Advanced Aerodynamic Duct-Tapelogy... Alaska Style
Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 01:23PM 
(4 pix)
The origins of this story are a tad cloudy, but it appears that up in Alaska in the fall of 2009, a bear happened to find this unattended Super Cub (used for remote fishing excursions) with the oh-so-sweet aroma of fish emanating from the fuselage. Not understanding the irony of a ‘bear’ tearing into a ‘Cub’, the wild beast ripped the defenseless airplane open looking for some easy eats.
I don’t even think the bear found anything for its efforts, maybe that’s why it slashed the tires too! But it sure left a surprise for the pilot who radioed a request for 2 tires, some plastic sheet, and 3 cases of duct tape.
What followed was some advanced aerodynamic duct-tapelogy! It’s interesting cuz if this repair(?) was done poorly, it could have been very dangerous, but if you look closely, you’ll see some great attention to detail. As long as there wasn’t any damage to the primary structure, it seems like a reasonable solution to a difficult situation. I do wonder tho if that right side stab was really brought back to a true airworthy condition.
In the end tho, I think it’s a great example of how Alaska isn’t like the lower 48. Up there you’ll find a whole lot more git-r-done than you will lawyers and business suits… hmm, maybe that’s why I keep hearing Alaska calling my name : )
Reader Comments (5)
Not at all suprising. In my roughly 3 years of flying in AK I saw lots of duct tape repairs to aircraft. Some were really good, some not so. But when you are way out in the bush you have to improvise some times.
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