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Hot take: a Vietnam vet at my hangar said we coddle these engines now
He watched me pull a jug off a 172 at our field in Boise and said back in his day you flew it till it quit talking to you. Made me wonder if our torque wrench habits are safety or just fear, anyone else get told stuff like that by the old guys?
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blair_dixon12d ago
Man, this brings back memories. Had an old crop duster guy tell me the same thing when I was doing my first annual on a Super Cub. He said they used to just fly em till the oil got sparkly and the compressions felt like a handshake from a dead fish. What worked for me was just listening to both sides. I still torque stuff to spec because it's cheap insurance, but I stopped freaking out over every little thing. The old guys weren't wrong that you can overthink it, but they also didn't have half the engine trouble we do now. Just find your own line between scared and stupid.
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