c/aircraft-mechanics

I finally stopped using speed handles after what I saw at LAX

Last month at LAX I watched a guy snap a 1/4 inch drive speed handle clean in half trying to break loose a stubborn screw on a panel. The handle went flying across the hangar and nearly hit another mechanic. Now I just use a ratchet with a short extension for tight spots like that. Has anyone else had a speed handle fail on them like that?

Stumbled into a small engine shop in Tulsa that fixed my piston ring groove in 20 minutes

PSA: Stop using WD-40 on control cables, learned the hard way

Used to spray WD-40 on all my control cables thinking it was fine. Last month I had a 172 in the shop, cables were all gummed up inside the conduits. Had to replace three control cables and the conduits. Shop foreman told me WD-40 turns into sticky goo over time. Now I only use cable lube from AC Sprague. Anyone else make this mistake or just me?

That patch job on a Cessna 172 last week still bothers me

I was helping out at a small shop near Wichita last Tuesday, and we had a Cessna 172 come in with a torn fabric patch on the wing. The owner wanted a quick fix, just something to get it through annual inspection. My supervisor told me to use some leftover dope and a scrap piece of fabric from the back shelf, but I knew that wasn't going to hold up for long. I spent a good hour arguing that we should order the proper material and do it right, but he said it was fine and to just get it done. So I did what I was told, but I felt awful about it. Three days later the owner called and said the patch was already peeling at the edges. Has anyone else been stuck in a situation where you have to do a half-baked repair because the boss says so?

Shoutout to the old timer who made me rethink torque wrenches

He told me last week that he's never used a click-type on sheet metal and showed me how his beam wrench has been doing it right for 40 years, which got me wondering how many panels I've overtightened - anyone else stick to a specific type for certain jobs?

I used to fight with safety wire for 20 minutes per fastener until I finally switched to the cross-over technique

Switched after a senior mechanic at the hangar in Memphis showed me how to do it in 5 minutes flat, now I never go back to the old way, anyone else have a basic task that took way too long to unlearn?

Overheard a new guy say torque wrenches are just for show

Was at TexAir in Dallas last Tuesday. This A&P fresh out of school said torque wrenches are overkill for most jobs. Said he just goes by feel. I had to walk away. Told him that's how you get a control cable snapping at 10,000 feet. Has anyone else seen juniors skip torque specs on critical stuff?

Old timer told me to stop greasing my wheel bearings like crazy

I used to pack wheel bearings with as much grease as I could fit. Then this retiree mechanic watches me do one and says 'you're gonna cook those seals in 50 hours.' He was right. I started measuring it out to exactly the right amount and my bearings have lasted way longer. Anyone else learn a simple fix like that from an older mechanic?

Torqued a bolt on a Cessna 172 engine mount and learned the hard way what happens when you go past 60 ft-lbs

Was working a line maintenance shift at KSDL about 2 weeks ago. Had this 172 come in with a loose engine mount bolt. Grabbed my torque wrench, set it to 60 ft-lbs like the manual said, and just kept cranking. Heard a loud crack. Snapped the bolt clean off inside the mount. Had to drill it out and re-tap the hole. Took me 4 hours and cost the shop about $200 in parts and labor. Felt like an idiot. Anyone else had a torque wrench moment where you just knew you messed up instantly?

Blew a fuse trying to trace a static issue on a King Air 200

Spent 4 hours chasing a ghost in the overhead panel. Turned out the bond strap on the rudder trim tab was corroded clean through. $8 fix. Had a lead at Textron Aviation tell me to check grounds first next time. Anyone else got a cheap fix that saved a big headache?

Am I the only one who doesn't trust torque wrenches from Harbor Freight?

I know they're cheap and everyone says they're fine for basic stuff, but I tried one on a Cessna 172 spark plug install last month and it clicked way too early. I double-checked with my old Snap-on and it was off by almost 10 foot-pounds. That's a big deal when you're torquing cylinder head bolts or prop hardware. I get that we all want to save money, but on aircraft work I think the risk isn't worth it. Has anyone else had a cheap torque wrench let them down on critical fasteners?

20 years in and I just learned I was using torque wrenches backward

I was tightening bolts on a 737 flap track back in March when my lead mechanic walks over and asks why my click-type torque wrench was set so loose. Turns out I had been reading the scale from the wrong end for probably 15 years, thinking the numbers got bigger clockwise. I always wondered why my fasteners felt way tighter than the setting indicated. Has anyone else had that moment where a coworker casually points out something obvious you've been messing up forever?

Spent 80 bucks on a borescope and it paid for itself in one afternoon

I was chasing a weird oil leak on a Cessna 172 last week, and I figured I'd try this cheap little borescope I grabbed off Amazon. Turns out there was a hairline crack in the oil cooler line that I never would have spotted with just a flashlight and a mirror. The plane was grounded for like two hours tops, where normally I'd have to pull half the cowling off to even guess where the leak was coming from. Has anyone else had good luck with those cheap scopes, or am I just getting lucky?

