Personally I did NOT like wasps as young guy…then…on my first solo….in a Bergfalke III glider in 1986…guess who entered the cabin just as the rope was tightened?
That little guy left (without me being stung), or that is at least what I think…and up I went…with a slightly higher heart beat than before (that was high already).
I have read stories of Pilots getting snakes in the cockpit in places like Africa. Or even Lions sitting in the shade under the wing.
You mean like:
Something like your story did happen to me 3 weeks ago. I was flying in a c172 with a instrutor, and at takeoff, 2 wasps got out the top vents. Actually they were moved by airflow i thing. He succeeded to smash them on the windscreen one after the other and I tried to remain cool with 2 wasps buzzing around my head… mouth closed no movement.
I happen to be stung by a hornet 2 years ago at the Leg while walking in a wood. You described the symptoms : Dart is like a knife in the flesh and then it burns quite a lot. Luckily I wasn’t far from home and I could suck the poison out thanks to a suction kit i have for that purpose… not in flight so…
I once got stung by a wasp which got up my trousers while driving, all the way up to behind my right pocket, and when I got out of the car it stung me. It felt like a glass bottle got broken in my pocket.
I think most of us would not “lose it” and would fly the plane, especially if there is an autopilot, but it would be an awful experience.
I wonder if there is a spray which kills the buggers? There are mozzi sprays (most of the “natural” ones don’t work, but deet does) but nothing AFAIK works on wasps, and certainly nothing kills them. For the cockpit you want something which just kills them, even if it is slightly toxic to humans. Vinegar might work…
Peter wrote:
I wonder if there is a spray which kills the buggers?
There are sprays on sale in Sweden that certainly kills at least the common wasp. But I don’t know if you would like to spray it inside a small aircraft cabin.
Or the camel spider in an F16
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pictures-spider-may-have-caused-afghanistan-f-16-fighter-aircraft-to-215843/
Today, a tiny spider (about 1cm including the legs) lowered itself onto my neck from the roof of a cafe and bit me. Big blister…
Fortunately they can’t get into the TB20 cockpit, but they definitely will if you hangar it with the doors open.
Is there some spray one could use which is non toxic to humans but which will kill these buggers?
As a child I was stung maybe 3 times with increasing severity, the last one caused me to feel dizzy.
Last month I had 1 WOB recently and it worried me a lot. I tucked my jeans into my socks, and tucked in my t-shirt sleeves. I can deal with it landing on me but not going inside my clothes!
I made a priority landing and shut down. About an hour later I finally found where he was hiding and evicted him!!!
