Well, I'd like to hear some from some other FReepers, just to keep the dialog going. I'm sure that there are plenty of funny tales to relate.
Since you ask, here's one about how I got introduced to the "Jesus nut" on our ubiquitous Hueys:
In June-July of 1981, there was a NATO training excercise dubbed "Gallant Eagle" that was spread all over southern California. I volunteered for it and was TAD'd out the desert north of 29 stumps; Ft. Irwin, I think it was. This was supposed to be for a week, and ended up being closer to three. Desert-training, big-time. Well, I had one Marine in my company who gave himself hepatitis shooting himself up with cocaine IV with a dirty needle, and we called in a medevac to get him back to the NRMC on CAMPEN. We arrived, trundled him into the ER, I filled out some forms and returned to my helo to go back to my duty station.
Well, the Huey was shut down as I ditty-bopped up the hill to the helopad, and there was the crew chief fiddling around on top of the bird. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "I'm checking the Jesus nut, doc." "Jesus nut? What's that?", I asked, and he let me climb up and look. Well, it turned out that all that kept the entire main rotor on the Huey was this part that looked like a fat washer! "That's the Jesus nut", he said, pointing to it. "If it ever comes off, we get to meet Jesus".
I never felt the same way flying in those beloved rattletraps ever again.
