Good Day...Bad Day

Bree's Field Airport  -  Laramie, Wyoming.    1985

Airplanes and aviators can create memorable moments....that's what I love about aviation.....especially on the flight line.  There was always something interesting, unusual, or dangerous going on and you had to be on your toes.  One Saturday in particular was a very good day for me.....and not so good a day for one Texas pilot.  

Laramie sits at the southeast corner of Wyoming, and over on the southwest corner is the little town of Afton, home of Aviat Aircraft a builder of some small aircraft like this one.....the Pitts Special. 

The Pitts is a very small but powerful biplane used for aerobatics and was for many years the ultimate aerobatic machine, used in competition.   So every once in a while a pilot would fly into Bree's Field with his brand spanking new Pitts S1 fresh out of the Aviat factory.  These little red fabric covered biplanes were beautiful pieces of aviation art......and as it turns out.....harder then heck to put avgas into.   

If you look at the picture.....you can see how the upper wing is held just a little bit above the pilots windscreen.  Look closer and you can see the gas filler cap right in front of the pilot right in the middle of those short little cabane struts.  Not an easy place to get a big old gas nozzle into.....now it can be done.....but you have to be very very careful not to be the first person to scratch that proud pilot's new pretty red paint......or drizzle blue high octane avgas all over his shiny new fuselage.    I had done it a few times without mishap.....but it was nerve racking to say the least.  

Then one beautiful Saturday.....this dude from Texas flies in with his brand new Pitts.  I got him parked and was admiring his beautiful machine....until he climbed out and started getting rude.  He announced that he wanted to fill the tank...BUT......he was going to do it himself....he'd be damned if he was going to let any blankety blank blank blank "Line Boy" scratch up his new airplane.  What a jerk!   He had me convicted of sabotage before he even planted that thing on the runway.   But rather than argue with the hothead I decided to let him be the one to mess it up!    So off I went to get the fuel truck.  

The folks at Aviat had started giving these guys a 14 inch clear plastic tube that could be placed over the fueling nozzle and flex into the gas tank opening.....a very helpful tool.  And as added insurance, this pilot had a big bundle of new red shop rags and started very methodically placing rags on the top of the fuselage all around the fuel filler,  layer after layer after layer, overlapped and interlocked, he was prepared!   Then I handed him the nozzle and controlled the tension on the hose so he didn't have to fight it.  He slowly dribbled gas into the tank.....about as slow as you could go, it took a long  time but he was doing a good job.  Finally he got it completely full, pulled the nozzle out of the tube and handed it to me.   But has his right hand released the nozzle to my care.....his left hand released his clear plastic filler tube to the forces of gravity.   Before his mind and hands could react the poor guy saw the tube sink into the full fuel tank of his brand new airplane........GROUNDED!    

It's amazing how calm one can be on the outside when inside you are howling with laughter, slapping yourself on the thigh, and dancing a jig!   I didn't say a word, just took in the glorious spectacle and watched the blood come up into the poor man's neck, up his cheeks, and begin to blow out all the veins in his temples.  He uttered a horrible silent scream for a while then appeared close to erupting like a small volcano.   I was wishing all the "Line Boy's" in the world could have watched him boil.  

After a while he asked if we had a mechanic on the field.....I told him I would fetch the mechanic, rolled in the fuel hose and drove off in the truck then parked it.  I then got out and walked up to the man and advised him  that I happened to be the mechanic on duty.......a very satisfying moment.  There was suddenly a very green tinge somewhere in his cheeks that began to spread as he realized that his insults might cost him a bundle.  

We pushed the plane into the hangar and he went into the lounge and waited.....certain that I was going to be using a can opener and hacksaw on his new airplane.....the poor guy was really sick.  So I went into the shop and made some feeler tools out of brazing rod so it wouldn't spark then bent them so that I could go "fishing" in his tank.....no way to see inside but after about 20 minutes of probing I found the tube, bent a rod to fit in the end and was able to coax it out.....a lot of fun really. 

I went into the lounge and he asked me if I was going to have to remove the tank....poor guy.  I handed him the tube and he was overjoyed!   He wanted to know how much he owed me but I had so much fun during his ordeal that I told him he didn't owe anything.  I mentioned that I just hoped that he wouldn't take off unless he truly mentally safe to fly.  He left me $50 and took off towards Texas.....it was a GREAT day!