Dumbest thing you've done in your hangar (AKA Hangar Rash)

[Stevel]

2nd place: Stood up under the wingtip of my ultralight and jabbed myself in the crown with a bolt.


1st place: (about 2-3 minutes later) Stood up under the wingtip of my ultralight and jabbed myself in the crown with a bolt.

The above incidents are now officially demoted to 2nd and 3rd place.

My wife has a theory. She thinks that by getting the two scars and a scab on my head, I am just laying out and center-punching my noggin to have it drilled for use as a bowling ball.

BTW, hooda thunk that the other wing would have an identical crown-piercing bolt installed in the same relative position? At least I had learned to stay clear of the one that got me the first two times.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

2) Trying to pull the airplane over the ridge of ice at the door while standing on ice. At least no one saw me land on my butt. Chopping up the ridge and spreading some sawdust on the hangar floor made the second attempt easy.

1) Carrying a chunk of sheet metal under my arm to the back of the hangar. As I duck just a little more to get under the ailerons, rip... A nice 6" slice through the fabric.

 

[Jayhawk]

Happened when I was 17 and working at a maintenance shop. I was stripping the interior out of a Bonanza for an annual and climbed out on the wing carrying a seat right as a very pretty girl my age walked into the hangar. Went to climb off the wing while still carrying the seat and looking in her direction, stepped off the wing walk, slipped, and went headfirst off the wing into the concrete with the seat in close trail. Doesn't count as hangar rash, since the plane was fine, but hey, it happened in a hangar. I could pretty much start a thread based on all the stupid things I managed working at that shop

 

[SbestCFII]

Does repeatedly hitting your head on the wing count?

 

[Skylane81E]

Does repeatedly hitting your head on the wing count?

Only if you needed medical attention,

BT,DT

 

[Arbiter419]

I've broken a few tow pins on various Beech BO's and Baron's moving them in and out of the hangar to get the Warrior out for a flight. Thankfully they were only about $40 a piece for the tow pins.

As a line guy, I'm wondering how in the hell I haven't broken a set of these yet...they're so tiny!

 

[flyingron]

My worst injury wasn't in the hangar but it was in a tie down space.

I tried to brake a little too agressively and blew a tire at Oshkosh. Fortunately there were some Navion tires placed in the aeromart by a friend of mine and he ran off and retrieved them. A couple of 4x4's borrowed from Aircraft repair and two strong backs under the wing got the gear jacked up on the 4x4's. Got the tire replaced, jacked the wing again and pulled out the 4x4's. I then stood up catching the flap hinge square in the top of my head. Felt real stupid, but the guys nearby suggested I go to the first aid tent who cleaned it out and decided it didn't need stiches.

Of course nothing goes undetected at Oshkosh.

At the volunteer dinner I was presented with a certificate and a metal insert for my Tilley hat to protect my noggin in the future (one of the guys actually went over to the metal working demonstration and spent some time with an english wheel making the thing).

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

My worst injury wasn't in the hangar but it was in a tie down space.

I tried to brake a little too agressively and blew a tire at Oshkosh. Fortunately there were some Navion tires placed in the aeromart by a friend of mine and he ran off and retrieved them. A couple of 4x4's borrowed from Aircraft repair and two strong backs under the wing got the gear jacked up on the 4x4's. Got the tire replaced, jacked the wing again and pulled out the 4x4's. I then stood up catching the flap hinge square in the top of my head. Felt real stupid, but the guys nearby suggested I go to the first aid tent who cleaned it out and decided it didn't need stiches.

On the bright side, you didn't damage the flap hinge. Those are strong enough to support the airplane...

 

[LDJones]

Manual bi-fold door...didn't latch safety chain. Wind was blowing, creeping the door downward as I towed my Mooney out and pranged tip of vertical stab on bottom of door. $7K lapse in concentration.

 

[jkgoblue]

I thought this was kind of funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-LNT0GzRT0

 

[rottydaddy]

Ugh... that is crazy dirty. It would seem like it would be a good idea to have the planes that are used for rental detailed regularly so they would look better for the customers renting them. I know I would appreciate a clean airplane every time but I've never been a renter and had to deal with that before.

It's a good idea, but it would cost money.
The "frugal" flight school I dealt with had a better plan: give me flight time in exchange for cleaning the bellies of their trainers every week or so. They gave me a rag and some sort of cleaner/polish... it basically took sheer brute force to get the grime off.
They were usually awful, but not because of poor maintenance... the biggest problem was nervous students putting a whole quart in during the preflight because the oil on the dipstick was a gnat's whisker below the recommended "full" line... a reading often taken when the engine was still warm.
It would all just get puked out the breather.