Rick_A
Well Known Member
Sharing a hanger with Walt has made a HUGE difference in quality of maintenance I perform in my airplane. He has always preached that the only way to inspect stuff (i.e. anything that is a threaded fastener) is to Put a Wrench On It. So normally, I put on wrench on "everything".
This year, I decided to look for fasteners that may not have been included in "everything" in prior years. So starting with the empennage and working forward, I put a wrench on EVERY nut & bolt. I was surprised at the number of fasteners that I was able to snug up just a bit. Sometimes it was just 1 flat or maybe a 1/4 turn - in a few cases, it was quite a bit more.
Challenge yourself on your next inspection / annual to find some fasteners that you haven't put a wrench on in a while (or ever). I'd say if you can't find a few that need to be snugged up, you're not looking hard enough!
A couple of examples that I found in my 7A
(1) There are 4 bolts in each of the steel gussets located at the very forward most lower corners in the foot well (right at the firewall). They all needed at least 1 or more full turns to get tight.
(2) Three of four bolts on the wheel pant bracket on the Right Main wheel needed to be tightened.
(3) I was able to turn one "castellation" on 3 of the 6 engine mount bolts.
There were many others I could list but I think you get my point.
This year, I decided to look for fasteners that may not have been included in "everything" in prior years. So starting with the empennage and working forward, I put a wrench on EVERY nut & bolt. I was surprised at the number of fasteners that I was able to snug up just a bit. Sometimes it was just 1 flat or maybe a 1/4 turn - in a few cases, it was quite a bit more.
Challenge yourself on your next inspection / annual to find some fasteners that you haven't put a wrench on in a while (or ever). I'd say if you can't find a few that need to be snugged up, you're not looking hard enough!
A couple of examples that I found in my 7A
(1) There are 4 bolts in each of the steel gussets located at the very forward most lower corners in the foot well (right at the firewall). They all needed at least 1 or more full turns to get tight.
(2) Three of four bolts on the wheel pant bracket on the Right Main wheel needed to be tightened.
(3) I was able to turn one "castellation" on 3 of the 6 engine mount bolts.
There were many others I could list but I think you get my point.