Aviation Maintenance: Product Focus: A Kingdom for the Right Tool

Good, quality tools can help aircraft mechanics work more efficiently. A&P Mitch Muller tried out a few offerings in his shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here’s what he learned.

For professionals that need them in order to make a living, tools become an important part of our lives. Face it, no tools, no money. As aviation maintenance technicians, we are sometimes forced to use automotive style tools for aircraft use. Some of the tools are universal, but as you have no doubt discovered, we have certain very specialized needs in aviation. During the years, the tool manufacturers recognized these needs and they started to produce tools that were more adapted to aviation use. The first attempts were not that great, but we needed to fund the growth of product development and support the companies that were going to make our lives easier, safer and more productive. We were looking for quality tools that would stand up to Skydrol and other chemicals that are in wide use in the aviation industry. We needed tools that could be used on various airframes, not just one, and most importantly, tools that were affordable.

Like you, I am also skeptical of new tools and how they will perform "on the job." I have a drawer full of expensive tools that I never use, but had great hopes and dreams for them. Aviation Maintenance contacted several tool manufacturers and asked them what they had to offer. We wanted to put some of these new tools through their paces in a real world aviation environment, and do some of the leg work for you. Here are some of the results.

Matco Tools

3/8" Heavy Duty Air Ratchet

Matco Tools is now offering one of the most powerful air ratchets on the market, delivering 130 foot pounds of torque to a 3/8" drive. This unit has a nice ergonomic feel to it and has a nicely positioned trigger. When this unit found its way into my hands, I thought, "What would I use this for?" I set it on my box for a day and tried to come up with a scenario that would allow this monster to fit into my daily routine. Then it hit me, wheel break down. I had several tires that I had to swap out, so I decided to put it to the test. I have tried to use an air ratchet for the break down of wheel assemblies before, but they always seemed to have less power than my hand. I broke out this ratchet and started to tackle the the wheel assemblies. From Cessna to Gulfstream wheels, Matco’s air ratchet definitely saves time and makes wheel break down a much nicer experience. I only wish this unit had a calibrated torque wrench on it for installation.

Wright Tool Company

WrightGrip Open-End and Combination Wrenches

Wright Tool has come up with a unique design for open-end and combination wrenches. They call it the WrightGrip. The wrench is U.S. built to very close tolerances, with little grip teeth on the inside of the wrench mating surface. "This wrench maintains a better grip on the fastener and is strong and reliable. This design leads to less fastener failure and slipping issues from walkout and wrench spreading," owner Terry Taylor said. Terry sent us a pair of 7/16 wrenches for us to put to the test. We took the wrenches side by side with the "big names" and I was impressed. The wrench is very hand-friendly and very well-balanced. I put this wrench on an over torqued fastener and let it rip. There was absolutely no spread on this wrench, as compared to the "big names" that I was putting it up against. The WrightGrip wrench did exactly what it needed to do. I figured if it did this well, I would put it to a real world test. I went and purchased the WrightGrip three-quarter inch for a prop removal. The prop was on a Cessna R182. The fastener was one that I am sure you are all familiar with — the nut with the roll pin in it. Hard to get to and the nuts are usually rounded to some extent on the edges. With all of the other wrenches in my box, I would have to double up on the wrenches with one being ground to allow it to fit in on the nut. Not with the WrightGrip wrench. This wrench tackled the rounded edges and removed the fastener with ease. No spread!

Empire Sales & Distribution, Inc. Thread Checking Tool

Empire Sales & Distribution has come up with a very unique way to solve an age-old problem — what size is that bolt or nut? "This is a unique tool that will allow individuals to save time and money when it comes to the identification of hardware," Shar Win with Empire said. This tool allows you to inspect inch and metric hardware quickly and efficiently. I took this tool, which looks like a large industrial necklace, and hooked it to the back of my box. Being a skeptic, I thought that I would never use this tool. I put a checklist on my box so I could count the times that I used this inspection tool. After one month, I used this tool 22 times. When it is conveniently located on the back of your tool box, you can find all kinds of situations where you can use this device. I mainly used it to check the size and thread type before I ordered parts, just a quick double check of my memory. But during this month, I did not order the wrong size hardware.

