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I was cleaning pitot tubes with the wrong tool for years
Last Tuesday, a senior tech at our hangar in Fort Worth saw me using a standard pipe cleaner on a Cessna 172 pitot static port. He said, 'You're just pushing the gunk deeper, kid.' He handed me a set of those tiny, stiff bristle brushes made just for this. I tried one and a whole plug of dead bugs and dirt came right out. How many times did I think a system check was good when the port was half blocked? What's the one tool you all think is a game changer for cleaning?
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the_linda27d ago
Honestly, that bit about pushing the gunk deeper hits home. For me, it was a set of good dental picks. I used to fight with old, dried out O-rings in fuel caps with a scribe and just shred them. The right pick slides under and rolls them out clean in one piece. Saves so much time and cussing.
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taraanderson27d ago
Tbh, that's such a good point about the right tool. I had the same fight trying to clean old grease out of bike bearing races with a bent paperclip. Got a proper set of picks and it was like magic, just hooks and lifts the whole mess out without spreading it around.
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kelly_craig21d ago
Oh man, "pushing the gunk deeper" should be the official motto of my early career. I did the exact same thing with a piece of safety wire for way too long. @the_linda is totally right about the right pick making all the difference, it's like the difference between a key and a crowbar. I just got a set of those little brushes last month and felt like a complete idiot for all the times I fought with a clogged port.
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