Do you turn around to inspect your run-up spot for leaks?

Do you inspect your run-up spot for leaks?

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AV8R_87

AV8R_87

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I was reading the report for an accident that happened last year, and the mishap aircraft had left a big puddle of oil at the run-up spot. And I recall reading something similar a couple years ago. Made me think about adding a checklist item to inspect the run-up spot.
Do any of you do this? Now that we're talking about it, would you consider doing that for future flights?

Accident Beechcraft A23-24 Musketeer Super III N6945Q , Sunday 10 December 2023

On December 10, 2023, about 1019 central standard time, a Beech A23-24 airplane, N6945Q, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The pilot and his ...
asn.flightsafety.org
 
Important to do after any maintenance, that is when the oil leak errors are most likely to occur.
 
geezer said:
Important to do after any maintenance, that is when the oil leak errors are most likely to occur.
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I do a run up at some spot and then either taxi back or shut down there to remove cowl and check for leaks.
 
no, that's my wingman's job...though I'm a 'servant leader' and have been known to pick up the thicker one at the bar. And that's how I met my ex....o_O:fingerwag:
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Not a bad idea. My oil pressure usually goes over 100 psi during the run up, so if something was going to spring a leak it'd be then. Often not practical, particularly on a taxiway, but at home I could do a quick 90 degree turn and look for an oil slick.
 
AV8R_87 said:
I was reading the report for an accident that happened last year, and the mishap aircraft had left a big puddle of oil at the run-up spot. And I recall reading something similar a couple years ago. Made me think about adding a checklist item to inspect the run-up spot.
Do any of you do this? Now that we're talking about it, would you consider doing that for future flights?

Accident Beechcraft A23-24 Musketeer Super III N6945Q , Sunday 10 December 2023

On December 10, 2023, about 1019 central standard time, a Beech A23-24 airplane, N6945Q, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The pilot and his ...
asn.flightsafety.org
Click to expand...
don’t forget to inspect area before your run up in case the guy before you didn’t do a turn around.
 
I see several videos from wing and/or lower fuselage mounted cameras, and often wondered if these could be used for real time monitoring by tablet/cellphone.
Seems like it would be a good (extra) way to check for gear down, other problems like oil leaks, or MI6 agents crawling along the bottom to takeover your plane midflight, etc.

Do any of you monitor cams in real time?

(and by MI6 I mean FAA) ;)
 
Skyrys62 said:
Do any of you monitor cams in real time?
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With the gopro cams the monitor function dramatically reduces the amount of battery life due to the overhead of managing the wifi data stream. I'm sure there are people who do it, but I don't know anyone who does.
 
This accident happened at one of my local airports. I did not know the people involved, but many people I know did.

I saw pictures of the oil puddles and trail shortly after the accident. Sad deal. Especially since this airport is usually busy enough that normally it's likely somebody would have seen something and said something, preventing the accident. But apparently the taxi and takeoff happened during an unfortunate lull in airport traffic.

And there aren't many great landing sites off that end of the runway. That concrete yard would be pretty scary if that was your only option.
 
rwellner98 said:
With the gopro cams the monitor function dramatically reduces the amount of battery life due to the overhead of managing the wifi data stream. I'm sure there are people who do it, but I don't know anyone who does.
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I wondered if that was an issue.
Also wouldn't help much at night without some sort of enhancement.
A small wire powered camera (like a vehicle parking camera?) might be another possibility.
Probably not worth it for most, but could have their place for some.
 
Seems like most leaks large enough to manifest on a runup (and not get lost in prop wash) would've already left a pretty big puddle in the hangar or tiedown spot. I try to always check on post flight for anything unusual on the belly and always take a good look at the hangar floor on the preflight. My GoPros are pretty reluctant to connect in preview mode (if at all) from under the wings or tail in the Comanche - I usually just set them to scheduled capture mode and leave them be until after the flight.
 
I found mine by seeing the oil pressure at 0, shutting the engine off, and getting out of the plane.
 
Skyrys62 said:
I see several videos from wing and/or lower fuselage mounted cameras, and often wondered if these could be used for real time monitoring by tablet/cellphone.
Seems like it would be a good (extra) way to check for gear down, other problems like oil leaks, or MI6 agents crawling along the bottom to takeover your plane midflight, etc.

Do any of you monitor cams in real time?

(and by MI6 I mean FAA) ;)
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In a similar thought, every time I've seen this conversation pop back up I've thought of some guy I saw somewhere, probably youtube, with one of those mini-P-51 mustang kits. He mounted small camera in the air scoop as a blindspot taxi-cam. Seen similar setups in other taildraggers too.

