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Can we talk about how torque specs on landing gear bolts got way tighter after 2019?
I helped swap a nose gear assembly on a King Air 200 in Bakersfield two weeks ago, and the book called for 180 inch pounds on bolts that used to spec out at 90. Talked to a guy who does overhaul at a shop in Wichita and he says it traces back to the 737 max stuff, everything got rechecked and lots of old numbers got bumped. Honestly I think half the guys on the floor are still using the old numbers out of habit and that scares me. Anyone else seeing spec changes like this on gear or flight controls lately?
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parker_webb14h ago
I saw a service letter from Textron last month that bumped the nose gear attach bolts on the 200 series to 170 inch pounds, up from the old 90. My shop lead pulled the same letter and said a bunch of the King Air torque values got reworked after the FAA started cracking down on the whole fleet following the Max mess. From what I heard, the old numbers were fine for years but nobody had really run the math on them with the newer hardware and coatings, so when they rechecked everything, a lot of specs came out higher. The scary part is the old numbers are still printed in some older manuals and guys grab whatever book is closest. We started writing the new torque on a tag and taping it right to the panel so nobody grabs the wrong number out of habit. Flight control specs have moved too, especially on the older airframes where the parts get swapped around over the years.
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