Wasps!

[KG]

In an effort to beat the heat, I made an early morning pre-flight this morning and nearly stuck my hand into this mess while sumping my fuel tanks.

I got so excited that my hand jerked and the contents of my fuel cup splashed on these little buggers, which put them in a deep sleep.

I'm now wondering ....... is there any room in there for a nest? I wouldn't think so and I can't see anything in the little space that is visible.

These little rascals took up housekeeping on my fuel drain in the last couple of days. Parked outside in Middle Tennessee. I guess it's that time of year.

[hilltop170]

Hey Keith-
It's lucky you "accidentally" sloshed that 100LL onto the wasps. I have found gasoline works better than just about anything else I have ever tried. A few years ago there was a large hornet nest under my front porch. My buddy's brittany spaniel unfortunately discovered the nest and stuck his nose in it. That night about 2:00am when it was cool and quiet and all of the hornets were in the nest I filled a small bucket with gas and gently lifted the bucket up under the nest submerging the only outlet of the nest. For about 15 seconds it sounded like a chainsaw running inside the nest and it took a lot of nerve to stand there until the noise stopped. When everything was over, there was a thick layer of dead hornets in the bottom of the bucket. The nest is now on display on my Alaska trinket table.

If you have access to a bore scope, you might try to look up into the wing in several places and see if the wasps have a nest in there anywhere.

Hornet nest from under the front porch

[170C]

Keith, did you get your battery problem solved?

[170C]

Those wasps are pesky little devils. Never know when or where they may choose to build their nests and they can do so very quickly. They seem to like the upper corners of my garage doors for some reason. We walk right under them, fortunately without getting stung, until we see the nest. Gasoline is the quickest death to them! However I have found that should you miss some of them while they are away from the nest, they survivors will reinhabit the nest. If sprayed with wasp & hornet spray they won't come back. Once had a nest in the fresh air inlet (leading edge) and some got in the cabin. Makes for a short, high stress flight

[KG]

Hi Richard... I don't have a borescope but do have a mirror and flashlight. I'll pull the inspection covers and look inside.

Regarding the wasps... I have also had them under the access door to the gas cap on my car. Are they attracted to gas fumes?

Yes, Frank, we got it charged. Thanks for the recommendation...... Jim G. charged my battery and I flew for about a half hour. When I came back it restarted fine so I suspect I simply let it run down with too many lights on combined with repeated landings which resulted in the generator spending too much time at a low output. My battery is almost seven years old but has given no problems up until yesterday. It is a Concorde RG-25XC and looking at some past posts here it has a good reputation for lasting this long. I'll see how it holds up from here.

[blueldr]

If your battery is really seven years old, it is just waiting for the worst possible place in the world to completely fail.

[sfarringer]

I ran my first Concorde RG25 8 years, and it still started the airplane like it did when it was new.
But, the capacity for providing sustained discharge was NOT like it was when new.
I was very pleased with it's longevity, and replaced it with a new one (which cost quite a bit more than the first one).

I run a Zeftronics electronic regulator, which controls the voltage VERY well.
I have always wondered if the battery would have lasted as long with an old Delco points-style regulator, but I don't believe that I want to know enough to perform the experiment......

[KG]

If your battery is really seven years old, it is just waiting for the worst possible place in the world to completely fail.

I like a little sense of adventure, Dick.

Actually, I have no plans to go anywhere other than the home field in the near future so I'm planning to replace the battery at the next oil change to minimize the de-cowlings.

[GAHorn]

Keep in mine...the battery is NOT for starting your engine (athough that is generally a good test of it's relative health....and even better one is to turn your landing lights on for 2 or 3 minutes and THEN see if it'll start your engine with the lights still ON.)

The real REASON your airplane has a battery is:
1- A source of electricity in the event of complete failure of the generated electricity....
2- A "ballast" (or shock-absorber) to prevent electrical spikes from damaging expensive electronic components (avionics, etc.)

If you've gotten 5 years from your battery... REPLACE IT unless it can pass the above test. Use it on your lawn tractor if you're loathe to throw it away.

My own Concorde 25 has 5 years on it but will still pass the above test and I have an original-style, vibrating points regulator (carefully calibrated to 13 volts).

[sfarringer]

........... I have an original-style, vibrating points regulator (carefully calibrated to 13 volts).

13 volts seems to be lower than Concorde recommends in their Operators Manual. The recommended regulator settings range from 14.5 to 14.75 volts for battery temperature below 0 C, to 13.5 to 13.75 volts for battery temperature above 45 C.

For what it's worth, my Zeftronics regulator does not seem to be user-adjustable, but always seems to charge at 14.0 to 14.2 volts.

[GAHorn]

My regulator was adjusted to it's mfr'r-suggested voltage. Concorde literature also suggested that over-charging will decrease battery longevity. The results obtained are pleasing to me.

[KG]

Well the dang things are back. This morning I found a wasp on my fuel drain again. After I spilled 100LL on him, two of his buddies came flying out from around the fuel drain, having been camped out in my wing. I'm wondering if WD-40 fogged into the wing would work as an insect inhibitor.

I then saw these spots on my plane and upon close inspection decided they are some kind of insect or spider eggs. I found them on the passenger window, the spinner, and the wingtip. Zoom in.....

Looks like I have an infestation of creepy things. I've been actively flying but I guess it doesn't have to sit long for bugs to find a home.

[DWood]

Probably mud daubers.
Welcome to the South

[FredM]

I had an experience with these winged devils a few years ago that I won't soon forget. I was removing my engine cowling and spotted two wasps starting a new nest. I figured that two wasps couldn't do much to me so i just swatted their nest away. Soon after, I caught a glimpse of one of them starting a Kamikaze dive toward my face. Next thing I know it had stung me directly in the left eyeball. I cannot begin to describe the pain but I couldn't open either eye for about 30 minutes. I could finally open my right eye after thirty minutes and made it to a doctor. They give you something for the pain during their exam but won't give you anything for eye pain while you recover. I had to sit in the dark for several days. Even the light from the TV shining on my closed eyes caused pain. I decided I am not the "tough guy" that I thought.
Do not underestimate these little demons, they will give you a taste of what hell is really like.

[hilltop170]

Well the dang things are back. This morning I found a wasp on my fuel drain again. After I spilled 100LL on him, two of his buddies came flying out from around the fuel drain, having been camped out in my wing. I'm wondering if WD-40 fogged into the wing would work as an insect inhibitor.

I then saw these spots on my plane and upon close inspection decided they are some kind of insect or spider eggs. I found them on the passenger window, the spinner, and the wingtip. Zoom in.....

IMG_0387.jpg

IMG_0388.jpg

Looks like I have an infestation of creepy things. I've been actively flying but I guess it doesn't have to sit long for bugs to find a home.

Keith-
Clicking on the pictures then zooming-in on the deposits, it definitely looks like egg clusters. I'm guessing you accidentally spilled 100LL on them as well? Did you ever look up into the wing? There is a very good possibility they have a nest in there by this time.

Is your plane in a hangar yet? If so, I regularly spray Home Defense around the inside perimeter of my hangar and find lots of dead bugs and spiders just inside the spray ring but do not get any bugs messing with the plane. If outside, I don't know what you can do except keep them cleared out regularly. It's hard to diminsh the drive of those pesky little critters.