Heard a senior mechanic say torque wrenches are just suggestions - that scared me

I was helping a guy with a Cessna 172 flap cable adjustment last week, and he told me he never uses a torque wrench on control surface bolts because 'you can feel it.' I showed him the maintenance manual where it calls for 20-25 in-lbs on the hinge bracket fasteners, and he just shrugged. Has anyone else run into old-timers who ignore torque specs on flight control hardware?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery2191mo ago

Man, that's exactly the kind of thing that gets me wound up too. Had a similar run in with an older guy rebuilding a Piper wing rib, and he flat out refused to torque the nut plates because he said he'd been doing it by feel for 30 years. Showed him the factory spec in the IPC and he just laughed it off, said the book was written by lawyers not mechanics. Scares me how casual some people get with flight controls when a loose bolt could literally kill someone. You ever report stuff like that to your lead or safety guy, or is it just one of those things you have to live with?

lilyp371mo ago

Actually, IPC doesn't stand for Illustrated Parts Catalog in the FAA world, it's usually referred to as an IPC for Illustrated Parts Breakdown. But yeah, I get your point, the book is pretty clear on torque values for a reason. I've seen leads back the old timer on stuff like that too, it's frustrating but reporting it usually just makes you the new guy who doesn't get how things work around here.

oliverhernandez1mo ago

Started leaving my torque wrench on their toolbox with a sticky note to the spec.