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Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: MillCreek on January 27, 2023, 03:09:37 PM

Title: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: MillCreek on January 27, 2023, 03:09:37 PM
Do American-manufactured civil and military aircraft use SAE or metric size fasteners?
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: Nick1911 on January 27, 2023, 03:21:37 PM
I don't actually know, but I do recall hearing that old SAE fasteners had ridiculous converted metric specifications in some systems.  So instead of using a 3/8-16, it was a 9.52 x 1.587mm or somesuch.

I'm not sure if american aviation uses ISO, ANSI, SAE, or some other standards body to define specs for fasteners. (AIA?)  It's also possible that there's multiple specs in play.
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: Brad Johnson on January 27, 2023, 03:22:05 PM
Do American-manufactured civil and military aircraft use SAE or metric size fasteners?

Yes.

But on a more serious note...

Are you talking about recent/current manufacture, or in general over all of aviation history? Also, light aircraft or airliner-sized craft? That can narrow it down some, but only just.

Modern craft trend towards metric, especially those some portion of their market share outside the US, but imperial/metric use is still a crapshoot. Of all the weird things, Airbus still uses a mix of imperial and metric in their products. At least they did the last time I was inclined to notice, but that was admittedly several years ago.

Brad
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: RoadKingLarry on January 27, 2023, 03:26:44 PM
Whitworth?
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: Brad Johnson on January 27, 2023, 03:28:34 PM
Whitworth?

Sicko.

Brad
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: Nick1911 on January 27, 2023, 03:43:15 PM
Sicko.

Brad

 :rofl:
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: Tuco on January 27, 2023, 03:51:52 PM
Whitworth?
Whit happens
At least ACME is obvious to the nekkid eye.
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: MillCreek on January 27, 2023, 04:43:19 PM
I was thinking of current-production civil and military aircraft from Boeing, Lockheed, Sikorsky, Bell, Northrup Grumman and the like.  So much of the production goes overseas, I was wondering if metric fasteners are the norm now.
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: HeroHog on January 27, 2023, 10:38:52 PM
Whitworth?

And THAT is what stopped this project! I had toolboxes FULL of every SAE/Metric wrenches/sockets < 2" and THAT stopped me.

(http://herohog.com/images/bikes/bsachopper.jpg)

(BSA box-O-engine and trans not shown) :facepalm:
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: Lennyjoe on January 27, 2023, 11:07:04 PM
SAE on the A-10’s I worked on for 22 years.
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: sumpnz on January 27, 2023, 11:46:52 PM
I was thinking of current-production civil and military aircraft from Boeing, Lockheed, Sikorsky, Bell, Northrup Grumman and the like.  So much of the production goes overseas, I was wondering if metric fasteners are the norm now.

Classified.
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: sumpnz on January 27, 2023, 11:53:37 PM
2 people I know that work on Boeing airliners said they use SAE.
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: dogmush on January 28, 2023, 07:23:38 AM
Blackhawks are mostly SAE.  That's the only one I'm personally familiar with.
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: Fly320s on January 28, 2023, 12:01:52 PM
All the buttons in the A320 cockpit are SAE, but the switches are metric.

The circuit breakers are proprietary; tinfoil, I thnk.
Title: Re: For the pilots and aviation wrench turners
Post by: French G. on January 28, 2023, 12:10:34 PM
My military experience was all SAE where it transferred. So many specialty fasteners where the thread is SAE but the tool you use is specific to that fastener. Doesn't really matter, someone will use the wrong tool, or the right tool wrongly and then want you to fix it. They could use metric, I wouldn't care, not like I could put any more wood on anyway when I burn a Mcdonnell Douglas engineer at the stake.