A retired inspector told me my wire routing was 'too neat' for its own good.

I was showing off a panel I finished on a Citation XLS, and he pointed out that my tight, perfect bundles could actually cause heat spots and stress fractures over time. He said, 'Kid, you're building a plane, not a museum piece, leave some slack for vibration.' Has anyone else had a boss or inspector push back on work that looked too clean?

4 comments

4 Comments

davidkim29d ago

Totally, reminds me of what @ward.kim said about pretty designs failing.

samflores11d ago

My old foreman at the engine shop had a rule, leave a finger's width of slack in every line. That inspector is right, vibration will find any tight spot and work on it. It's the same reason @davidkim's point about pretty designs failing hits home, people get focused on the look and forget the job it has to do. You see it everywhere, from over-tightened bolts to software that's too clever for its own good.

price.ben29d ago

Wow, that's a wild lesson. It makes total sense though, function has to win over form every time. That old guy saved you from some future headaches.

ward.kim29d ago

Ever seen a pretty design that failed because it just didn't work right?