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Hot take: bench test vs. aircraft testing is overrated for new builds
I keep seeing people say you absolutely have to bench test every LRU before install on a fresh wire run. Honestly after doing 30+ King Air 350 panels at West Star in the last 2 years I found bench testing catches way less than just powering up in the plane. The real issues always show up with the airframe bonding and actual load. Anyone else find bench testing is a waste of time for most retrofit work?
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blairm4414h ago
@fionarodriguez got it right for sure. I used to be one of those bench test guys, thought I was being thorough, but after a G1000 NXi install where everything passed on the bench and then we had a PFD flickering from a bad ground strap in the tail I changed my tune. Bench testing only catches component failures, not how the whole system talks to the airframe. That bonding issue would have never shown up until we hit the power on phase anyway. So yeah, fionarodriguez I'm with you now, bench testing is for piece of mind but not for finding real problems in a new build.
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