The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Bear attack 2009
Apparently a Bear attacked this Super Cub while it was parked in a remote area in AK. The pilot had not cleaned out the inside after a long fishing trip and the Bear smelled a fish smell. The pilot had two new tires, three cases of Duct Tape (never leave home without it, the greatest stuff) and several rolls of cellophane delivered to repair the Cub so he could fly it home for airworthy repair.
See pictures attached, gotta love that Duct Tape, ! There ya go

W.

Don't see anything wrong there. Just another nice Rat Plane.

W.J.Langholz wrote:Bear attack 2009
Apparently a Bear attacked this Super Cub while it was parked in a remote area in AK. The pilot had not cleaned out the inside after a long fishing trip and the Bear smelled a fish smell. ...
W.

I think the "fish smell" is a red herring.

The bear tore up the plane because it was a PIPER!

If it moves and it's not supposed to, repair it with duct tape. If it doesn't move and it IS supposed to, hit it with WD-40.

That would not have happened if the guy had marked his territory. Laugh if you want but it works.

Ragwing Airplane: 0
Bear: 1

Makes a "spam can" all aluminum airplane all the more appealing ... but sure shows the wonder of duct tape.

Blue4 wrote:Ragwing Airplane: 0
Bear: 1

Makes a "spam can" all aluminum airplane all the more appealing ... but sure shows the wonder of duct tape.

Well Blue4 this only holds true depending on your prospective. Had this been a 170 I'm sure the bear would have rendered it just as unairworthy. I'd wonder if the 170 could have been flown out with a duct tape repair.

N9149A wrote:

Blue4 wrote:Ragwing Airplane: 0
Bear: 1

Makes a "spam can" all aluminum airplane all the more appealing ... but sure shows the wonder of duct tape.

Well Blue4 this only holds true depending on your prospective. Had this been a 170 I'm sure the bear would have rendered it just as unairworthy. I'd wonder if the 170 could have been flown out with a duct tape repair.

Hey Bruce,
FYI, We've used the woodstove pipe for temporary leading edge repairs (this stuff is great because the seem type stovepipe will nest inside each other, allowing dozens of sq ft of "repair material" to be transported in a small package. Acrylic sheet, formica, and beat it flat roofing tin for temp skin repairs, 2x4's for temp stringer/spar repairs. Electrical conduit is easily formed for temp ribs, all held in place with pop rivets, duct tape, wood screws, safety wire stitching and etc. for ferry flights. The old sayings "a poor man has poor ways" and "when there's a will there's a way" all have meaning here in these situations.
Ingenuity and imagination are all thats needed.
One time we went to get a bonanza ferriable out at Burns Flat, OK. Nose gear had collapsed, and after we hoisted up discovered it was beyond "stiff legging" for the ferry flight. So, we looked around for something temporary that we could place under the nose while waiting for some nosegear parts to be shipped to us. All we could find was a wheelbarrow. We found some foam padding and rested the nose on the wheelbarrow. Decided to ratchet strap it around the cowl just in case the wind picked up overnight. Someone saw our contraption, and the friendly folks from the FAA were there bright and early the next morning. Needless to say, we had a lot of explaining to do and after the Feds were convinced we were not going to actually attempt flight in this comical configuration, they got a laugh and posed for pictures beside it.

Related video: http://www.optimaljet.com/. Click on "Rescue Salvage on the Mulchatna River" if you haven't already seen it. Very impressive.

wingnut wrote:...One time we went to get a bonanza ferriable out at Burns Flat, OK. Nose gear had collapsed, .... So, we looked around for something temporary that we could place under the nose while waiting for some nosegear parts to be shipped to us. All we could find was a wheelbarrow. We found some foam padding and rested the nose on the wheelbarrow. Decided to ratchet strap it around the cowl just in case the wind picked up overnight. Someone saw our contraption, and the friendly folks from the FAA were there bright and early the next morning. Needless to say, we had a lot of explaining to do and after the Feds were convinced we were not going to actually attempt flight in this comical configuration, they got a laugh and posed for pictures beside it.

That picture is probably worth a FORTUNE to a repair-shop who needed a "get out of jail free" card!

wingnut wrote:We've used the woodstove pipe for temporary leading edge repairs (this stuff is great because the seem type stovepipe will nest inside each other, allowing dozens of sq ft of "repair material" to be transported in a small package. Acrylic sheet, formica, and beat it flat roofing tin for temp skin repairs, 2x4's for temp stringer/spar repairs. Electrical conduit is easily formed for temp ribs, all held in place with pop rivets, duct tape, wood screws, safety wire stitching and etc. for ferry flights.

I may have been hasty in some of my recent recommendations of a certain airframe shop in the AR mountains.

George you did confirm they used the good quality electrical conduit when your plane was in the shop didn't you?

Hey George,
remember, the operative word was TEMPORARY

We didn't have a camera. They had come to the airport with their camera, probably to get photographic evidence of our "shade tree" operation. They had me take the picture with their camera. Unfornuately, I do not have a copy. But, they were the one's who issued the ferry permit, after they were comfortable with the nose gear repair, and the wheelbarrow was properly stowed away back in the equipment shed.

Seems I've got a picture of a questionable maintenance operation going on somewhere......now where did I put that....????

This cub made it back to Anchorage in one piece, probably because they wrapped the duct tape with the correct overlap, from back to front. Anyway, my sources say it was taken apart and disappeared VERY quickly once it hit town.

gahorn wrote:Seems I've got a picture of a questionable maintenance operation going on somewhere......now where did I put that....????

If it's the one I'm thinking of, could be a double edge sword