Hyd fluid

Just do a Google search on mil h 5606 hydraulic fluid. That is the fluid we used on H34. All the details are there, no specific odor additives just oil and antioxidants. SF

Smelly fluid

Ray,
Sure you aren't thinking of the "fish oil" we used in the CH-46 rotorheads?? That was NASTY smelling stuff, but it was clear, no color at all....

Smell

As I remember the smell of Mil-H-5606a was very red and sort of a minty smell and I didn't think it smelled all that bad. I also seem to remember that it had that smell so we could distinguish it from other fluids at night, remember the red flashlights?

its own smelly

I was walking past a 53 we had worked on earlier in the day , even in the sparse light of the evening , I was able to detected a leak an report it , I'm thinking if that was the planned effect , it worked well then.

My GF at the time said she liked the way I smelled , I told her Hyd. fluid seems to be a challenge to remove with dial soap.

Hydraulic Fluid

One never had to ask a "bubble-chaser" what shop he worked
out of.
Hydraulic fluid had a distinctive odor (albeit not unpleasant) as
did the Mil-Spec that we used in the rotor head reservoirs.
It often could become an issue convincing the Vietnamese that
an open can of the latter was NOT dau ca or nuc mam(sp) & not
intended for human consumption !!!
Perhaps it actually WAS fish oil,Joe. Ha.Ha.
S/F
Mike Collins

Hydraulic Fluid

Hydraulic fluid can be removed with fried chicken from the mess hall. Just lick your fingers.

Wayne Stafford

We bubble chasers all had pink skivvies!
S/F
Tim

My GF at the time did not know why my skivvies where pink , she assumed (wrongly) that I was just a brave guy, to have them. As for consuming hyd. fluid with the aid of chow hall fried chicken, it just goes to show the cleaning ability of chow hall food. I also was amazed that bubble chasers where popular with the ladies....maybe it was the smelly of the hyd.fluid , that made the difference.

Pink Skivvies

Funny how time dims one's memory.I had forgotten about the
"cursed" staining property of Mil-l-5606.
It gave my Mom fits the 1st time she did some laundry for me
while home on leave in '66.
As a crew chief,I quickly gained a 3 ft. vertical back-leap that
would have had the immediate attention of the NBA scouts,had
any been in the area.
A lot of bubble chasers resorted to "seasoned" work attire...one
pink skivvie shirt,1 pink skivvie drawer,& 1 set of utilities that
was,...not quite,...olive drab.No starch required.
S/F
Mike Collins

Hyd fluid

Old 5606 was also used as a cheap sun tan lotion by some.

All you had to do was change one APP start valve to get your first 5606 bath, and they were changed a lot! They leaked internally all the time and if you didn't replace it you better be a fast pumper! Yep we were the boys in pink. The good old times.
S/F
Tim

APP start valve

Tim,
I had this discussion with some phrog folks in Ft. Worth.... I can't ever remember one going bad on any of my birds....ever! Several were changed though...on others...

Hyd fluid

H-34 rotor brakes were job security for the hydraulic shops. After the old air accumulators were replaced with a spring loaded compensator we still had to "bleed" the system constantly. SF

If you wiped down a CH-53 with MIL-H-5606, it would look like a Vip bird. Just don't try and get up on the sponson's without a Cranial.

Suntan

Yep, now it's coming back. Maybe we used it as suntan lotion---can't remember, but I do remember all the bubble chasers had hands as soft as a babies behind. I was always banging them up working on my car to keep it running. Wonder if I could file for a disability with the VA for that?

5606 and jet fuel mixed together made a great cleaner and the aircraft shined for a while. The problem is it attracted dust and sand and would dull in a couple of days. You had to keep doing it and that's a big bird to hand clean! If you had an aggressive 1st Rag you could get him to do it.
S/F
Tim

Cleaner/wax!

5606 and jet fuel mixed together made a great cleaner and the aircraft shined for a while.

Yes it did! You could always tell which squadron was aboard ship, couldn't you?? They had the clean birds!!!