Your ''What the hell?'' moments

[Epsilon]

Title says it all, describe something that happened to you, in the air or while on the ground, that was totally unexpected, surprising or just plain weird.

My story happened this october, as I was ferrying a plane from Toronto/Buttonville to St-Hubert, Qc. It was a good day, great visibility, light winds, few clouds, and the flight was going great. Approaching Kingston, I could see the area in front of me was a little foggy. No problem, I thought, Kingston is a big city, and some smog is normal at this time of the year.

Just as I passed the city limit, I entered the foggy area. What surprised me is that it was the most evil fog bank I ever encountered, visibility was non-existent, turbulence was moderate to severe. I was litterally getting thrown around in the airplane. All this lasted for roughly 2 minutes, and as soon as I was out of the city limit, everything came back to normal. Turbulence stopped, and blue skies. I was thinking '' what the hell did just happen?'' After I landed in CYHU, i went to check meteological reports for Kingston (radar, sat, etc...), and nothing I could find could explain what happened.

[frontside_air]

opening my pay stub every other friday

[Highflyinpilot]

Thinking the aviation industry is a good industry to get into

[planett]

The day I stopped being a flight school customer and became an employee.

[sanjet]

Every year when I get the $55 processing fee for my medical...

[Phileas Fogg]

opening my pay stub every other friday

[Krashman]

Every year I don't pay my $55 medical processing fee...

[GilletteNorth]

I was attending Land/Sea survival training for aircrew in at a remote location near the mountains. It was the two man phase simulating a fighter crew pilot/navigator being down and we had to make a camp, rescue fire and traps. I was paired with a guy named Copeland. We were told not to take long because the instructors would be around to grade us in a very short time so I frantically starting making a lean-to. I guess my partner decided he'd play an injured crewman because he wasn't helping at all. He just stood around enjoying the view. I had most of what we were supposed to do completed and was working on making little wire traps for squirrels when my buddy says "Come over here and stand right there, I wanna take a picture". So I did... then he goes out a bit and focuses his camera and there's me thinking he's taking a picture of me, how nice. Nope... WTH?? He say's "Ok, now come here where I am and take the camera. Don't move it, I got it all set, all you gotta do is click the shutter". So he walks over to where I had been standing, poses and I took HIS picture... of what I'd built... without his help. I was delighted to move onto the single man phase next day.

[Chemtech]

Was on board a four engine aircraft. When upon landing my third engine fails, and all I could think was.I paid money for this.

[MyMeowCat]

After first flight -- students told NOT to fill out log book because it too much paper work matching up PTR entries to logbook entries, doing corrections, etc. Instructors even insist you match it up (even if not done on regular basis to at least do it before trandferring to another FTU) -- but gets "over-ruled" by admins.

If you attend regular ground school and miss a few classes -- you are supposed to attend those particular classes/topics on the next ground school. If you do attend them and then finally figure this FTU is just plain "dysfunctional", decide to "eject" from the FTU and request your PTR -- PTR does NOT record that you made up for those missed classes. This only happens when you get licensed at that FTU??

After ejecting from an FTU -- have PTR but log book still blank.

Out of a ground school of 30 students -- only 8 can be seen regularly -- after 1 month -- only 3...geez -- what exactly is the drop out rate anyways Maybe I should prematurely ejectulate

When listening on the radio --- ATC is clearly stressed. Can be quite entertaining when you are on the ground and not in the air.

This one didn't happen to me personally but to another guy -- Wx is bad, guy not called to show up or not -- so like a good guy showing up for the appointment anyways and does the walk-around. Finally told Wx is no-joy and gets billed for the walk-around anyways -- happened to him 3 times

When even at the PPl level -- your instructor sees something another guy does and goes WTF!!!

[FL_CH]

Hearing a guy report on unicom that he's final to land on the taxiway I was on...

Turned out 'twas a helicopter, but surely a WTF moment there.

Opening a hangar door to be faced with 3 engines of a Falcon 900 just applying taxi thrust some 10-15m ahead. Got blown off my feet and back inside the hangar...

