Vent: That time a pilot told me my wire routing looked like a bird's nest

A few months back I was doing a panel upgrade on a 172 at a small GA field in Oregon. This crusty old crop duster pilot walks by and says my wire ties looked like a drunken spider made them (you know, the kind of guy who doesn't mince words). He told me to strip each bundle at 90 degree angles and leave exactly 1/4 inch of slack at every bend instead of pulling them tight. I was annoyed at first, but after I re-did it the way he showed me, troubleshooting later was way easier. Now I always leave that little bit of wiggle room on the harnesses and it's saved me like 30 minutes per job. Has anyone else gotten super specific feedback from a random pilot that actually worked out?

2 comments

2 Comments

danieljenkins18d ago

yeah that's the kind of feedback you hate to hear but can't shake once you see it work. I had a similar thing with a retired helicopter mechanic who told me to always run wires so you can trace them with one finger without moving anything else. Felt like a pain at first but now I swear by it. That little bit of slack at the bends is huge too, it stops wear from vibration and makes pulling a wire way less of a fight later. It's funny how the grumpy old guys always have these weird specific tricks that end up being gold. I think it's because they've already broken enough stuff to know what actually holds up over time.

the_caleb17d ago

@danieljenkins ever notice how the old guys' tricks almost always boil down to making the next guy's job easier?