A friend of mine sent me these pictures. The story is that the pilot had not yet cleaned out the inside of his super cub after being out on a fishing trip. A bear wanders along and decides to have a look inside. After the bear is done the pilot has two new tires, three cases of duct tape, and several rolls of cellophane delivered. A little work and some time later, he flies it home. Anybody we know?

Ahhhhh........duct tape saves the day again.

When will we ever learn and just start building cubs out of duct tape???

Does the Ferry permit specify the origin of the duct tape, 3M brand or crappy Home Depot brand duct tape??? Or has Sporty's pilot shop branded their own duct tape and kindly sell it fo $69 a roll??

Sorry, I'll get back to work. Lumberg just showed up.

A little wal mart paint and it will be as good as new.

Tim

Nicely done

Anybody know him?

N-number : N9368D
Aircraft Serial Number : 18-6633
Aircraft Manufacturer : PIPER
Model : PA-18A 150
Engine Manufacturer : LYCOMING
Model : 0-320 SERIES
Aircraft Year : 1958
Owner Name : MILLER JONATHAN L
Owner Address : PO BOX 190043
ANCHORAGE, AK, 99519-0043
Type of Owner : Individual
Registration Date : 15-May-2003
Airworthiness Certificate Type : Standard
Approved Operations : Normal

The only thing that seems out of the duct tape realm on that is the starboard stabilizer, which is bent down pretty hard. Just kinking it back up into position seems like it would notbe enough for any bumpy flight loads. Any of the pictures show how they got the stabilizer back in alignment without crimping the tube? Secondary aux. tail brace wire added in the field???

I hope none of the FAA guys are reading this thread.

EZFlap wrote:The only thing that seems out of the duct tape realm on that is the starboard stabilizer, which is bent down pretty hard. Just kinking it back up into position seems like it would notbe enough for any bumpy flight loads. Any of the pictures show how they got the stabilizer back in alignment without crimping the tube? Secondary aux. tail brace wire added in the field???

They don't show an "after" shot of that. I might venture a guess to say that perhaps they put on a different one. It's not hard to do.

Hey, at least his gust locks stayed in.

gb

The subject line of this post keeps getting my attention, I guess I keep expecting it to be about "ursus cannibalis" : a bear eating a cub, not a bear eating a Cub.

Where can I get some of those FAA/PMA cert. off road lights? It would make my off airport night landings so much easier.

mountainmatt wrote:Where can I get some of those FAA/PMA cert. off road lights? It would make my off airport night landings so much easier.

Matt...I wondered the same thing.

58Skylane wrote:I hope none of the FAA guys are reading this thread.

The folks who live and work in places like Alaska seem to have pretty good heads on their shoulders and usually have a large measure of common sense.

I don't think any of the FAA people in AK will give the pilot/owner any grief. It was an emergency situation and they subscribe to the theory that "All's well that ends well".

Besides, they have to live there and everyone is armed!!!

Well.......that should liven things up a little.

I sent these pics to my IA to see what he would say. His response was (1) I've seen them before (2) I know the mechanic that did the final repairs and put the bird back in the air (3) the cost was a bit over 8K is all, and (4) the cost was that low because the bear did not do any serious structural damage to the airframe....i.e., the dude got lucky......we both then just shook our heads and chuckled about it, cuz things like this are not that rare in the land of the midnight sun.....lol

Yes, amazing. Must have a very careful bear to rip all that fabric and the tires and not bend a tube . Perhaps it was interested in the skin and tires and not what was inside??

GR

sixtwo,

that depends on how fast he wanted to go:
3M:100mph
homedepot: 80mph
walmart: 40mph (if you feel lucky)

Some have suggested that it was not a bear that destroyed the Super Cub shown above. However an interview with the owner of the Cub confirms that it was indeed a pissed of Brown Bear that did all of the damage. Here is a link to the full story:

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/news/3370-an-appetite-for-revenge

"Hundred-mile-an-hour" tape is sure great stuff for airplanes.

Nizina wrote:Some have suggested that it was not a bear that destroyed the Super Cub shown above. However an interview with the owner of the Cub confirms that it was indeed a pissed of Brown Bear that did all of the damage. Here is a link to the full story:

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispat...te-for-revenge

"Hundred-mile-an-hour" tape is sure great stuff for airplanes.

The link isn't working.

But, I believe the original story. I'm sure a pissed off hungry bear will do damn near anything for food. I know I would!

Thanks 58: I corrected it above, but here is the correct one here as well.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/news/3370-an-appetite-for-revenge

Jill Burke
AlaskaDispatch.com
Dec 20, 2009


There's been a story circulating the Internet for a few months now -- a tale about a pilot in Alaska who had to fly home on a wing, a prayer and a case of duct tape after his plane was mauled by a bear. Some say the bear was after fish. Some say he was just being a jerk. And some don't believe the story at all, chalking it up to Last Frontier fish tales and Internet hype.

Turns out, though, this online "myth" is grounded firmly in reality.

When bush pilot Luke Miller, 28, made an overnight stop at a friend's hunting lodge in Southwest Alaska earlier this year, he had no way to know that a large and very dedicated menace would, under cover of night, chew and claw his plane to shreds.