Finally got my torque seal game right after 6 months in the hangar

I kept seeing guys slap torque seal on like it was nail polish, just a random dab anywhere on the bolt. It drove me nuts because you can't tell if the bolt actually moved after a run. Last week I started putting a clean stripe across the bolt head and the surrounding surface, and now my lead mechanic actually noticed and said it looked legit. Anyone else have pet peeves about how people mark their torques?

I finally tried a safety wire twister vs doing it by hand and the difference is huge

Been twisting wire the old way for 12 years at my shop in Houston. Last week I borrowed a Midwest 8 inch twister from a coworker and did a set of four bolts on a Cessna firewall. Took me half the time and the tension was way more even. Has anyone else switched and found it worth the $40 or so?

Took me 3 hours to figure out a loose static wick on a CRJ

I was doing a simple walk around on a CRJ700 yesterday and found one of the static wicks hanging by a thread. Thought it'd be a 20 minute swap. Pulled the old one off, went to install the new one, and the damn base was frozen solid with corrosion. Spent an hour with a tiny pick and some WD-40 trying to get the old base out without damaging the skin. Finally got it free, but then the new wick wouldn't click in all the way because the hole was slightly buggered. Had to file it down with a jewelers file for another 45 minutes. What should have been a quick fix ate up half my shift. Anybody else run into corrosion issues on those CRJ static wicks?

Left a rag in a Cessna cowling and caught it before the run-up

Was doing an oil change on a 172 at a small FBO in Wichita about two months ago. Finished up the job, buttoned everything, but I had set a red rag on the left mag and totally spaced it. Taxied out to the run-up area and happened to glance down at the cowl flaps and saw red fabric poking out. Killed the engine right there on the taxiway, had to get a tug to pull me back to the hangar. My lead had me re-inspect everything and write up a note on the discrepancy sheet. No damage but man that could have been ugly. Anybody else have a close call with a FOD item you left behind?

Hit my 5,000th fastener removal today and almost missed it

I was working on a Cessna 172 flap track this morning and just casually pulled out a screw when my lead mechanic taps my shoulder and says congratulations. I had no idea I was logging my 5,000th fastener removal since I started as an A&P apprentice last year. This whole time I have been keeping a little tally on my phone just out of curiosity since I used to strip screws all the time early on. The first hundred or so were a nightmare with stuck Phillips heads and broken bits. Now I can feel the difference in how tight something is before I even touch a driver. Honestly it felt weird to hit that number while doing something so routine. Has anyone else had a moment where you realized you have gotten way better without noticing?

Wasted $80 on that fancy torque wrench calibration kit from a random website

I followed the instructions to the letter and my readings were still off by 12 ft-lbs compared to the shop's certified tester, so has anyone else had luck with a specific brand that actually works?

Had to choose between quick patch versus a proper splice on a 737 tail today

Our lead was pushing me to just do the quick patch to get the plane out on time. I went with the proper splice instead, took an extra 45 minutes. Turned out the corrosion was way deeper than I thought, so that patch would've failed within a week. Has anyone else had to push back against the schedule to do it right?

Spent $200 on a 'certified' battery cart that died after 2 shifts

Bought it from a guy off Craigslist who said he used it at a small hangar. Worked fine for a day and a half, then the charger board smoked out. Opened it up and found a bunch of corroded terminals and shot wiring. Total waste. Anyone else get burned buying ground gear secondhand?

Snapped a control cable on a Cessna 172 during pre-flight last Friday - 50 years experience and I still got fooled

Unpopular opinion: most mechanics here baby their torque wrenches way too much

I visited a shop in Phoenix last month and saw a guy drop his Snap-on torque wrench on concrete, pick it up, and keep using it like nothing happened. Meanwhile half the posts on here act like you need to recalibrate if you look at it wrong. I've dropped mine three times in 15 years and it's still within spec per the calibration shop. Has anyone else actually tested their supposed 'ruined' torque wrench and found it was fine?

That cracked fan blade I caught on a 737 saved us a grounding

I was doing a routine boroscope inspection on a CFM56-7B at the hangar in Atlanta last Tuesday. Saw a tiny hairline crack on a stage 1 fan blade that was maybe 3mm long. Senior mechanic told me to flag it because the NDT would catch it anyway. Turned out the crack went deeper than anyone guessed after the dye penetrant test. Has anyone else caught something small that could have turned into a big issue mid-flight?

Overheard a guy at the parts counter say most cracks start in the first 50 hours of flight time...

I was standing at the parts counter last Thursday waiting for some cotter pins and I heard this older mechanic telling a younger guy that he checks for fatigue cracks right after the 50 hour mark on any new-to-him plane. It got me thinking about my own inspection habits. I usually just eyeball things during my annuals and figure if it flew in fine it's probably okay. But this dude pointed out that early stress cycles are when metal really lets go, especially around rivet lines on older Cessnas. Now I'm gonna add a more focused crack check at that 50 hour window on my next project plane. Anyone else ever heard a specific time frame like that for when cracks pop up?