Originally published at: The Care and Watering of Powerplants - AVweb
We all depend on continued suck and blow.
Mr. Garrison is right about one thing; engines will give you loyal and faithful service, right up until they don’t. Sometimes they give you fair warning that they aren’t happy, but often they just up and quit at the most inopportune times, leaving you to deal with the mess. I’ve had two engines quit on me. The first, a piston engine, quit on a night cross country over central Texas. A broken connecting rod in the fuel pump made the little beast suddenly go quiet, followed by a lot of swearing. I managed to get to a runway and we both lived to fly another day. “Don’t worry,” I was told, “Turbine engines are much more reliable.” That worked until one of the little blade thingies in the right engine of a Piper Cheyenne decided to depart on takeoff from Houston Hobby on a hot summer morning. The result was a loud bang, followed by flames, oil and other little blade thingies coming out the exhaust. After a brief excursion into the grass next to the runway, a Mayday was issued as we came to rest back on the pavement. That one was chalked up to infant mortality on a 40 hour since new engine. Go figure. Engine failure is kind of like finding out that the spouse you loved and trusted had cheated on you with your best friend. Maybe you can eventually forgive them, but you will never really trust them again. As Mr. Garrison says, fly long enough and you will experience that “Oh Sh*t!” moment.
Yes, the mechanical thingies do go sideways at bad times, sometimes at " Oh, what the heck times". I’d be willing to guess that mostly these are fuel related issues, water in the fuel or fuel in the water. If you don’t do a GOOD preflight something might just bite you in your nether regions. Chicken bones, small pebbles or sticks can jam your flight controls. In smaller communities (where we can afford to live) airports (strips) are often located near landfills (garbage dumps) and crows or other avian conspirators use our planes for picnic tables. If you find yourself in that category brush off any visible debris from your wings and empennage (looking to use that word for some time) before you cast your gaze skyward. Found water in the fuel? Ask yourself why. keep draining/ checking until you KNOW the fuel is clean. A bit of diligence pays for itself with comfort for you and your chariot. Go fly, have fun.