EME Clark mule on GC Surplus
 

I saw this on GC surplus today. It was listed last week as well but I guess no takers.

Does anyone remember what these were used for? Boosting and moving deadheads I imagine. This one was obviously well taken care of!

This one is a CT-50D made in 1987. The CFR is 79472.

https://www.gcsurplus.ca/mn-eng.cfm?...1&sf=ferm-clos

The model number is actually a CT50D. They were bought in the late 80s for airfields. I looked after about 17 of them when I was in MooseJaw. Their purpose were as aircraft mules with the smaller planes like the Tutors.

There were some faults with them which I corrected, and I guess the work was good enough that the Life Cycle manager actually flew out from Ottawa to look them over, as well as to resolve some issues the airforce was having with them. In the end, I had to write TFRs along with the solutions I had made, and they got adopted word for word as modification instructions on the vehicles. For instance, you can see the pop-in sealed truck lamps on the back of this one......I made up that modification to replace some cheap 1950s type lights that were contstantly breaking and leaving FOD on the runways.

In the last few years there has been a surplus of them, and as well they are finally being replaced. The surplus ones were offered to the base maintenance units as shop mules, and this one has undergone some modifications.

We are on the list to get one at the museum, not as an artifact but rather as a capable utility vehicle. The only real problem with them is that they are 2 wheel drive, so traversing snow or soft ground will be out. The LCMM has contacted us to tell us that we have not been forgotten, and that Winnipeg will soon be getting their new mules, so we are expecting one pretty soon.

Fod?
 

My kids grew up under FOD (fear of death) :D

It went along with:
"I'll skin you and turn you into a mat"
Or:
"I'll rip your arms off and beat you to death with them"

There's probably a jail term to fit each of those these days?

Foreign Object Damage.
Objects that can cause damage if ingested by jet engines, blown by propellors or otherwise damage aircraft.
Imagine the entire hangar line with people shoulder to shoulder (at least in theory) doing a FOD walk, looking for FOD in the pouring rain or blowing snow. One of the joys of Air Force life.

I think the FOD in this case is foreign object debris. The effects of injestion would be foreign object damage.

All of our mules ended up with long bar magnets swinging off short chains. I was always amazed at the amount of stuff they picked up. The difficulty came in that the mules would often leave the tarmac (things like refuelling or servicing) and start picking up even more debris from the roadways, then drag the stuff back to the tarmac. The magnets were soon discarded.

An interesting change on these mules was that rather than the commercial rear tires that they came with, we were to install the early Iltis michelin tires. The block tread design was virtually FOD proof. As a result, the NSN for the Iltis tires remain active in the Canadian Supply system, although the stock is pretty much exhausted.

FOD walk after the all night pisser after the Air Show finished. Nothing like group cohesion doing a FOD walk in the blazing sun, sharing the world's worst headache with all your Air Show helper friends.

Sold for $2000.01. Not bad considering all the extras that some with it. Just that pair of booster batteries in the back will run you $400 to replace.