Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember (Steve Firth)
saying something like:

In what was was using a forklift to lift engines to wing pylons
"stupidity"? It was fairly common practice at the time and not obviously
"wrong" other than it not being a method recommended by the
manufacturer. Which sums up the "tricks" that you and others are talking
about, none of them are official techniques and none of you know for
sure if the manufacturer chose not to recommend those "tricks" for the
same reason that usign a forklift to position an engine was not
recommended.

I would certainly never have recommended to anyone that using a fork
truck was an ok method of installing an aircraft engine. There's far too
much chance of an undesigned-for load being applied to an anchoring
component, which is exactly what happened, iirc.
When it comes to aircraft, you don't **** around with bodges, and that's
what this is/was. You use the proper kit, except in an emergency.

I think the point here is it depends on the quality of the people doing it.

There is always an ideal way using the idiot proof tool. Sometimes you
don't have it though.

I've seen people smash crates with a forklift. Crates that were designed
to be used with forklifts.

Conversely I've seen someone push an earth rod very carefully into the
ground using a 3 ton digger bucket, perfectly, without bending..

When you get a cabne driver in, with a bit of help from a team mate, you
can be better than inch perfect, you can almost be millmeter perfect if
you know what you are doing. Conversely, it only takes an idiot like
Firth with the best equipment in the world to welly something into place
because they cant be arsed to line it up, no matter what is actually
in use.

Its the difference between a skilled fitter and a car mechanic.