Seems like a decent idea to consider mounting such a cam so that the wheels, the exhaust pipe, and underbelly of the engine can be seen....
 
No I don't.
Is like a dog sniffing their pee?

2 days after we got all new sealer/paint on our runway and run up area someone left a 4' puddle of oil in the run up area at our airport. I was able to easily follow the oil trail back to that persons hangar.
Haven't seen it before or after the seal job.
 
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I have shut off the engine after an oil change run up to have a look, but that’s when I was newer to doing it. I’ll probably circle around the run up spot to have a look in future after any mx.
 
No.

Why would you develop leaks that wouldn't be detected on the next preflight but would suddenly start on the next flight? I just monitor the struts (especially the left one) periodically during the whole flight. I've had the experience of early loss of oil on takeoff, usually due to a loose gas cap and usually involving the windshield, and always allowing plenty of time to turn around and land after departure.
 
Because some things start to leak only when the engine is running?
 
AV8R_87 said:
Because some things start to leak only when the engine is running?
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The engine was running without leaking when it was put away. The leak would have had to start when it was NOT running then become evident after start up. It's a risk managment action that I'm comfortable doing while taxiing and on take off, where the struts and windshield visualizations should give plenty of indication that I might have missed the pool of oil that I might have seen turning around. It doesn't surprise me that very few people actually seem to do it.
 
I've had an oil cooler that was fine one day spring a leak the next one. Only started leaking once the engine started.
A hose can be fine one flight and let go the next one. Oil pressure is higher on start-up, especially on a cold day. That's when weak components are most likely to let go.
 
I had an annual done by an incompetent IA. At the time I had an STC oil filter that was cleanable and could be reused. There was a special torque required for tightening the filter after an oil change, IIRC 400 in-pd and it was clearly marked on a decal on the filter. I asked the IA to confirm he used the proper torque. He lied and claimed he did. So the first flight after the annual a few days later, I did a thorough preflight and did not find anything wrong. I started up the engine and turned the airplane 90 degrees and my copilot asked if that? came from our plane. That? was an oil puddle, so I shut down and looked at the mess. The oil filter had come undone and was obviously not been torqued properly. I lost 10 quarts of oil out of 12 in just a few minutes of engine run time at low RPM. I confronted the IA and said he used normal torque values and ignored the torque requirement clearly marked on the filter. So in that case, I am really glad that I turned the airplane and my copilot saw the puddle.
 
I had a 2’x3’ puddle of jet fuel under the tail of the airplane and could see the trail for 30 yards across the ramp where we’d taxied in.

Maintenance said, “no problem.” :rolleyes:
 
Was it the A-6 that had the saying that if it wasn't dripping hydraulic fluid, it was probably out of hydraulic fluid?
Or maybe that was HD motorcycles and oil.
 
texasclouds said:
“tower, do you see any oil puddles under me larger than a trashcan lid?”

“Nope”

“Ok, ready for departure “
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If you were flying a Wright radial, the answer would be, NO? crap, then something is wrong.
 
A common sight on a C-130 was buckets hanging under the engines to catch the leaking oil.
 
Albany Tom said:
Was it the A-6 that had the saying that if it wasn't dripping hydraulic fluid, it was probably out of hydraulic fluid?
Or maybe that was HD motorcycles and oil.
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In the years I owned a Harley and the thousands I’ve gone on rides with and looked at up close, almost none of them built past the early to mid 80s leaked oil. Harleys built in this century are as oil-tight as anything else.
 
ateamer said:
In the years I owned a Harley and the thousands I’ve gone on rides with and looked at up close, almost none of them built past the early to mid 80s leaked oil. Harleys built in this century are as oil-tight as anything else.
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I gotta throw the BS flag on this play ... :biggrin:

My AI assistant pointed me to several articles about the issues with the Harley Twin Cam 88 engines from '99-'06 as the most egregious of the Harley spot markers. I was recently made a pretty good offer on a Wide Glide with this engine and observation and research made me run away from it. These engines, in particular, have a history of not only leaking oil but other major concerns.

From one article:

"It’s always been a joke that when there is no oil under a Harley, there isn’t any oil in it. This was taken to the extreme with some Twin Cam 88 engines, as they were prone to oil leaks, particularly around the base gaskets and rocker box gaskets. These leaks often led to oil seepage onto the engine or other components, causing issues with lubrication and cleanliness."
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info.sscycle.com

Harley-Davidson Buyer's Guide: Understanding Twin Cam 88 Issues

Harley Twin Cam buyer beware: Issues you MUST know before you ride. In this guide, we’ll highlight which Harleys you should consider avoiding or, at the very least, be prepared to make some upgrades to.
info.sscycle.com info.sscycle.com
 
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