Oh totally @rowanjenkins, I guess I should be glad I don't have to worry about that in my crumbling 1980s fixer-upper, right?

Ain't that the truth though?

Just read about a Cirrus out of Centennial that had similar weirdness with altitude readings... turned out the static port covers were left on for a preflight that went wrong. Heard from a guy at the FBO who said the pilot taxied half the length of the ramp before someone flagged him down. Three hours is brutal for something that basic though... especially when you're dealing with Atlanta's airspace.

Yeah that "screw melting into place" feeling is exactly right. I was reading about this on some old motorcycle forum, they were talking about JIS screws on vintage Japanese bikes. Same exact problem, people stripping out carburetor screws with Phillips heads because they didn't know. It's wild how something so small can cause so much damage over time. Makes you wonder what else we're all using the wrong tool for without realizing.

My uncle's a painter who only uses three colors per piece as a constraint. I mean, that park juice box is like that, it makes you work harder within real limits. Maybe totally made up stuff lets you drift too far without that grounding friction.