PSA: That fancy digital torque adapter at Oshkosh wasn't worth it for me

I was at AirVenture in Oshkosh last July and dropped $200 on one of those digital torque adapters everyone was raving about. Seemed like a no-brainer for troubleshooting panel screws and control cable bolts. But after three weeks on the job, I had to go back to my old beam-style wrench. The digital one kept giving me readings all over the place, especially when I was working in tight spots under a dash. I checked it against my calibrated wrench three times, and it was off by 5 foot-pounds each try. Maybe it was a bad unit, but I'm not chancing that on a flight control system. Anyone else ditch a fancy tool and stick with the old standby?

2 comments

2 Comments

wendy97824d ago

Yeah I gotta disagree here, I picked one up from a different brand at the same show and it's been solid for me through two annuals already. Maybe you got a dud or the battery was low because mine reads dead on every time I double check it against the calibrated beam wrench in the hangar. I still keep the old school one in my bag for peace of mind but the digital one saves me time when I'm crawling around a cramped cockpit.

margaret9924d ago

Wait, did you ever check if that thing had a firmware update? I had almost the exact same problem with a digital torque adapter from a different company, it was all over the place in tight spots under a plane’s dash too. Ended up tossing it in a drawer and going back to my old beam wrench since the digital one just couldn't keep a consistent reading when I needed it most. @wendy978, I'm glad yours worked out, but my experience lines up way more with the original post here. That 5 foot-pound difference is a huge deal on something like control cables, I wouldn't trust it either.