Question about the 10,000th rivet I drove this week

It was on a Cessna 172's wing skin, and hitting that exact number made me realize how much of this job is just pure, steady repetition. Anyone else have a specific count that stuck with them?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_nina19d ago

Man, that's a real milestone. I get it though, sometimes the count just hits you. For me it was the 500th wire I spliced in a single avionics bay. Your hands just go on autopilot after a while, but hitting a round number like that makes you stop and actually see the work. Makes all that repetition feel solid, you know? What part of the wing were you on?

lee.casey18d ago

Yeah, that autopilot feeling is exactly it. I hit my thousandth rivet on a left-wing spar once and just had to sit back for a minute. You don't really notice the pile you've made until a number stops you cold. It turns all that noise and vibration into something you can actually point to. Makes the sore shoulders worth it.