Debate: Do you go factory test gear or build your own test jigs?

I had to make a call on a 737NG pitot static test last month. Factory box from Honeywell would have cost the shop $4,000 but it just works. I ended up building my own jig from spare parts and it passed the leak check but the pressure decay readings were all over the place. Took me 3 extra hours to figure out a bad O-ring I missed. What do you all lean toward when you have to do a quick test on a tight budget?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma_young16d ago

You ever finish a test and feel like you won, but the thing you built just laughed at you for 3 hours? That O-ring got you good. Building your own jig feels great until it doesn't. You save money but lose time and sanity. Factory gear is boring but boring works. I'd rather pay the $4k and not stare at pressure gauges wondering if I forgot a washer. My time is worth more than that O-ring tax.

jamesblack13d ago

Wait, wouldn't you rather blow up your own cheap parts than drop $4k on something that still might fail in a new and exciting way @emma_young? Factory gear just means you get to pay somebody else to stare at gauges wondering if they forgot a washer. I'll take the O-ring tax over the "factory EULA says we aren't liable" tax any day.