Just got my Pacer Home to El Cajon and was wondering what tools are considered a must have in the aircraft. Not asking about survival gear.......plain ole wrenches sockets and hammers . Fire away

Digital VOM
1/2", 7/16", and 3/8" wrenches
Spark plug wrench
Couple spare spark plugs
Multi-screwdriver (small and medium tip flat and Phillips, 5/16" and 1/4" nut driver combo)
Crescent wrench
Needle nose pliers

Hammer is available in the tie down kit

EDIT: I forgot to mention safety wire; REALLY handy!

DeltaRomeo wrote:Digital VOM
1/2", 7/16", and 3/8" wrenches
Spark plug wrench
Couple spare spark plugs
Multi-screwdriver (small and medium tip flat and Phillips, 5/16" and 1/4" nut driver combo)
Crescent wrench
Needle nose pliers

Hammer is available in the tie down kit

All this plus a cheap cigar-lighter pump I bought at NAPA for $15. It’s got a long cord and I can reach both front tires from the cockpit.

Tiny patch kit, stem tool, and small tools for tires, and small jamb cleat for the gear leg to make resting on a block easier.

Duct tape (for fabric planes).

Bike tire inflator for the nose strut and tires with several cartridges.

Miniature mill bastard for small prop nicks.

These things take almost no weight or volume in addition to the spark plug and other tools already mentioned.

Tiny patch kit, stem tool, and small tools for tires, and small jamb cleat for the gear leg to make resting on a block easier.

Duct tape (for fabric planes).

Bike tire inflator for the nose strut and tires with several cartridges.

Miniature mill bastard for small prop nicks.

These things take almost no weight or volume in addition to the spark plug and other tools already mentioned.

Everything folks have said plus a little bag of miscellaneous nuts, bolts, clips, safety wire.
I also carry one of those tools that makes a hose clamp from safety wire.

A piece of rope and a section of copper tubing the size of your valve guides can come in handy if you fly a small continental engine.

My dad left the oil filler cap off of his plane once and blew most of his oil overboard going somewhere. Since then, I toss 4 quarts in the back just in case I do the same and need to get home.

A 3/4" wrench to get you plug leads off is also handy. A leather man has a few if the things like files and screwdriver built in, but it's nice to have a longer Phillip's and flat blade along. A 7 or 10" Knipex plier can take the place of most wrenches. I pack a 12V air compressor and a lithium booster as well.

I cary a lot of tools, but a spark plug wrench isn't one of them. I lean the engine as soon as I start up, and fastidiously monitor the engine in flight to ensure correct air-fuel mixture. In thousands of hours of flying I've NEVER had to pull a plug in the field. Come to think of it, I've never met anyone who has...or at least nobody who ever mentioned it.

Am I just lucky?

If I could only take 1 tool it would be a LEATHERMAN! Some of my normal tools that live in the plane. 10" pipewrench, gorilla brand duct tape, screw drivers, crescent wrench, hammer.

Cheers...Rob

Another idea to chuck into the mix:

I don't put any tools away during annual.
They all stay on the hangar cart until complete.
Once complete, I put them all in a bag for the plane.
If I need to buy any duplicates to replace a particular tool from where I borrowed it, I will.
...or buy a new lighter version of it to fly with.

-Glen

Hammer wrote:I cary a lot of tools, but a spark plug wrench isn't one of them. I lean the engine as soon as I start up, and fastidiously monitor the engine in flight to ensure correct air-fuel mixture. In thousands of hours of flying I've NEVER had to pull a plug in the field. Come to think of it, I've never met anyone who has...or at least nobody who ever mentioned it.

Am I just lucky?

No. I’ve never had to either. I carry mine more for others than for myself. An extra plug and the socket for it weighs nothing and is already in my kit bag.

I don’t even run those plugs any longer!

Hammer wrote:I cary a lot of tools, but a spark plug wrench isn't one of them. I lean the engine as soon as I start up, and fastidiously monitor the engine in flight to ensure correct air-fuel mixture. In thousands of hours of flying I've NEVER had to pull a plug in the field. Come to think of it, I've never met anyone who has...or at least nobody who ever mentioned it.

Am I just lucky?

This reminds me of people that say they don't wear seatbelts because they are safe drivers and have never, ever been in an accident.

I haven't had a plug fail, but I'd feel pretty silly if it happened in a remote place and I didn't have the means to change it.

That said, my plane is nose-heavy so I'm not counting ounces in the tool kit.

I carry everything in a lightweight tool bag. I carry a set of 1/4" drive sockets, a couple screw drivers ( flat, phillips, standard and precise), pliers, and some wrenches. I used to carry two sized, doubled ended wrenches, which means less weight and less wrenches to carry but I recently pulled those for a set of stubby combination wrenches from Tekton. I use all Ryobi power tools so I bought their $20 tire inflator with built in gauge. It works great and doesn't require an external power source. Besides that I have a little plastic organizer bin (6"x4") with a couple common sized screws, nuts, etc. I carry a second empty one to organize bolts I pull off the plane in the field. A couple zip ties and duct tape rounds out the bag. I haven't weighted it, but it's pretty light and capable.

