eng comp wash schedulethe

[edwardlcy]

Greetings to all herkybirds members!

I have a question regarding the optimal frequency of conducting an eng comp wash.

currently under the scheduled maintenance of my sqn, the frequency of an eng comp wash is every 14 days for normal operating conditions.. however when the c130 is used to carry out maritime surveillance at low level above the sea, the pilot request that eng comp wash be carried out upon landing.

Say if a c130 carry out flying at low level above the sea every day, is it wise to carry out eng comp wash every day too? any advice on this matter is deeply appreciated, thank you.

[Steve1300]

In one copy of Lockheed's Corrosion Manual, it states: Rinsing to Neutralize Salt. Some operators with bases adjacent to coastal or brackish water find contamination from salt fall-out to be sufficiently destructive to warrant fresh water rinses between wash cycles to control salt build-up. Where practical the rinses are performed daily, usually after the last flight of the day. A few operators have automatic rinse equipment and a rinse solution that contains inhibitors. If airplanes are parked within two miles of the sea or operate under 3,000 feet above the sea, a regular rinse to neutralize salt contamination is recommended.

Any Navy personnel could probably offer suggestions based on personal experience.

[larry myers]

Edward, May be different in your air force but in mine it's not what the pilots want but what the manual says.

Are you seeing an uptick in pilot squawks concerning engine low power. Or anything else that could be attribited to salt buildup. If not I would say your aircrews are trying to create a problem where there is none. If so it would seem the 14 day wash interval is doing the job.

Agree with Steve1300. The US Navy and Coast Guard have much more experience operating in a salt water environment and there are several highly experienced ex navy and cg guys on this forum. Hopefully they can provide more and better insight.

[edwardlcy]

yup, more input from the maintenance crews operating in a salt water environment like the navy or the coast guard is very much appreciated!

yeah aircrews are a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes..

[larry myers]

One of my assignments was a fighter base about 35 miles from the North Sea. We did a lot of Mach 1+ low level, 250 ft., flying over this body of water. Because of this high exposure to salt water our wash interval was 30 days which was the shortest interval in the manual. Keeping in mind, different acft., different engine, different time.

[Steve1300]

Living and working on Okinawa, we spent a great deal of time close to the salty atmospere. The Navy had a "birdbath" built in their area where they could taxi through the fresh-water spray on the way to parking. We did not. I never was informed of what real benefit they experinced compared to our aircraft, but we changed a lot of engines. Since we sent our aircraft to PDM (IRAN - at that time), I didn't get to see the effect of the salt environment on aircraft structure in detail very often. Our POVs, however, suffered greatly.

I do know that salt is harmful to metals. It takes salt, moisture, and time in order to wreck your aircraft. Get rid of either the salt, the moisture, or the time; and you will be doing a good thing.