[Grey_Wolf]

Reading

Finally told Wx is no-joy and gets billed for the walk-around anyways -- happened to him 3 times

This FTU needs to be

[Epsilon]

Approaching CYHU this winter in a 172:

ATC: ''GXXX, runway 24L, Altimeter 29.82, wind are estimated at 200 20 G25, make make left base runway 24L''
Me: '' GXXX, roger, did you just say winds are estimated?''
ATC: '' Yeah, my anemometer broke down about 45 mins ago''
P-180 pilot landing at this moment: ''St-Hubert tower, this is XXX, winds are definetly not 20 kts, more like 30 G 40.

Landing was interesting...

[MrWings]

"I have to buy my own uniform with your company's name on it? What the hell?"

"If my pager doesn't go off it is considered a day off? What the hell?"

"Why are you putting that rubber glove on? I only came here for a medical. What the hell?"

[MrWings]

"You hadn't left the airport yet but you're still charging me a callout? What the hell?"

"You want me to haul 9 hunters PLUS their gear in the Chieftain? What the hell?

[seniorpumpkin]

Hanging out in the bush around northern Vancouver island. After a few minutes standing in the same spot looking around, finally noticed a cougar hiding 3 feet in front of me, likely just trying to figure out how to take me down, What the hell?

Climbing through the back of a full twin otter after untying from the dock, lots of tricky obstacles, get to the cockpit to find that we are already 100ft in the air, what the hell?

Just airborne, maybe 25ft off the runway and a fuel truck passes under the wing at high speed, what the hell?

[cgzro]

When the spade on your left aileron decides to deflect downwards at a most inconvenient time.

Spade-medium.jpg (26.17 KiB) Viewed 2354 times

200 MPH, a square foot or so on a 1 foot lever arm = ... 1/2*rho*v^2 of full left aileron in a plane that rolls 300 degrees a second .... what the hell?

[xsbank]

Being at the new job for a month and getting an e-mail from HR saying that you don't have the qualifications for the the job you applied for and you were unsuccessful! What the hell?

Crawling over the fuel bladder to go to the biffy in the back of the DC3 and having the other pilot pin you to the ceiling with negative Gs. What the hell?

Looking for clam poachers on the wet coast with a fisheries guy in a 185 on floats and pulling a little too hard to look at a perp, stalling at 300 feet. What the hell?

Finding out the company you've been working for is a money-laundering outfit for the Hell's Angels. What the hell?

Getting the base you finally have the seniority for and getting moved to Fort Simpson for the summer because "Bob is sick." What the hell?

Having the airplane you flew all summer vanish without a trace with 8 pax - never been found. What the hell?

[TG]

Beech 18, on the ground engine started.

6 legged green bug landed on the windshield.
"Hey mate, look at this!"

Leg one retracted during the take off run.
"Whooooa"

Leg two at 1000'
"ohohohoho"

Leg three at 4000'
"nooooo way!"

Legs four, five & six at 9000'...... Bug's gone!
"Skydiiiiiiive"

(and he got it on video)

What the hell?

[SeptRepair]

Finding out the company you've been working for is a money-laundering outfit for the Hell's Angels. What the hell?

You work for Rainbow air? or was it Alliford Bay logging?

[kzcvtm]

My wife getting a letter from Canada Pension Plan:

"We are pleased to inform you that you are still disabled...." more like WTF????

[Captain_Canuck]

Paying 60K to become a Commercial Pilot with Multi IFR only to be offered 8 fifty an hour. WTF??

[E-Flyer]

Crossing Midfield at 3500 field over YVR and my plane banks hard right, hard left, hard right and a continuous cycle. There were no aircraft in the vicinity at or +/- altitude for the past 5 minutes. Not sure what this 'wake turbulence" like event was.

Interesting though.

[grimey]

Thompson, summer 2005, BE20 and a VFR C170 in +TS. I probably shouldn't say any more.

[grimey]

Approaching CYHU this winter in a 172:

ATC: ''GXXX, runway 24L, Altimeter 29.82, wind are estimated at 200 20 G25, make make left base runway 24L''
Me: '' GXXX, roger, did you just say winds are estimated?''
ATC: '' Yeah, my anemometer broke down about 45 mins ago''
P-180 pilot landing at this moment: ''St-Hubert tower, this is XXX, winds are definetly not 20 kts, more like 30 G 40.

Landing was interesting...

In the controller's defense, once the windsock goes horizontal, there may not be many clues at all to the controller as to what the actual wind speed is. Good on the Piaggio pilot for giving a pirep, though.