Shoutout to the old timer at PDX who saved me hours on a 737 pitot static test

I was fresh out of A&P school working at a hangar in Portland back in 2018. This crusty veteran named Hank walked up while I was struggling with a leaky test kit adapter for 45 minutes. He just pointed at the O-ring and said "lube it with silicone grease before you even put it on, kid." Fixed the leak in 30 seconds flat. I still use his trick every single time I do a pitot static check. Any of you guys have a random tip from a veteran that you swear by?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray3241mo ago

Grease that O-ring before every test, makes all the difference.

burns.richard1mo ago

Yeah @ray324 nailed it, that's the exact trick Hank taught me. But the real pro tip I picked up later was to keep a tiny jar of that silicone grease in your tool bag with a little brush, not the big tub from the parts room. Makes it way easier to apply a thin even coat without making a mess. Also learned the hard way to wipe off the old grease first before applying new stuff, or you just trap dirt under there and get the same leak an hour later.