Here’s a style-point tip—it won’t make your airplane fly better or faster, but it might help it draw less blood during maintenance!
EGT sensors from Alcor (used in most engine instrumentation and EFIS systems) attach to the exhaust pipe with a worm-drive hose clamp. These clamps are always too long, so builders typically cut them down. The problem? The trimmed “tail” often sticks out—ready to snag hands, fingers, or anything else unfortunate enough to get too close.
Fortunately, Alcor sensors include a small “kink” about an inch from the worm screw. This creates just enough space between the clamp and the exhaust pipe for a piece of safety wire.
Cut your clamp tails just long enough to extend one or two slots past the kink, and use safety wire to secure them tightly to the pipe.
It’s a small detail, but one that might spare you (and your skin) some grief. Who knows—it might even impress a judge when you take your cowling off at the “big show.”