There are bear tales by the thousands in Alaska, and with this one the pictures alone are worth a thousand words. (Imagine what might result if a model plane made of paper-thin aluminum had a run-in with Edward Scissorhands.) At the request of the pilot, who says the images are copyrighted, we can't show them to you here. They're easy enough to find, though; shortly after the big bad bear left a big bad mess, the images of the aftermath moved through the blogosphere with lightning speed, and with each flash forward the narrative of what must surely have happened kept shifting.

But don't trust us -- have a look for yourself. From a small online newspaper report in South Africa to bulletin boards for Kawasaki motorcycle enthusiasts and Honda Element owners, to a forum on the Discovery Channel Web site and even the mythbusting site Snopes.com, what happened that late September day has become the kind of story legends are made of, plump with colorful details and a few untruths.
[imgwrap=left]http://www.alaskadispatch.com/images/media/photos/news/news/illustrations/bear-kong-vs-plane-12-20-09.jpg[/imgwrap]
We had high hopes we'd get the pilot to dish out the straight story, separating fact from fiction, but he opted to remain silent and keep the mysteries alive.

What follows is the tale of the bear's destruction spree and the plane's revival as told by the pilot's dad, Mark Miller, and family friend and hunting guide Gary LaRose, who first discovered the bear's fabric-eating, metal-bending offense.

Contrary to some reports, it wasn't a fishy aroma that lured the bear in. The plane wasn't full of fish, nor had it just been used to haul fish. The pilot didn't radio for help -- he used a cell phone -- and the incident isn't a hoax dating back nine years; it happened around Sept. 26 and 27, 2009.

And yes, duct tape and plastic wrap saved the day.

LaRose had already had a few run-ins with the brown bruin, which discovered it could use the new meat shed at LaRose's lodge like a McDonald's drive-through. One night, after breaking out a window, the bear grabbed a hindquarter of freshly-butchered moose, feasting on 60 to 70 pounds of it as it dangled through the window, still hanging from the rafters.
LaRose boarded up the window, and after returning from a guided silver salmon trip, butchered the remaining moose meat, put it in the freezer and cleaned and bleached the space to eliminate all traces of the meat.

The next night, the bear pushed out a screen. Two nights later he returned again, got the door open and knocked over a bucket of broken glass collected after the first break-in.

Miller stopped in a day or two later on his way to a piloting job for another guide. A storm was moving through with heavy rain and 25 to 30 mile per hour winds, and LaRose's lodge offered a comfortable place for a night of rest. Offered a choice to tie down the plane out in the open, or about 60 feet from the shed, where it would be better sheltered, he chose the area by the shed.

"I figured the bear situation was done," La Rose said. "The meat had been gone for three or four days and I figured it got the message."

Early the next morning after a night of howling winds, in the dark before sunrise, a client reported another meat shed break-in to LaRose, who took a walk to check things out and discovered the bear had once again pulled out a window, but otherwise had done no damage.

No damage, that is, until LaRose remembered Miller's plane.

"My headlamp hit Luke's plane and it was literally destroyed," he said. "My heart sank. It was just an unbelievable sight."

LaRose was faced with the unhappy task of waking Miller up to tell him the bear had destroyed the 1958 Piper Cub's wheels by clawing at the rubber, busted out the windows on the plane's left side, and shredded fabric from rear windows to tail.

"He basically ravaged the whole plane," LaRose said, adding that, in his 38 years as a pilot in Alaska, he has never seen anything like it.

Miller had a small amount of vacuum-sealed meat for personal use stored in plastic and stashed in the gear he had brought along for his upcoming job assignment. Despite all the damage done to the plane, the bear missed it. LaRose questions whether the bear was even able to smell it, and said Miller's plane was otherwise clean.

Miller grew up in a family that owns a remote lodge and learned early on to scrub planes down with bleach, soap and water after hauling meat. He had transported caribou a few weeks earlier, and LaRose said he supposes it's possible there was a hint of blood on board, but he's skeptical, and thinks there's a better explanation -- one having to do with the bear's fondness for the meat shed and its proximity to the plane.

"He was pissed," LaRose said. "His easy food source had dried up and he was out for revenge."

If malice was indeed the motivation, the bear knew how drive the point home. It took a dump next to its handiwork near Miller's plane, LaRose said, and left a similar gift not too far away near where other planes were tied down.

After a few days of meticulous fix-it work, the plane was airworthy enough to fly back to Anchorage. Miller fitted the windows with plywood and Plexiglas, replaced the tires and the horizontal stabilizer (the bear either leaned on it or sat on it), and, according to Miller's dad, fashioned a makeshift fabric skin out of 25 rolls of duct tape and some industrial-strength plastic wrap.

As for the bear, it hasn't been seen since. It may have been "whacked" during bear hunting season in October, or it may be playing it smart. After all, bears know when it's time "to get the hell out of Dodge," according to the LaRose.

Then again, it may be off enjoying a satisfied rest.

"He's off digesting some fabric right now. He just disappeared into the night. He doesn't know how famous he is," the pilot's father, Mark Miller, said.