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That time a trainee put grease on brake pads at the hangar in Tulsa

I walked over to help a new kid finishing up a Cessna 172 brake job, and I noticed he had a tube of Aeroshell 5 right next to the calipers. He thought a little grease would help the pads slide in easier, you know, like on a car. I had to stop him before he closed everything up and explain that grease on brake pads means zero friction and a very short flight. Has anyone else seen a rookie try something like this on a simple job?
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3 Comments
rubyk86
rubyk867d ago
Grabbed his wrist just as he was about to squeeze more grease on there. Told him straight up that brakes work on friction not lubrication and asked if he wanted to test fly it himself. He went pale and we spent the next twenty minutes cleaning everything with brake cleaner and a wire brush. I made him redo the whole job right there while I watched, and he never forgot that lesson. Sometimes the best way to teach is to let them almost make the mistake then have them fix it themselves.
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martin.felix
Oh come on, it's just grease on a caliper.
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ray363
ray3637d ago
@rubyk86 I had a helper try using wd40 on caliper pins once, said it looked dry.
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