Shoutout to the old timer at the Birmingham hangar who saved me 3 hours

I was wrestling with a stuck flap actuator on a Cessna 172 last Thursday and this guy walks over, sees me fighting it, and just says 'try tapping the solenoid with a wooden handle, not metal.' It popped loose in two minutes after I'd been at it for an hour. Anyone else got a good story about a random tip from a veteran mechanic that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

benlewis6d ago

Start with a tap from a hammer handle not the head, it'll save you a lot of busted knuckles. Idk why but wooden handles work way better than metal on stuck stuff.

robinson.jake5d ago

Buddy of mine ignored this advice and tried to brute force a seized lawnmower blade with a metal hammer. Ended up in urgent care getting four stitches in his thumb lol.