Question about skipping the AMM on flap rigging after 20 years

Last month in Phoenix I watched a kid of 25 set flap rigging using only his phone photos from two certs ago. He said the AMM was for rookies and he'd done it a hundred times. I told him to stop, but he kept going and we had to redo the whole droop check twice. Three years ago I would have ripped him a new one, but now I wonder if the old way is just habit. Is there any real risk in trusting memory over the manual when the job is that repetitive, or am I just stuck in my ways?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

spencer_ross19d ago

Funny thing about that droop check, the manual actually spells out the exact sequence for a reason, and it ain't just to slow guys down. That kid probably had it right in his head for the basic rig, but the flap rigging has a specific order to the bolts and the tension that you can't just eyeball from a photo. The real risk isnt the repetitive part, its the one time something is off, like a bushing that wore down or a cable that stretched, and you miss it cause you're running on memory. Happens all the time, especially after 20 years, cause the airframe ain't the same as it was in the cert photos. So no, you aint stuck in your ways, you're just not stupid enough to bet a whole inspection on a shaky memory.

2