ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

Rules to live (survive) by


Throughout our lives we come across or experience interesting situations that help us to survive, or at least continue life without too much inconvenience, permanent scarring or disfigurement. You may be familiar with these standards:

Drink upstream of the herd
When wearing spurs, don't squat
Maintain some distance from a campfire when wearing riveted bluejeans
Don't piss into the wind
Don't step on Superman's cape
Don't look into a 4-barrel carburetor when test starting a V-8 engine.

While working on my airplane yesterday, I created a couple more:

When storing a hot soldering iron upright in a vise, don't reach over it for something

When verifying functionality of two EGT probes by heating one very hot with a torch, be sure to grab the cold one next.

When setting down a marginally stable torch, don't put it on a plastic tarp.

When holding a torch in one hand, use the other hand to scratch your nose.

After several hours of working on my plane, I figured I had established enough "rules" for the day and quit. Don't ask me how I know these things, however the photo may give you a clue!

Perhaps you have your own rules to live by that would be worth sharing for the benefit of us all?

Paul Fiebich

Great perspective. Thanks for the lighter side of doing dumb stuff. O, wait? maybe you weren't trying to be funny, just informative? Paul, I've forgotten so many stupid things that I've done, that if I remembered all of them my "hard drive" would combust spontaneously!

Thanks for responding Greg, it's amazing that we have reached the ripe old age we have if you start counting up the stupid/dumb things we have done throughout out lives. It is interesting to hear about them though. I didn't put in some of my really personally discovered ones that included, bows and arrows, BB guns, hammers and glass, eyeglasses stored in a tree, trying to kiss a chicken (yeah, really dumb), 22 caliber pistol rounds, (more really dumb stuff) Brake Kleen nozzle pointed the wrong way, Kamakazie bicycles, etc. Yeah, a list would go on for a long time. How about some of your more recent ones? We might learn from your experiences.


Paul

RULE #1 ; Happy wife ; happy life Yup been there done that. Putting tube in tire then assembling wheel half's; now be careful cause you can pinch the tube , being careful, being careful, more being careful, omygosh how did that tube get in between those wheel haves???

Paul, We are going to have to be careful, or this thread will get so out of control that the forum police will shut us down, but we'll have fun until then. So here goes;
All the studs broke on a front wheel on my 57 Chevrolet, so the wheel fell off as I was driving down the interstate. I pulled the hub off, and took it to an auto parts store, and had new studs pressed in. Took it back to my car, still on the side of the interstate, only to discover that we had pressed the studs in from the wrong side! After a second trip to the auto parts store I got it rolling, and drove it home using the hand brake.
My philosophy is to own up to any and all of my stupid mistakes, in the hope that I will remember them, and not repeat them. Life is good.
Saturday I flew to a breakfast for my last flight this year on a sick engine. Sunday I brought it home for the winter, and some maintenance. Ended up with over 55 hours in 4 months. I feel very blessed.

Hmm... kinda light on responses here. Maybe I can help that.

Rule: if the manufacturer designed a locking mechanism into a threaded fastener thou shalt always utilize said mechanism lest the fastener become UN-fastened, usually at the worst possible and least expected time. I do not recommend having a ball joint come OUT of the upper control arm because some dummy did not install the cotter pin. And if you DO want to try this at home then do it at night at 90 MPH for added excitement.

Rule: If it is not coming apart thou shalt not apply "more power". That Honda 90 head was coming off just fine and then it wasn't. Some jacking bolts did not get it off but they DID bend the pushrods that were still in place.

Rule: It is not recommended to wear a metal watch band between the positive terminal of a 12V car battery and ground.

I could probably come up with others... like the day I clamped a fork tube in the vise to twist the seal holder off the top and things slipped and knocked a welded lug off the tube. Hmm, that looks like a hole I wonder what happens if I move the fork tube **squirt**!

Yeah I keep my guardian angel busy too  

Hmm, this fogging oil im spraying in a confined space smells a lot like starting fluid.
The cans are identical, well except the label color and words are different, but other than that they look the same.

On a dark moonless night on a back country high way riding an old Harley without a gas gauge, trying to figure out if you can make it to the next town or if you have to take a side route for fuel, DON'T try using a lighter for light to see in the gas tank.

If a cylinder head gets stuck on the studs, don't try lifting with your fingers between the head and the block on one side and hitting a crowbar with a hammer on the other side, you might end up with the head still jammed but your fingers stuck in it....But, though these happened long, long, ago I'll never make those mistakes again...

What has been is what will be, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun!  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting a different result.

When installing aftermarket wheels, please follow the manufacturers instructions exactly. I'm dealing with this right now. 10 new lug studs of the proper length will be installed this weekend on the front of the Nova. I hope. Then on to the back. (Wheels were on the car when I bought it, I don't even know how I made it home.)

takeoffs are optional...landings are mandatory.

monte

My old Pappy told me...........Son, there's no such thing as to much tail. Hell I didn't think he knew a thing about airplanes. My old Pappy was a wise man!

Hey Dick;
Your Pappy was truly a wise man, LOL.
Bob

Stick around lucky people.
Stick around Happy people.
Be careful around table saws.
and when it gets out of hand -FLY THE BLOODY AEROPLANE!

Mother nature always get a vote. Its usually the deciding vote too.

Because Delilah was 'hot'. Samson learned the hard way and lost his sight.

Cant hoot with the owls all night if you want to soar with the eagles in the morning

Quoted from Phil Because Deliah was 'hot'. Samson learned the hard way and lost his sight.

Same thing happened when Minnie Mouse became a Hottie....next thing you know we had three blind mice!

Wow, lots of knowledge gained from experience! And to add to Dick's previous comment, not all the good lookin' tails are on airplanes!

Paul

true Paul, but one will cost you a lot more to operate in the long run.

monte

If it floats flies or fornicates, rent it

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k4GXM4oxWmI

Stop beating your kids and learn to teach them from right and wrong.