and Game had been contacted and calls had been made to local beekeepers
but none had answered. The story was embellished by recent killer bee
reports around Tampa.


Next time call me!!

1. Climb into your VW Beetle/Maule ...whatever.
2. Taxi it inside the New Orleans Superdome.
3. Turn the building's AC to the "Very Cool" setting.
4. Watch the Giant Jumbotron for the temp to drop to 45F.
5. Wait for bees to go dormant.

http://www.agonybooth.com/extras/savage_bees/
Savage Bees (TV- 1976) ......great review g
(Page 5 and 6 contain your problem's solution)


Montblack

Montblack wrote:

4. Watch the Giant Jumbotron for the temp to drop to 45F.
5. Wait for bees to go dormant.

I once discovered just after takeoff that a bee was inside the plane
with me, so I figgured I was probably in for getting stung and just
simply accepted the possibility of a sting and instead paid full
attention to my flying. After climbing to 9500MSL I noticed the bee had
passed out on the back seat and stayed dormant for the entire 3 hour
flight home. After I landed and was getting my stuff out of the plane,
the bee finally aroused and flew out the door. Apparently the rapid
change in altitude from near sea level to 9.5K had a physiological
effect on the bee that put it out for a while. I just wonder if the bee
ever made it back home :-)