24-08-2005, 11:52 AM
Kurt wrote this one:
Sounds like a practical joke one of my shipmates played on a Japanese helicopter crew when I was stationed aboard USS...well, no
names here.
We were doing multinational operations with a Japanese ship and their SH-3 Sea King came over for a little training while our SH-60B
went over there for some cross-pollenization. On US Navy ships, whenever refuelling a helicopter, the fuel king first fills a clear glass
sample bottle with fuel and holds it up to show the pilots that the fuel is uncontaminated, and waits for a thumbs up from the air crew
before commencing fuelling. The contents of the bottle should be very clear, with no sediment.
When word came down that the Japanese helo was coming aboard, my shipmate figured he'd have a little fun, so before going up to the
flight deck, he stopped off at the mess decks with a clean fuel sample bottle and filled it with lemonade, closed it and stuck it in his jacket
pocket. When the SH-3 landed, he made a grand show of filling a fuel sample bottle, then with admirable sleight of hand, he swapped
the fresh fuel bottle with the lemonade bottle and held it up for the Japanese pilots to see.
They, of course, gaped in disbelief at the murky, pulpy, yellowish substance in the bottle and gave an immediate thumbs down. The fuel
king pointed at the bottle and pantomimed the question, "Are you sure?" Again, he got their thumbs down, with two heads shaking "No!"
for emphasis. So, the fuel king looked at the bottle, shrugged his shoulders and took a swig...then grinned and gave them a big thumbs
up! "It tastes okay to me!"
Sounds like a practical joke one of my shipmates played on a Japanese helicopter crew when I was stationed aboard USS...well, no
names here.
We were doing multinational operations with a Japanese ship and their SH-3 Sea King came over for a little training while our SH-60B
went over there for some cross-pollenization. On US Navy ships, whenever refuelling a helicopter, the fuel king first fills a clear glass
sample bottle with fuel and holds it up to show the pilots that the fuel is uncontaminated, and waits for a thumbs up from the air crew
before commencing fuelling. The contents of the bottle should be very clear, with no sediment.
When word came down that the Japanese helo was coming aboard, my shipmate figured he'd have a little fun, so before going up to the
flight deck, he stopped off at the mess decks with a clean fuel sample bottle and filled it with lemonade, closed it and stuck it in his jacket
pocket. When the SH-3 landed, he made a grand show of filling a fuel sample bottle, then with admirable sleight of hand, he swapped
the fresh fuel bottle with the lemonade bottle and held it up for the Japanese pilots to see.
They, of course, gaped in disbelief at the murky, pulpy, yellowish substance in the bottle and gave an immediate thumbs down. The fuel
king pointed at the bottle and pantomimed the question, "Are you sure?" Again, he got their thumbs down, with two heads shaking "No!"
for emphasis. So, the fuel king looked at the bottle, shrugged his shoulders and took a swig...then grinned and gave them a big thumbs
up! "It tastes okay to me!"
"Blessed are those who can laugh at their own mistakes, for they shall never cease to be amused "