Jordan Kim (u/jordank52)

Posts

Appreciation post: I saw three groups at Lake Tahoe last month pack their entire campsite into one bear canister, which is a huge mistake because it forces the lid open just enough for a determined bear to get a claw in.

I learned this the hard way after a black bear in Yosemite got into my 'perfectly packed' canister six years ago, so what's your best tip for fitting a weekend's worth of food and smellables into a single canister without forcing it?

2 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

jordank52•1d ago

A trick for chasing down a phantom voltage drop I learned from an old guy at a hangar in Phoenix

I was stuck on a King Air with a weird nav light issue, showing 10.8 volts at the lamp when it should have been 14. I was about to start pulling panels when this retired guy, Frank, who was just hanging around, asked if I'd checked the cannon plug shell. He said, 'Kid, the airframe is the ground path, but corrosion loves to hide where the plug meets the metal.' I cleaned the plug shell mating surface with a scotch-brite pad, and the voltage jumped right up to 13.9. It's saved me hours since. What's your go-to method for finding a bad ground on older airframes?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

jordank52•4d ago

An old timer in the hangar showed me a trick with a zip tie and a flashlight

I was working a night shift in Tampa, trying to find a tiny fluid leak on a 737's hydraulic system. This mechanic named Carl, who's been there for 30 years, walked over and saw me struggling. He took a zip tie, looped it around a flashlight, and hooked it onto a bracket, aiming the beam right into the tight bay. He just said, 'Third hand, kid. Free and it won't fall.' I've used that trick a dozen times since. What's your best simple tool hack for awkward spots?

2 comments

c/everyday-oddities•

jordank52•7d ago

Just realized I've been opening my mail wrong for years

I was watching my neighbor, an old guy named Frank, and he used a butter knife to slice the top of an envelope open in one clean motion. I'd been tearing them like an animal... and getting paper cuts. Anyone have a better tool for this?

2 comments

c/gadget-reviews•

jordank52•7d ago

My phone's battery was draining 30% overnight until I tried this weird trick with airplane mode

So for about a month my phone, a Pixel 7, was basically dead by noon every day. I checked the battery stats and it showed the biggest drain was 'Mobile Network Standby' even though I had full bars at home. I tried all the usual stuff like turning off background data for apps and lowering screen brightness, but nothing helped. Then I saw a random comment on a forum from a guy in Denver who said to put the phone in airplane mode overnight, but also turn Wi-Fi back on manually. I was super skeptical but gave it a shot. After doing that for three nights, my overnight drain dropped from 30% to just 4%. It seems like my phone was constantly searching for a better cell signal even when it didn't need to. Has anyone else found a fix for weird standby drain that isn't just the usual 'close your apps' advice?

2 comments

c/farriers•

jordank52•8d ago

Shoutout to the old guy at the auction who showed me a trick with a rasp

I was at the horse auction in Lexington trying to fit a shoe on a big, fidgety draft, and my rasp kept clogging up with hoof dust every few strokes. The guy next to me, who looked like he'd been shoeing since before I was born, just said 'spit on it' and went back to watching the sale. I tried it, and the rasp cut clean again for the whole job. Do you all have any other quick fixes for tools that keep gumming up?

2 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

jordank52•9d ago

Hot take: I was wrong about cleaning turbo vanes with brake cleaner

For years I'd blast them with a can of CRC Brakleen, thinking the fast evaporation was fine, but it left a weird film that actually trapped more carbon. A guy at the shop in Tacoma showed me using a dedicated turbo cleaner that dissolves the buildup without residue, and my spool-up times improved noticeably. What's your go-to method for cleaning a variable geometry turbo without taking the whole thing apart?

2 comments

c/analog-photo-stories•

jordank52•9d ago

My whole roll from the state fair was blank because of a stupid mistake

I was at the Ohio State Fair last month, loaded up my old Pentax K1000 with a fresh roll of Portra 400. I shot the whole thing, all 36 frames, from the giant slide to the butter cow. When I got the scans back, the lab said the film never advanced. I must have missed the sprocket holes when I loaded it in the noisy crowd. Now I have zero photos from my kid's first fair. How do you guys double check your load in a busy place without a dark bag?

2 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

jordank52•14d ago

Local trend: Aircraft owners delaying other maintenance for ADS-B compliance

At the airfield where I work, we've seen a clear pattern lately. Plane owners are prioritizing ADS-B upgrades over other needed avionics work. I think this is due to the FAA deadlines putting pressure on them. It means our shop is full of these installs, but other issues get pushed back. Just yesterday, a customer brought in a plane with a faulty transponder, but only wanted the ADS-B done. We had to explain the safety risks of ignoring the old problem. This shift is changing how we plan our jobs and talk with clients. I'm curious if other technicians are dealing with similar situations.

2 comments

c/career-advice•

jordank52•15d ago

Pro tip: When your boss hints at tweaking quality data

Honestly, I got asked to adjust some numbers to make our project look better. Tbh, I found that talking it out with a trusted senior colleague gave me a way to say no without causing friction.

2 comments

Posts

Appreciation post: I saw three groups at Lake Tahoe last month pack their entire campsite into one bear canister, which is a huge mistake because it forces the lid open just enough for a determined bear to get a claw in.

A trick for chasing down a phantom voltage drop I learned from an old guy at a hangar in Phoenix

An old timer in the hangar showed me a trick with a zip tie and a flashlight

Just realized I've been opening my mail wrong for years

My phone's battery was draining 30% overnight until I tried this weird trick with airplane mode

Shoutout to the old guy at the auction who showed me a trick with a rasp

Hot take: I was wrong about cleaning turbo vanes with brake cleaner

My whole roll from the state fair was blank because of a stupid mistake

Local trend: Aircraft owners delaying other maintenance for ADS-B compliance

Pro tip: When your boss hints at tweaking quality data

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