Mac Tools

Mac Tools has come up with some very innovative inspection tools. In light of the new FAA maintenance training on FAASafety.gov, I think these items fit in well with the program. The training program pushes for good inspection procedures, lights and mirrors. Mac has the answer.

Lighted Inspection Mirror

When I first spoke with Mac Tools, they recommended trying their new lighted inspection mirror. They were on back order but, the concept was so cool, I tracked down several Mac dealers until I found a single mirror. They are selling out of these units because they work exceptionally well. The telescoping mirror has an LED on the tip of the mirror that allows you to see in complete darkness. As a skeptic, I used this mirror during three annual inspections and two 100-hour inspections. This mirror allowed me to see places that may have never been looked at before. With this inspection mirror, and a good flashlight, you can see every location that needs to be inspected. This mirror made it very easy to inspect the underside of floorboards, wings structure and bell cranks. When you look into regular mirrors, there is a potential blind spot, the one where your flashlight is shining and you can not get you eyes into the right position. This mirror eliminates that blind spot.

Power Flip 7 LED Flashlight

The Power Flip 7 LED flashlight is the perfect companion to Mac’s lighted inspection mirror. This flashlight has a highly polished aluminum case and packs a lot of light into a convenient sized, lightweight flashlight. The power flip has a unique dual battery chamber that allows you to keep spare batteries available at all times. The light uses three AAA batteries and stores three on the back side. The seven LEDs provide plenty of light while conserving battery power. In the event that you need to change batteries, you just unscrew the cap and flip over the battery cartridge — very clever. For the real world test, I used this during all of my inspections and work performed since it arrived on my doorstep. Partnered with Mac’s lighted mirror, there was not a single spot on the aircraft that I could not see with confidence. Just for grins, several times during my inspections, I pretended the batteries were running low. I accomplished one-handed "power flips" three out of four times.

Snap-on Tools

Snap-on has come up with some tools made specifically for general aviation. I had an opportunity to use all of these tools several times before this article was written.

Aircraft Vacuum Pump Wrench

Snap-on has knocked the ball out of the park with their vacuum pump wrench. Their head design looks to be of the traditional style, but Snap-on said, "The cut-down head design adds greater flexibility than a wrench with a bent shank." The 7/16" crows foot design has a quarter-inch drive and it allows you to use any extension or adapter. I was very excited to see this tool. I have used all kinds of vacuum pump wrenches. None of them work for all of the applications and/or all of the fasteners on the pump. I would usually have to have all of my 7/16" tools, hammers and other various shop made tools in order to tackle the hard to reach vacuum pump nuts. I used this tool on three vacuum pump changes. To say the least, I am so impressed that I am going to give these out as Christmas presents. It took me 10 minutes on average to remove all of the hardware on all three pumps. One of the aircraft was a Cessna P210. Those pumps usually take 45 minutes to remove. Installation was just as quick.

Oil Filter Wrench, General Aviation

Snap-on has developed a one-inch oil filter wrench that is used for removing and installing general aviation oil filters. Their ratcheting dog bone design gets into the hardest of areas. With a 3/8" drive, you can use all of your drive tools to perform your task with ease. I used this tool on all of the oil filter changes since I received the tool. It made it much easier to get into tight areas and allowed me to finish the job faster with better accuracy.

Aircraft Fuel Pump Wrench

Snap-on has also produced an aircraft fuel pump wrench. This 3/8" crows foot can be used for the removal and installation of an aircraft fuel injector or primer line. This unit has a quarter-inch drive, so you can use your whole arsenal to adapt and gain access to those hard to reach lines. In a real life test, I used this tool in several applications. The first application was removing the fuel injector lines. This is necessary for the removal and cleaning of the fuel injectors. On the Lycoming engines, this tool worked wonders on all of the lines except for the right rear. On the high-powered Continental engines, it worked on all of the cylinders with ease. In both cases, this tool did save me time and there was a much better grip on the nut. The second application was the actual removal of some fuel primer lines during a couple of engine changes. This tool performed well beyond my expectation for those hard to reach areas.