Funny, scary, or just plain odd things found during Maint.

[Curtis Block]

Dang Gophers.....











....or maybe a Mole.

Whatever it was, the bugger managed to fill the entire wheel fairing on the is 152 in a period of about 6 months. This is one of the aircraft that we use exclusively for Fire Patrol and during the off season it sits in the grass. The tire won't hold air, I guess we'll see what the reason for that is tomorrow.

[Canso42]

Skybolt, I'm glad you lived to learn from those lessons!
A few 'life lessons' l've learned over the years that may apply here:
Never underestimate the tenacity of a common dirt dobber
Never overestimate the intelligence of the American public. especially it they're trying to repair or service something.
Canso42

[262crew]

Not long before I got hired at BF Goodrich they were doing a "D" check on an Eastern 757 and a mechanic found a key of cocaine under a cargo pit liner. Well he decided to take it home with the intent of selling it, after a day or two he freaked out brought it back to work and turned it in....... very soon after some guys in dark suits and sun glasses showed up to "talk" to the mechanic. They led him away not sure where he is now but I will bet he is not having fun! Another time at BFG someone fell asleep in a fuel cell and got ex-rayed I believe he died of cancer.

[Canso42]

Curtis,
If that dirt filled wheel pant was in Texas, I'd hose it with insecticide before touching it. That looks like the ant hill from Hell!
Canso42

[Flying Pencil]

Not FOD related but a former CO of mine was on a cross country once, he stopped for fuel in Kansas and despite the large "CARGO BLIVIT, NO FUEL" stenciled on both sides.....some individual of questionable judgement filled it anyway. Ruined everything, he was going to a change of command then on to a wedding.

"CARGO BLIVIT, NO FUEL"???

[CAPFlyer]

The military uses several forms of converted fuel & napalm tanks as baggage pods (aka Cargo Blivits). In the early days, they would sometimes even retain the filling caps, which made it very difficult to discern the difference except for the stenciling mentioned. Sadly, all too many civilian and military fuelers aren't exactly "attentive" to their jobs and things like that happen.

[Canso42]

What is the origin of the word 'blivit'? I'm still learning about all this and that's a new one.

Doug

[CAPFlyer]

I must admit that I copied a spelling mistake in my post. The proper spelling is blivit.

From Dictionary.com -

bliv·it /ˈblɪvɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[bliv-it] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun Slang. 1. something annoying, ridiculous, or useless.
2. something for which one cannot find a word; something difficult to name.
3. an unpleasant or unsolvable situation or problem.

As for the origin, here's a possibility -

blivet
/bliv'*t/ [allegedly from a World War II military term meaning "ten pounds of manure in a five-pound bag"]

In the uses I've heard it, the word describes any item used for a purpose other than its original intent. I've seen this most often in reference to concrete barricades (the free-standing type that you see dividing a highway) which are often used for ballast on railroad locomotives, ballast cargo for airplanes, and as a substitute for actual cargo during air drop practice (typically strapped to a pallet to simulate a larger piece of equipment like a truck or similar).

Also, from Wikipedia -

In traditional U.S. Army slang dating back to the Second World War, a blivet was defined as "ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag" (a proverbial description of anything egregiously ugly or unmanageable); it was applied to an unmanageable situation, a crucial but substandard or damaged tool, or a self-important person. In Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, Rawlins defines a blivet as "10 pounds of s h * t in a 5 pound bag". During the Vietnam conflict, a heavy rubber bladder in which aviation fuel or POL (petroleum, oil, and lubricants) was transported was known as a blivet, as was anything which, once unpacked, could not be replaced in its container. The usage of blivet for a fuel container is still current. A recent request for quotation ('Solicitation number W91B4P-07-Q-0615 titled "Fuel Point Bill of Materials"') in Afghanistan includes a line item for "10 50,000 gal. blivets".

[The Inspector]

If your tire in that dirt filled cover was chewed on then you've discovered what lots of folks around here find when they park their cars at trail heads and go backpacking for a week or so in the mountains, rodents, around here porcupines are attracted to something in the compound of tires and chew them to wear down their always growing teeth, thats why squirrels will gnaw through the propane hoses on your gas barbque-

[Trey Carroll]

I found an old potatop chip inside of the air vent to the cockpit that's routed through the wing on Decathlon I'm working on!

[bdk]

... thats why squirrels will gnaw through the propane hoses on your gas barbque-

Luckily in Southern California the benefit is that all the furry critters have died off from the pollution. All that's left are Black Widow spiders, pigeons and a few rattlesnakes...

[The Inspector]

BDK,
Stay out from under the deck, wear a braod brimmed hat, and stay away from politicians and you should be OK.

[The Inspector]

BDK,
Stay out from under the deck, wear a broad brimmed hat, and stay away from politicians and you should be OK.

[Chunks]

You can say that again! Oh, wait, you did

Chunks

[Curtis Block]

I think I figured out what did it.

Apparently the airport is home to a (threatened? endangered ? protected?) species called the Pocket Gopher (sounds dirty eh? ).

In fact, we were informed that because of them, we may not be able to use the grass seating and an LZ for next year's airshow. I guess it might have an adverse effect on the Gophers, that I might add, were everywhere out there. One guy at the reenactor camp, told me he woke up with a mound of dirt under his cot that had not been there the day before.

My question is, will the airport stop mowing the grass now?