Water in the engine bay

………I’d probably disown it, but as a helicopter owner you don’t often have a lot of choice. You learn to be that bit more tolerant and patient particularly when they don’t behave as they should. My latest snag (and thankfully I don’t have many) has left us a little perplexed and, as I write, remains un-resolved.

After my major overhaul, the Jetbox requires some inspections to ensure that all the work completed remains intact. The tail rotor drive shaft for instance requires an inspection to see if the retaining bolts have loosened. I therefore scheduled a trip down to PDG in order that they could conduct the inspection.We’ve had a lot of rainfall in the last week and after my failed attempt to get the JetBox indoors, she had sat outside, and although partially covered, she was a little damp. I didn’t however expect to find a small swimming pool in my engine compartment. The photo on the left shows how deep it was. (Look at the water line indicated by the red arrow.) I deduced that the drain tube that sits at the bottom of the tray had become blocked but I was confident that it would disperse when she was fired up.  I was scheduled to travel to PDG anyway, so I wasn’t to concerned, particularly as John Wesley had confirmed my suspicions and further suggested that they would fire compressed air through the drain when I arrived. Read More→

Well folks, after many, many months away the JetBox is nearing completion. I visited her recently and she was looking far healthier. The new compressor cases were installed as was the governor and new A frame mountings. The main transmission was en-route from Sloane and was ready to be installed imminently the moment she arrived. The interior was completely re-fitted and my hobbs meter which had been in a very awkward position had been moved onto the main instrument panel making it much easier to note down the flight times. The heating system had also been fixed and my flight steps which had been hanging around for two years are also installed so climbing up to inspect the rotor head wont involve me standing on the back seats any more. The final item were waiting for is the tail rotor gearbox which is still at Sloane awaiting a part. Seemingly there is a worldwide shortage of the item but were hopeful it wont be long before it’s received and the whole unit will be winging it’s way back to PDG for installation. Now the list above may not seem much when compared to the delay, but we’ve had to shop around for components in order to reduce the overall bill and also send some items out to the USA for overhaul. I’m desperate to have her back and fingers crossed we’re on schedule to have it sometime this month. Fingers crossed and bank balance emptied.