Dumb Drums

[rolly117]

A couple a years ago i was maintaining float planes in the yukon and on one particular trash back haul was a 100 litre fuel drum and it was marked Imperial oil. This was of great interest to me cause it only made sense to use them for fuel hauls in the bush flying business.We are racing to the bottom. So why in the hell are we humping 205litre back killers from shore onto a ricky docks and up the planks to fill a dh3 or other crates to satisfy the customers needs.We in the flying freight business haven't progressed we have turned into Neanderthals, lets make our life harder.The Russian and eastern bloc countries have always used 100 lit. drums and apparently they know how to get shit done and probably have less back injuries. Does any one know why the industry abolished the 22 gal drum.

[PilotDAR]

I am certainly not expert at fuel containers, but aren't they regulated by an entirely different branch of the government? I know there is a definition for "legal" fuel container (there are signs at gas stations), and I don't recall seeing 100L among them. Sounds like a good idea though.

[Redneck_pilot86]

I've used them a bit, it always seemed to me like they were just slightly too big for one person to lift comfortably, so you would just end up rolling twice as much.

[pelmet]

I was lucky to only have to use the drums in the Twin Otter and not on floats. Usually, I would get someone else to help even to just stand one up. I got the occasional look like I was a wimp but I never permanently hurt my back.

I have no problem being called a wimp. It is worth it to avoid a life of back pain. By the way, ever tried just maneuvering 45 gallon drums around at 13000 feet for (shhhh...inflight refueling). You get tired really quickly.

Also considered to be a major annoyance...endless salt bags. I was lucky to miss most of that stuff but did get the ones in Greenland that were twice as big.

Skill testing question, how many empties can you get in a Twin Otter?

[seasonaldriver]

Skill testing question, how many empties can you get in a Twin Otter?

depends on if they are flattened or not.

[GA MX Trainer Dude]

You can blame the size on the width across a war horses' A$$.

Road beds and rail tracks all come back to the ruts left by the wheels of a chariot!! Somewhere there is a writeup about the process but it comes down to the inside dimensions of a standard boxcar being about 9 feet wide by 11 feet high. And for truck boxes to be a bit smaller but with the nominal width of 2 feet and a height of 3 feet you can stack 4 wide by 3 high in an enclosed box car.

The drums are meant as shipping containers and as such represent a compromise between being large enough to be useful but not so large as to be unusable. The specification can be found with ANSI mh2.

There was a reason for a minimum size requirement for a soldier - you need some stature to move these things - but there are lots of tricks employed to make it easier. Our problem in smaller aircraft is handling them in confined spaces that place our body geometry at odds with the bulkiness and weight. It is a lot easier to place drums in a DC-3 than it is in an twin otter or single otter and even worse into a Beaver.

I worked with a guy we called "Big Gilbert" - he could pick up a 45 gal drum of Jet B and throw it into a twin otter!! He was a huge, very good natured guy that was wonderful to have as a friend when you went to the bar!!!

I have watched a very small guy - probable 120 lbs soaking wet - move an entire truck load of drums from the truck into a warehouse by rolling them on the bottom edge. He only grunted when placing the drum initially onto the edge balance point and then after that it was simple for him to roll and maintain the balance as he moved it across the floor. Harder to do without a very solid floor. I got to the point where I could roll them like that a short distance but not like this guy could.


Pelmet - I seem to remember getting about 30 drums into the Twotter - mind you they were flattened first!!! Do I win?????


Stay safe

Mx

[esp803]

With two guys, a ramp and a rope there is really no need to hurt your back "lifting" 45's into the back of the airplane. I prefer the larger drums as it discourages me from attempted to lift with my back. I find 100lb's of propane to be WAY WAY worse on the back than a drum.

A couple years ago I was competing with a DHC6 (I was in a 208B) on who could fit the most drums in the back of the airplane. The twin otter won, but not by the margin you would expect. If I recall I managed 21 in the Grand by offsetting the drums and using the shelf, the Twin only managed... I think it was 25? at any rate very close. The impressive one is the SC7, which will do a jaw dropping (for it's size) 54 (6x3x3).

E

[PointyEngine]

With two guys, a ramp and a rope there is really no need to hurt your back "lifting" 45's into the back of the airplane. I prefer the larger drums as it discourages me from attempted to lift with my back. I find 100lb's of propane to be WAY WAY worse on the back than a drum.

A couple years ago I was competing with a DHC6 (I was in a 208B) on who could fit the most drums in the back of the airplane. The twin otter won, but not by the margin you would expect. If I recall I managed 21 in the Grand by offsetting the drums and using the shelf, the Twin only managed... I think it was 25? at any rate very close. The impressive one is the SC7, which will do a jaw dropping (for it's size) 54 (6x3x3).

E

25 with one maneuvered into the tail compartment from memory!

['97 Tercel]

Gets loud when they start poppin on final!

[pelmet]

25 with one maneuvered into the tail compartment from memory!

Sounds about right. Apparently the Super Cub guys used to take 1 full drum to wherever they were dropping it off.

Canada....the only place with fuel drums lined up on final like ALSF approach lights. Are they considered as required visual references?

[PointyEngine]

Best way to deal with drums! A small batch of what was back hauled on a clean-up in YT. Many such piles like this were dragged back and disposed off.

php71tOGWPM.jpg (114.08 KiB) Viewed 2896 times

phpdwJGcUPM.jpg (150.69 KiB) Viewed 2896 times

[frozen solid]

I'm pretty sure I had a co-pilot who managed to fit 27 empties in a 300 series twin otter. I'm willing to admit I am wrong because I have never been able to duplicate this feat. I believe it might be possible if all the seats are not just folded up, but entirely removed, and you have the full door to the baggage compartment, not the "commuter" half-door. You can fit three in the baggage compartment if you poke one on its side onto the shelf. I'm sure it was 27. He was very proud of himself. As far as co-pilots go, this guy was a rock star.

[angry inch]

Disgusting pile of empties up in Bathurst Inlet... (2010) I hauled empties out when I could... Wonder if the pile is still there & growing?

[Rowdy]

The stack in the back there was about two rows higher when I was there in 2007. I also snagged a bunch of empties from around bathurst lake and other spots and brought them back so there weren't a bunch of scattered empties littering the area

[tractor driver]

We use the smaller barrels in our float operations all the time. Much easier and safer to handle.

[lownslow]

So is there a deposit on those things? Can you return your empties for a refund?

LnS.

[GyvAir]

I recall taking them back for $20-25 deposit some places. Had to come back in clean and usable condition, as in no contamination or corrosion allowed. Once they've been emptied and left outside for a while and go through a few hot-cold cycles, they seem to invariably suck in some moisture and start to corrode. Then the're worth about 10 cents per pound or whatever scrap steel is going for.

Why is this thread in the Accidents forum?

[GGCC]

.......................

.

Why is this thread in the Accidents forum?

Cause these drums are an accident waiting to happen