Dangers of Road Landings

Which reminds me...Those posts... that is.

One of the locals was on his way to Sun-n'-Fun some years back when
the engine in his Comanche 180 quite over the Tennessee mountains. He
was out of gas, but should have had enough to make the fly-in with
plenty of reserve.

He dead sticked it onto a gently winding mountain road and was doing
really well until he got to that mail box set on top of a steel pipe
full of concrete. It put more than a 2" dent in the wing. Actually
it took most of the one wing off, but it didn't hurt the mail box one
bit.

Turns out the mice had gotten into the wings and eaten holes in the
bladders. Apparently they didn't leak until the fuel got down to the
point where there wasn't enough pressure to hold the bladder against
the aluminum and the holes opened up.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
Roger