Of Mice And Men Who Hate Them
My solution to the rodent problem: 1. Own taildraggers only for personal airplanes, 2. Store the airplane with the tailwheel on top of a 2-foot-tall overturned plastic bucket, 3. Fly the airplane regularly. If 1 and 2 don’t keep mice away, 1 will at least give you a sense of dignity, 2 will make you feel better for trying, and 3 will solve the rodent problem.
John K.
Many years ago, when I had flown a camping trip through France in fall with the kids and the dog, I made the huge mistake to leave a half sack of dog pellets in the plane. What a huge mess I discovered after winter! The about a zillion mickeys on that field didn’t have a party, they had a veritable orgy! The about 10 kg of dog food was gone. Nests all over the place. The plane was stinking like a stable. Had to remove the floor boards and pressure-clean everything…
Some years later I had a corrosion issue of the fixed slat. Removed the wingtip and voila… A nice nest left in there. Some of them had even found their way into the wingtip.
Albrecht L.
I removed the mice and their leavings from many an HVAC system in cars. As a Master Automobile Technician I often got the task of working on Volvo 840s. They would climb in through the intake vent and setup housekeeping. To remove them entailed removing the complete HVAC system which entailed removing the front seats, center console, and the dash assembly. I probably did about 100 cars. What a mess. I hate meeces to pieces.
Richard P.
FAA Issues Package Drone Certification Notice
Why do we need a “new” set of standards? Anything that big and heavy already needs to fit in the existing airspace system. They are not unique, novel, or unusual designs; they are VTOL rotary wing aircraft and there are rules for VTOL operating in the air and near populated areas.
Mark F.
“It’s the beginning of … a long and complex process toward the integration of drones.” In other words, when the FAA is through, the average package carrying drone will cost over $200,000.
John M.
DOT: The FAA Failed On Southwest Oversight
Typically, the FAA is pretty rigorous about verifying the status of an aircraft which has been registered outside the US. When we purchased a Cessna 425 that had been registered and maintained in Germany, the Greater Chicago FSDO required verification of just about every inspection which was or should have been performed since the aircraft had left FAA jurisdiction. Verification sometimes required repeating a documented inspection. As I recall, the FSDO also required the translation of the maintenance logs. The investment in getting a new airworthiness certificate was substantial – several times the cost of a typical annual inspection. I would have expected the scrutiny of an aircraft registered other than in Canada or the EASA to have been even tougher.
T. H.
Poll: Have Coronavirus Worries Impacted Your Travel?
- No, and I’m not paying much attention to it.
- Already cancelled a trip to Shanghai.
- Trouble returning to NZ from Japan as those from Europe wish to transit via Tokyo. Most direct flights are full.
- Not me, but two good friends cancelled a three-week trip to Singapore and a cruise as a result.
- I canceled a business trip.
- No. (I’ve had worse.)
- Did not go to China.
- I had planned to travel to Beijing for Chinese New Year, but providence told me to abort the trip.
- No, but no air travel was planned.
- Cancelled a trip to South Korea.
- Trip cancelled.
- Will just be more cautious…
- No, because I wasn’t going anywhere anyway.
- TSA is going to be a big contributor to the problem.
- It helped me decide to fly myself when commercial would have been cheaper.
- No. Don’t plan on any travel anyway.
- I cancelled a scheduled trip to China and Vietnam.
- Have cancelled trips overseas.
- No plans to travel abroad now anyway, so no.
- I don’t travel. End of worries.
- No travel to Asia.
- Yes, China trip cancelled.
- In Hawaii going to New Zealand.
- No travel planned.
