Had to pick between safety wire or speed tape for a temporary fix on a fuel line

I was working a late shift at the hangar in Phoenix last summer and a Cessna 172 came in with a weeping fuel line fitting. My lead said just slap some speed tape on it to get it flying, but I know that's a bandaid that can fail. I went with safety wire to back up the fitting, and the plane passed the pressure test, but I still wonder if the tape would've been fine for the week before the part came in - what would you have done?

3 comments

3 Comments

adamr1415h ago

Man I saw a buddy do tape once and it failed mid flight.

jamesroberts13h ago

Yeah I read somewhere that tape can get brittle in cold temps and lose grip completely. That plus any vibration from the motor and you're basically flying with a loose wire just waiting to disconnect. Seems like a risk not worth taking for something that could drop your whole rig.

ryantorres13h ago

Superglue and zip ties. Never had a tape job hold over 40 degrees.