Old timer at my first hangar job swore by zip ties for every wire bundle

Guy named Jerry with 30 years in told me to never use velcro straps because they collect dirt and fail in a few years. I ignored him for about 6 months and used velcro cause it's easier to adjust. Then I pulled a panel on a Cessna 172 last spring and found 3 velcro straps just hanging loose from vibration. Jerry saw me and just laughed, handed me a bag of black zip ties. Now I'm a convert, zip ties on everything except where I need quick access. Anyone else have a stubborn tech who was right about something basic?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_blair18d ago

Yeah @tyler492 that's pretty much what I ran into too. The dirt and vibration thing is real, those velcro straps just give up after a while and you're left with bundles flopping around. Jerry was spot on about zip ties lasting practically forever as long as you don't overtighten them.

tyler49218d ago

Jumped on the zip tie bandwagon after a similar lesson. Worked on a rental fleet years ago where we used velcro on everything for easy swaps. Noticed panel screws kept getting loose on a few birds, pulled them apart and found half the velcro straps had let go. Switched to zip ties on anything that stays put and just cut them when I need to get back in. Never had a bundle come loose since. That old timer knew his stuff, dirt and vibration just wreck velcro over time.