There is not a single piece of safety wire inside the cowl
of my airplane; and I sleep soundly at night. There are aircraft grade
metal lock nuts on things like the engine mounts, radiator brackets, throttle
connection, etc. that are ancillary to the engine itself. How many things
do you see under the hood of your car that are safety wired? Have you
ever had anything come loose that mattered? I haven’t.
Yes, in an aircraft application there is more vibration
due to the prop. Anywhere there is a bolt that isn’t torqued for
tension will need a means of insuring it stays in place, but I can’t
think of any place I have that situation where there isn’t a metal lock
nut on the bolt. Use care and judgment when you torque things down –
everything!! In 122 hours of flight nothing has loosened. But check
things fairly frequently – it’s fun to poke around in the engine
compartment and see that everything is tight and clean.
Outside the cowl the prop bolts are safety wired. Everywhere
else where bolts and nuts are used they are aircraft grade with metal lock
nuts.
But don’t do what I did – except ‘use
care and judgment when you torque things down – everything!!’
If you like safety wire and you sleep better at night – go for it.
Al
-----Original
Message-----
From: Rotary motors in aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net] On Behalf
Of ktradcliff@comcast.net
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 4:07 PM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] Safety wire
Hello
everyone,
I
know that the subject of safety wire has been discussed many times
before, however searching the archives can at times be very difficult and
actually finding the answer you want is like winning the lottery (it never
happens). What I would like to know is what most are considering an
absolute must to be safety wired. What the FAA requires and what is not
so important but some are doing anyway. I feel that the subject of safety
can never be discussed enough. I would like everyone that has an opinion
on safety wire and what must be safety wired to weigh in on this subject.
I plan to save some if not all of your answers for future reference.
Maybe we can make a list of what must be safety wired.
Thanks
Keith
RV-7A
13-B
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