Reverse Rant

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Pontius Navigator
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Re: Reverse Rant

#61 Post by Pontius Navigator » Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:31 pm

ian16th wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:58 pm
Boac wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 6:50 pm
4ma wrote:On the subject of fuel cock-ups, I won't mention the AVPIN/waste fuel confusion on the station bonfire. Again,
- I think I missed it the first time. As a former Avpin user and Gutersloh operator I would like to hear it!
Of all the Avpin stories, the best is the Rhodesian one, where a guy got Avpin in a Renault engine.

I'm sure a Giggle search will find it.
All I can say it they were slow learners

https://rhodesianforces.org/No1sqnavpin.html

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Re: Reverse Rant

#62 Post by 4mastacker » Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:00 pm

Boac wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 6:50 pm
4ma wrote:On the subject of fuel cock-ups, I won't mention the AVPIN/waste fuel confusion on the station bonfire. Again,
- I think I missed it the first time. As a former Avpin user and Gutersloh operator I would like to hear it!
Myself and a colleague had been tasked to decant AVPIN from 45 gallon drums into 5 gallon containers so that they could be sent to Istres /Deci for a forthcoming APC(I think it was for 92) We had prepped the 5 gallon drums for transit including all the haz markings, lead sealing the caps and rising the paperwork. The drums had been placed in a segregated area in the drum stock compound ready for collection the following day. It just so happened that the date was 5th Nov - it was either 70 or 71.

The station fireman had asked our WO if there was any waste oil/fuel available to"help" get the station bonfire going - Mrs Staish was going to perform the honours of lighting the fire which was on an area beside the sports field across the road from the camp's main entrance. The WO told the fireman to come and collect some drums of waste oil, chucked them the keys to the compound and told them to take as much as they needed - telling them the drums were just inside the gate.

Come the ceremonial lighting, apparently there was a bit of a ferking great 'whoooof' as the bonfire attempted to self-launch into low earth orbit and questions started being asked along the lines of "WTF did you put on that fire?" Rumour was that Mrs Staish had have a change of clothing. Yours truly missed the event as I was duty POL stacker that night and had been on BFI 7 refuelling bowsers. It was only when I went up to main stores that I found out that the bonfire had been a short-lived, but spectacular, event .

The following morning, yours truly and my colleague who had done the prepping went to collect the AVPIN drums and found some were missing. We reported back to the WO who's face lost all colour - he picked up the phone, rang OC Supply and before he finished saying "I think I know what was on the bonfire" got the "Get your @rse to my office now!!" I believe there was a heels together "interview" for the WO and the fireman with the Staish soon afterwards.

Not long afterwards the WO prematurely retired having been invited to do so, official letters descended from above warning against the use of waste oil/AVTAG/AVPIN on station bonfires and an article also appeared in 'Air Clues' warning against the same.
It's always my fault - SWMBO

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Re: Reverse Rant

#63 Post by Pontius Navigator » Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:17 pm

Yes, such career interviews would make good reading. I can think of a Regt officer and an accountant at Akrotiri, a Fighter Controller at Neatishead, our flt cdr on 201 at Kinloss, another Nimrod captain ex-201 at Northwood, at ATCO at Kinloss, OC Ops at Coningsby - the list goes on.

Also a captain on 12, 1965, living not far from 4ma and moi, whose name occasionally appears in the Telegraph together with his rank. He walked into a door twice.

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Re: Reverse Rant

#64 Post by ExSp33db1rd » Fri Jan 17, 2020 2:22 am

Last exhaust system I changed ( Austin 1100.Mini Countryman, can't remember which ?? ) convinced me that they start with an exhaust pipe and build a car around it. Later visited a Ford factory in Detroit, along the assembly line came a bare chassis, and the first thing put on it was ..... the exhaust system. QED

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Re: Reverse Rant

#65 Post by Boac » Fri Jan 17, 2020 9:48 am

Thanks, 4ma - a great story! Poor WO.

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Re: Reverse Rant

#66 Post by 4mastacker » Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:03 am

Boac wrote:
Fri Jan 17, 2020 9:48 am
Thanks, 4ma - a great story! Poor WO.
Oh, I don't know about 'poor'. He kept his pension and gratuity and stayed on as Station Warden, earning a nice CS wage, no early morning call-outs or prancing around with muskets/NBC gear, entitled to petrol coupons and use of the Naafi whilst remaining a full member of the Sgt's Mess. He was a decent guy; got me out of the pooh a couple of times.
It's always my fault - SWMBO

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Re: Reverse Rant

#67 Post by Capetonian » Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:12 am

I finally walked away from Fiat on the Eastern Boulevard after it finally gave up the ghost. Rust ridden wreck.
GG, mine had a less mundane end.

I had gone up to Matjiesfontein in it with my parents. We went out for a drive one day, up towards Sutherland if I remember, and on the way back the car lost power intermittently, rather as you would expect with a fuel supply problem, then it lost all power. I got out to open the bonnet and saw wisps of smoke. Fortunately had the presence of mind not to open the bonnet more than a crack which would have given it more oxygen.

We grabbed bags etc and ran and watched as the flames consumed the car from front to back, ending with a spectacular conflagration when it reached the fuel tank at the back.

It turned out that a known fault with the model was the fuel supply pipe ran above the distributor, and to make matters worse, there was a joint in it directly above the distributor.

One small leak, one small spark, and destruction of the car, rust and all!

The GM of the hotel, who was and still is a friend of mine, lent me his car, one of those two-tone Ford Escorts with vinyl on the roof, that were so popular in ZA in the 70s.

Good old days. My car was insured with Mutual and Federal, whose office was just opposite the GPO. I went in to see them and had their cheque the next day!

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Re: Reverse Rant

#68 Post by ian16th » Tue Jan 21, 2020 8:09 pm

I haven't tried to download a movie or other large files, but with normal transactions, my response times are about normal! o:-)

It seems that someone has done some re-routing.
Cynicism improves with age

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Re: Reverse Rant

#69 Post by Rwy in Sight » Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:03 pm

I had a conversation with a lady from the sales desk of the company providing me with the ground line. I cut down the unlimited international calls to two hours and I got a better deal for unlimited ADSL and unlimited national calls (fixed and mobile) for 20 €. It was one of those calls that both parties got what they wanted without too much arguing. I just hope the implementation of the new contact - I already have indications this will be not the case.

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