Originally Posted by
Mach E Avelli
One great fix I saw was on a fleet of Pommy Vickers Viscounts. The stopwatch was prone to breakage by fat fingered pilots, so some engineer fitted clockwork egg timers to the panels. It was better than the stopwatch because even the totally mechanically challenged could work it, and a bell rang. Very useful for holding patterns and fuel crossfeeding. Somehow I don't think it was CAA approved.
Had to do the same to the FE's position on a B727-200 with Aux tanks, thought it was a bit of a personal preference, but then years later another FE on classic style B747 overlooked his fuel balance trick and engines wound down, luckily regained, but he was grounded.