Plug the fuel tank leak with your fingers.

One never really knows how they'll react when the fecal matter hits the fan. Or who you can count on when the bullets are flying.

I'm quite certain I wouldn't have climbed out on the wing of a flying plane. My reaction would probably be the three P's.

Prayer
Pee my pants
Pee my pants some more.
 
Fiveslide said:
One never really knows how they'll react when the fecal matter hits the fan. Or who you can count on when the bullets are flying.

I'm quite certain I wouldn't have climbed out on the wing of a flying plane. My reaction would probably be the three P's.

Prayer
Pee my pants
Pee my pants some more.
Click to expand...

Studies on survival are so interesting. You figure the baseline must be something like, “Well if I don’t give this a shot, I’m going to die today anyway...” which seems to be the consistent theme of things like this.

But there’s enough of us that would accept our fate that we give awards for the temporary insanity. Hahaha.
 
denverpilot said:
Studies on survival are so interesting. You figure the baseline must be something like, “Well if I don’t give this a shot, I’m going to die today anyway...” which seems to be the consistent theme of things like this.

But there’s enough of us that would accept our fate that we give awards for the temporary insanity. Hahaha.
Click to expand...

An emergency at sea, I'm probably one of the guys you want to be on the boat with. I've kept the water out, electrical system charging and engine running when they all wanted to do the opposite.

In a plane, I just don't know enough, I hope to get there one day.
 
Doing this with pre planning is true guts.

Summer of 1941, ex lieutenant of the Royal Danish Airforce, Thomas Sneum, and a friend learned that Sneum's neighbor, a farmer, had an old Hornet Moth aircraft in his barn. There was a German radar site in view of the barn, but they cleaned up and repaired the plane. They could not run the engine, which had not been started in many years, and the range of the plane was 3/4s of the distance to England. They obtained enough gas to fill the tank, and several cans. Also obtained a piece of hose and a funnel.

As a train approached, the passenger swung the prop, the engine fired, and as soon as it settled to even firing, he threw open the barn doors, jumped in, and off across the pasture they went. The Germans were taken by surprise, but did fire at them without doing damage.

Part way across the channel, the passenger climbed out on the wing, removed the gas cap, the pilot handed him the hose, inserted the funnel in his end, and while flying the plane with his legs, poured gas in the funnel, until the cans were empty. The passenger replaced the gas cap, and they landed in England, were captured by the home guard, but ended with British Intelligence, and supplied critical information on the German radar.

Sneum joined the RAF and flew Mosquito aircraft, and later had the honor of landing the first British aircraft at Stockholm when it was seized by land forces.

They decided before they flew that they were willing to go out on the wing to have gas to keep from landing far off shore, no chance of rescue.

Sneum, like John Mitchel, were people you would not want to be fighting against.
 
Dang, see, these guys didn't have to do this - could have stayed snug where they were, let the war play out; no orders, no approbation or worry about looking timid in front of mates; just personal initiative. too cool!
 
geezer said:
Sneum joined the RAF and flew Mosquito aircraft, and later had the honor of landing the first British aircraft at Stockholm when it was seized by land forces.
Click to expand...

Stockholm? That's in neutral Sweden. Copenhagen, perhaps?
 
My question is, how many times did people die trying things like this? Then nobody ever hears about them because they didn't make it.
 
Copenhagen is correct, can't keep all the details in memory. Thanks
 
It's worth remembering that the DH9 fuel tank was in the front by the engine, and as a WWI biplane there would have been a lot of wires and struts to brace against. I'm not suggesting it didn't require intestinal fortitude, but it's not quite the same as trying to do the same thing to a fuel tank halfway out along the wing of a monoplane.
 
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