Drip…Drip…Drip

Over the July 4th holiday, I’d planned to take up a friend (Aditi) for the first time. She was in town during her college summer break and I’d promise to take her flying last winter but I was gone to Spain while she was in California. So we finally worked out a time to go up…seven months later. I scheduled the aircraft for a 6pm flight around the Bay during the evening sun-lit sky. Routinely, I like to go out and preflight the aircraft long before my passengers arrive, so I can make sure everything is neat and tighty prior to their arrival.

I started my preflight check like any other….checked the battery, the lights, flaps and the fuel gauges. Then I performed the right side walk around, checking the ailerons, wing surfaces, fuel (again), and the tire. I opened the right side engine cowling and checked the oil and right side engine compartment. I walked around the front of the aircraft and checked the strut, the propeller, and the engine inlets. I then checked the left side of the engine compartment and then I saw it….OIL!

Left side of the Warrior's engine compartment (there's oil all over the yellowish part of the base).

At first I thought it was just a little reflection but as I reached in and touched the surface, I felt a mushy feeling and I saw that familiar liquid on my fingertips. So at first, I thought…eh…it’s weird but not too bad. But as I began to track the oil and take a closer look….I noticed it was also on the bottom base of the engine compartment and leaking down the strut. So I called my friend back and had to give her the sad news that I had to cancel the flight. I went back to drop the keys and saw a flight instructor to ask him if the mechanics would be in on Sunday to check it out…since I really wanted to fly and offer the experience to Aditi. Unfortunately, the shop isn’t open on Sundays, but Steve (the CFI) offered to take a look and he said I made the right decision. Even though the aircraft had plenty of oil to fly (6 qtrs), there was enough leaked oil within the engine compartment that if there was an engine fire, it would drastically exaserbate the problem. I immediately squawked the aircraft when I got back home and hoped it would be fixed within a few days…since my itch to fly was growing.

Well a few days later, the aircraft was checked out and allowed to fly. About four guys had flown the plane that following Friday and Saturday, and I’d scheduled to fly Sunday morning around 10am. Well I began my normal pre-flight and there it was again, but this time there was more oil than before….so much so that there was oil leaking out of the aircraft in three different places. Man…all I wanted to do was fly and this just wasn’t allowing it to happen. So I squawked the aircraft again and said I wasn’t flying it until I spoke to the mechanic. I thought..maybe it’s okay since other guys are flying it…but something just didn’t seem right to me. Well they grounded the aircraft again, but I wasn’t around much of last week to stop by and check on it.

You can see the drip marks on the pavement.

Today I cruised by the airport on during lunch and checked out the plane. It was completely clean…no drippings and no spare oil within the engine compartment. So I walked over to the shop and got the full story from the A/P. Apparently, they’d checked the aircraft the first time and thought it was a loose oil drainage line…so they tightened the line and washed it down. The second time, they thought we’ll maybe it’s another one of the lines…so they tightened that line, washed it down, and ran the aircraft for 5 minutes. The A/P said after 5 mins, the engine compartment was soaked in oil…so they knew it was something else. Eventually they realized the bearings holding the oil sump were all loose…basically “finger tight” according to the A/P. So in the end, the oil sump was replaced.

So I guess it’s good to do thorough pre-flights and make flying decisions using your gut with an eye for safety! Well I’m going to fly tomorrow and finally take the skies again….I can’t wait!