Lead mechanic's comment about my flashlight grip changed my whole inspection routine

Last month in the hangar at DFW, my lead watched me use a penlight to check a bleed duct and said 'you're holding it like a tourist, not a mechanic.' He showed me to brace the light against the inspection port and angle it 45 degrees down. That little tip caught two hairline cracks on the next fan cowl I checked. Anyone else get nitpicked on basic habits that turned out to save real time or catch stuff they'd have missed?

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1 Comment

john_murphy1d ago

Honestly I get what he's saying but I think people overcomplicate this stuff. If the light works for you and you're finding the cracks who cares how you hold it. Ive seen guys with perfect technique miss stuff that someone with a shaky old maglite caught just because they took their time. Its more about how thorough you are than the angle you hold your penlight at.