Debate: Should we trust the torque specs or the 'feel' method? An old inspector vs. a young mechanic.

A few weeks back I was torquing some fasteners on a wing panel. An older inspector walked by, told me to stop using the torque wrench for everything. Said I was going to strip something from being too rigid with the numbers. Said I needed to develop 'the feel' for when it's tight enough. I followed his advice on one bolt. It came loose during a taxi test. Now I am wondering if that was bad advice or if I just did it wrong. Has anyone else had a situation where a veteran's tip backfired, or is torque by feel a real skill worth learning?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oliver15d ago

So @ryan_clark40 are you saying feel is dead wrong or just risky on critical stuff?

ryan_clark4016d ago

Old school guys swore by feel on landing gear bolts back at my last shop. Tried their method on a control rod once. Ended up overtorqued and the damn thing cracked during preflight. Switched to a beam torque wrench and never looked back. Numbers don't lie when lives are on the line.