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→