P&W Engines Summer 2006

• Fuel Manifold Replacement
• Get Your First Choice
• Engine Care & Corrosion

Fuel Manifold Replacement

— Ken Kuchenreuther

Pratt & Whitney has recently revised SB 30197 to R3. The Service Bulletin deals with replacing the fuel manifold in the PW530A, PW535A and PW545A engines. Revision 2 recommended the manifold be replaced on PW535A engines at 1500 flight hours or within 150 flight hours on those over 1500 flight hours. For PW530A and PW545A models, R2 recommended the manifold be changed at next access.We are doing them at Hot Section Inspection on the PW545A. In the latest revision (R3), Pratt & Whitney recommends the manifolds be changed within 150 flight hours on 33 engines identified in Tables 1, 2 and 3 on page 7 of the bulletin. This is for all three types of engines and is in addition to the recommendations listed in R2 above.

Commercial Support Program number 1000639R01 is current until 30 November 2008 to provide financial support for fuel manifold replacement. Please call me at 269.317.5526, or Bill Walker at 402.540.4152 if you need any assistance with this, or any Pratt & Whitney engine issue.

Get Your First Choice

Our industry contacts are telling us that getting first choice of schedule is getting more difficult these days, and we have some tips for you that will help you avoid pitfalls when planning your next event. First and foremost, three months is not enough! With only three months’ lead time; you are not likely to get your first choice of schedule and facility. Plan at least six months in advance for an average workscope–twelve to eighteen months in advance for a large workscope. Just a few advantages of advance planning are: getting your first choice of facility and schedule; getting the best downtime; having plenty of time for planning and ordering parts and materials. For more tips on how to make your next event a successful one, please contact Suzanne Hawes for more information at 269.969.8400.

Engine Care & Corrosion

— Ken Kuchenreuther

Assessing the health of your engine as a pilot or maintenance technician takes on many forms. One form often not weighed heavily enough is engine externals. Various uncoated parts of the engine are more susceptible to corrosion than others and if the aircraft is flown or parked in a salt-laden environment, this corrosion may be accelerated.

Engine corrosion is thought of as the owner’s responsibility and is not usually covered by ESP or engine warranty. The best way for an owner to handle this is to adhere to the engine wash schedule that is published in the maintenance manual. When flying in a salt-laden environment, a desalination wash is recommended to be performed daily. Adhering to this schedule along with the preservation schedules for engines not utilized for seven days or more decreases the chance of engine corrosion over the long run. The long run, by the way, is 10 years from date of service, or 11 years from date of manufacture. This is when the engine should be torn down and inspected if it hadn’t been done prior.

Magnesium Corrosion Treatment is recommended to be done following every engine wash. One step is to “remove the BOV assembly,” wash it and the intermediate case bore, wipe dry and apply corrosion inhibitor. This can be an “area of interest” on these engines. Another area is scoping the engine where air flow through the engine contacts the intermediate case.

For engines that are in normal service, these items are surely a concern, however, when it comes time to sell the aircraft or engines, the routine maintenance of your engines could be a determining factor in the sale.

Please call me at 269.317.5526 if you have any questions about this topic.

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