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Vent: I thought the torque spec sheet was overkill until I found 3 loose bolts in one week
I used to just snug things down by feel on the King Air 200 I help maintain at a shop in Wichita, figuring the torque wrench was for the young guys who hadn't built up the muscle memory yet. Two weeks ago I borrowed one from the tool crib after a senior A&P told me my wrist was lying to me, and sure enough, on a single inspection I found three fasteners on the gear door linkage that were under spec by 15 to 20 inch pounds. Nothing had fallen off yet, but that third one was close enough that I sat in the hangar for ten minutes just staring at it. I still trust my hands for a lot of jobs, but for anything that holds a flight control or a gear door, the wrench goes on every time now. Curious what other folks draw the line at, do you use a torque wrench on every fastener or just the critical ones?
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emma_jones18h ago
My grandpa swore he could torque by feel too and he also swore he didn't need glasses right up until he drove into a ditch. I do the critical stuff with a wrench for sure, but I'll admit I still snug non-critical panels by hand and hope for the best. Anything with a flight control or gear on it though? Wrench only, no exceptions.
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