Last run of the Blue Goose . . .

Big Dog · 04-10-2005, 10:34 AM

Over on RFC, we were discussing the Darwin Awards, and I related the following story. It's all true! Scout's honor! I figured y'all might enjoy it too.
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Talk about Darwinism - I often wonder about the fate of "The Blue Goose".
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In my senior year of high school, I spent most of my time in the A&P mechanics course at the local airport, run by our Vo-Tech school. I did some work on the school's T-33 jet trainer. Later, our instructor gets a bright idea for a 'jet car' to advertise our class at local schools - run it around the school tracks and such. We took an old Rambler Marlin, a surplus J34 turbo-jet engine, and the Project began. The rear window and trunklid removed, we set the engine on the right side of the cockpit. The driver's seat (metal aircraft seat) was to the left. Nobody considered a turbine failure - could have ruined the driver's day . . .
The airflow was ducted into the engine using aluminum household ducting and (of course!) duct tape. Hey, we were Florida Rednecks, after all!
I did the instrument installation (a taste of my future USAF service).
We painted the contraption a nice dark blue and christened her the Blue Goose!
The instructor fueled her with JP4, and we got ready to witness the Goose's maiden run. Got her fired up, and eased the old girl out to the taxi strip. Soon, he's running it down the strip, slowly gaining speed - then he slows and returns to the pad. Just as he brings her to a stop, a sudden "CRUNCH!" is heard, and the ductwork disappears from the hood! Oh crap!!
The Instructor came back early as he suddenly realized the brakes weren't up to a full power run. To my knowledge, the Blue Goose never ran again! Once she sucked the metal into the engine, it was trashed.

This event had a profound impact on my life. I later joined the USAF, served three and a half years at Tyndall AFB, Florida - doing avionics instrument work on the T-33 T-bird trainer! Now y'all know . . . the rest of the story.

I think if Mr. Schrader had made that full-power run that day, he'd have been inducted into the ranks of the Darwin Awards.
And that taxi strip and runway led directly to the nearby Waste Treatment Plant. Ewww . . .

Oxford · 04-10-2005, 11:30 AM

That's a better story than the original Blue Goose of Howard Hughes. Now that's what I call an attention getter in the classroom. :insane: More teachers should be so creative. I would bet that those students lives were never the same after that learning experience. :right:

04-10-2005, 10:34 AM	#1
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,205	Last run of the Blue Goose . . . Over on RFC, we were discussing the Darwin Awards, and I related the following story. It's all true! Scout's honor! I figured y'all might enjoy it too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Talk about Darwinism - I often wonder about the fate of "The Blue Goose". ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In my senior year of high school, I spent most of my time in the A&P mechanics course at the local airport, run by our Vo-Tech school. I did some work on the school's T-33 jet trainer. Later, our instructor gets a bright idea for a 'jet car' to advertise our class at local schools - run it around the school tracks and such. We took an old Rambler Marlin, a surplus J34 turbo-jet engine, and the Project began. The rear window and trunklid removed, we set the engine on the right side of the cockpit. The driver's seat (metal aircraft seat) was to the left. Nobody considered a turbine failure - could have ruined the driver's day . . . The airflow was ducted into the engine using aluminum household ducting and (of course!) duct tape. Hey, we were Florida Rednecks, after all! I did the instrument installation (a taste of my future USAF service). We painted the contraption a nice dark blue and christened her the Blue Goose! The instructor fueled her with JP4, and we got ready to witness the Goose's maiden run. Got her fired up, and eased the old girl out to the taxi strip. Soon, he's running it down the strip, slowly gaining speed - then he slows and returns to the pad. Just as he brings her to a stop, a sudden "CRUNCH!" is heard, and the ductwork disappears from the hood! Oh crap!! The Instructor came back early as he suddenly realized the brakes weren't up to a full power run. To my knowledge, the Blue Goose never ran again! Once she sucked the metal into the engine, it was trashed. This event had a profound impact on my life. I later joined the USAF, served three and a half years at Tyndall AFB, Florida - doing avionics instrument work on the T-33 T-bird trainer! Now y'all know . . . the rest of the story. I think if Mr. Schrader had made that full-power run that day, he'd have been inducted into the ranks of the Darwin Awards. And that taxi strip and runway led directly to the nearby Waste Treatment Plant. Ewww . . . __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

04-10-2005, 11:30 AM	#2
Oxford Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Gladstone, Missouri Posts: 13,021 Blog Entries: 4	That's a better story than the original Blue Goose of Howard Hughes. Now that's what I call an attention getter in the classroom. :insane: More teachers should be so creative. I would bet that those students lives were never the same after that learning experience. :right: __________________ "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right".