Stubbies:


Inflator (price must have gone up, was only $20 when I bought it:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-18-Vo ... /206159256

albravo wrote:

Hammer wrote:I cary a lot of tools, but a spark plug wrench isn't one of them. I lean the engine as soon as I start up, and fastidiously monitor the engine in flight to ensure correct air-fuel mixture. In thousands of hours of flying I've NEVER had to pull a plug in the field. Come to think of it, I've never met anyone who has...or at least nobody who ever mentioned it.

Am I just lucky?

This reminds me of people that say they don't wear seatbelts because they are safe drivers and have never, ever been in an accident.

I haven't had a plug fail, but I'd feel pretty silly if it happened in a remote place and I didn't have the means to change it.

That said, my plane is nose-heavy so I'm not counting ounces in the tool kit.

So do you feel the same way about all the other components of the aircraft? Where does it end? Take that argument to it's logical conclusion and you'll need to hire people to fly the second and third airplanes that serve as back-ups to the one you're flying.

Seriously though, it doesn't matter to me what people choose to put in their tool kit, but I see little point in bringing parts and tools to address things which are very unlikely to malfunction on a properly maintained airplane. Spark plugs seem to fall squarely into that category.

Meanwhile folks are spending thousands of dollars per pound trying to shed weight from their interiors...

Flying around with my ebike, and tools for it, I realized I had inadvertently enhanced my plane's tool kit. Like the 52 VDC air compressor, that works directly off the bikes battery, for one. One big difference is having a tool I need on a bike trail ride that is IN the plane doesn't do me much good. That happened in Montana last year, I needed air and the damn compressor was in the plane. So I have had to keep the two kits somewhat separate, while also not packing extra weight with duplicates.

I don't carry plane tools to work on the engine so much, more to be able to take the prop and wings off in case of an off airport incident, an old habit from my ultralight days.

Small soft zippered bag. Kniplex type pliers that can get the main wheel nuts off, small needle nose and small side-cutters, small crescent, 1/4” drive ratchet couple extensions, universal, 1/4” to 1/2” plus an extra 3/8 and 7/16” deep socket for splitting wheels, 1/4-9/16 open-end box, screwdrivers, leatherman wave. lockwire and zapstraps, duct tape, electrical tape, Tiny 12v air pump with patch kit. Allen key for pulling radios. Small voltmeter.

Airplane specific is a spare gas cap, spare tube for the tailwheel.

Nothing for spark plugs, plane will run fine all the way back to civilization with 7 out of 8, I’ve done it.

Inreach and a good friend top the “tool” list. But just in case I don’t have that, here’s my list. I do the classic “work out of your tool bag” when I’m in the hangar. I try not to over do it with tools, only what I think I need. Leatherman isn’t on the list, because it’s in my pocket.

Wrenches 1/4 to 9/16
1/4 drive sockets - 1/4 to 9/16
Knipex Plier Wrench
Socket Extensions 1/4 long and short
Spark plug socket
1/2 adapter
Side cutters
Needle nose vice grips
Duck bill pliers
Straight and phillips screw drivers
Ratcheting screw driver

LED flashlight
Electrical tape
Scotchbrite
JB Weld, Locktite, Grease, WD40, RTV (small sizes), small Nalgene of 5606
Misc Hardware - bolts, nuts, washers, cotter pins, screws
Micro Start portable jump starter
Safety wire
Gas Cap
Duct Tape
Zip ties
Bushwheel tire patch kit
Bike pump

I went to Home Depot one day, grabbed one of their little cordura/canvas zippered tool envelopes like flylow's above ^^, and walked down the tool aisle throwing stuff in. The bag is very small, so that was my constraint.

i think I ended up with:

End wrenches: 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16
8" crescent wrench
1/4" drive ratchet
1/4" drive standard sockets: 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16
a 3" extension
1/4" hex driver with swappable bits
A pair of needlenose

I think all-in it amounted to like $70 worth of Husky-brand expendable tools, which are surprisingly nice. I keep the tool bag in the aircraft at all times.

I'll prob add a little safety wire some other repair stuff as I think of it. A little collection of extra fasteners would be really useful. Cowling screws, etc. Maybe a Curtis valve with o-ring to replace a leaker.

A Leatherman can get you a long way in this world in a pinch. I've done some serious emergency car repairs in the past with mine.

I foolishly never carried any tools in my Luscombe and I never needed any. I'll have a tool kit in the BH, but I'm not yet sure what I'm going to put in it.

Well, I guess I'm just the lucky type. I've had two cases where I needed to change spark plugs, one because of a faulty plug, the other just had a clinker.

I've also cleaned a bunch of fuel injectors.....not rocket science, but a fouled injector will ruin your day unless you're prepared to fix it. Doesn't take much, wrenches to remove the fuel line and the injector, then blow backwards to dislodge whatever....often water.

Both instances of spark plug problems occurred 100 plus miles from any sign of maintenance, and really shitty country to hike in.

MTV