Thinking of the cars being used very little got me thinking about the grounded aircraft worldwide, does a potential, what, possibly 5-6month shutdown affect them mechanically..? I’m thinking oil seals going hard etc. Obvs cars are ok for that long with no issues but I have no idea about jet engines and aircraft hydraulic, fuel systems etc. Do they need to be run for a period of time at regular intervals..? Any ideas you guys in the “trade” as such..?
Grounded aircraft question...
- Thread starter john-e89
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Anonymous
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Most aviation lubricants and fluids are explicitly designed for long idle periods..
There are long term storage maintenance actions, usually changing oils/putting storage oriented oils in.
Climate has a very big effect on storage outcome as well as construction method..hence storage in dry deserts..
Given the temperature / humidity extremes that aircraft have to cope with...-60c +55c 0-100% they generally cope well as long as it’s not damp n salty..
There are long term storage maintenance actions, usually changing oils/putting storage oriented oils in.
Climate has a very big effect on storage outcome as well as construction method..hence storage in dry deserts..
Given the temperature / humidity extremes that aircraft have to cope with...-60c +55c 0-100% they generally cope well as long as it’s not damp n salty..
I imagine most airports are the same with planes parked around the runways.
Glasgow Airport had 10 British Airways planes parked at the side of the runway all in a line well away from the terminal and various others at the terminal that in the weeks before lockdown never moved.
Glasgow Airport had 10 British Airways planes parked at the side of the runway all in a line well away from the terminal and various others at the terminal that in the weeks before lockdown never moved.
Normally have to run the engines every two weeks in short term storage
Anything longer than that you have to inhibit the engines with special oil in the fuel systems and silica gel in the intakes
I work on classic aircraft and we have to run then once a week if they haven't been flown
Any excuse to run up a 54 litre radial engine is great fun even in the rain
Anything longer than that you have to inhibit the engines with special oil in the fuel systems and silica gel in the intakes
I work on classic aircraft and we have to run then once a week if they haven't been flown
Any excuse to run up a 54 litre radial engine is great fun even in the rain
Attleborough, Norfolk
Pirate Jim said:
That is slightly more specific to piston-engined aircraft I'd suspect. I know there are some smaller companies, island hoppers etc, that use them. Jets and turboprops tend to not need such regular running, although as Pbondar says, a lot depends on humidity.
Most of my experience is Tornado, which is a slightly different beast, being more highly strung than your average Boeing or Airbus. Short term, up to a month or so, was just a case of carrying out normal servicing checks. Biggest issue we had was Oxygen bottles. If they ever lost pressure completely we could not guarantee there was no damp or corrosion in there, so we kept them at a minimum of 10 bar. Same applied to Nitrogen.
Over a month we got into differing servicing regimes, which included engine running. As we had to take them outside to do the runs we made sure to do a couple of complete pirouettes to keep the compass working properly.
For longer storage, the engines came out, went back to the bay and were inhibited. In fact, they were so simple to get in and out that this was sometimes the easier option.
We also tended to jack them up if storing for longer term. Either that or fit a set of ground use only wheels and tyres. But that's not a practical move on a Jumbo!