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Cylinder leak checks

FOR MANY YEARS, A PISTON ENGINE CYLINDER


leak rate check has been known as "a compression test' This term is inaccurate and misleading. A cylinder leak check is carried out
to identify cylinder leaks and determine the
rate of any leakage. It is not a "compression
check". Future CASA documents relating to
this subject will use the term "cylinder leak
check".
A cylinder leak check is a valuable engine
condition monitoring tool and can be used as
a trouble shooting procedure to assist in
addressing reports of low power, high oil consumption, rough idling, and so on. A cylinder leak check can also be used as part of a
piston engine condition trend monitoring
procedure. To be effective, either as a trouble
shooting tool or as a
trend monitoring procedure, the results of
the leak check must be
correctly interpreted.
To monitor the condition of a piston
engine in service in
Australia, a requirement to carry out a
cylinder leak check
must be performed
(Civil Aviation Order
106, AD/ENG/4). The
directive requires a
cylinder leak check be
carried out at intervals
not to exceed 110 hours
time in service. Airworthiness Advisory Circular (AAC) Number 6-32
provides information on the purpose of the
requirement and acceptable leak rates.
The directive also requires the results and
interpretation of each cylinder leak check to
be recorded in the engine log book. This provides a valuable trend parameter to assist
owners and maintenance organisations in
determining in-service maintenance requirements or whether the engine should be permitted to continue in service.
When carrying out a piston engine cylinder leak rate check, there are a number of
requirements and conditions which should
be considered:
Static leaks are leaks from areas such as cracks
in the cylinder head, leaks from the barrel to
head joint, leaks past the valve seats, and so
on. A static leak found during a cylinder leak
check indicates the engine is not airworthy.
Maintenance is required before further flight.
Dynamic leaks occur past the piston rings. A
level of dynamic leakage is acceptable, AAC632 refers. The amount of leakage dictates the
maintenance needed.
34 FLIGHT SAFETY AUSTRALIA AUTUMN 1997

Leak rate: a dynamic leak rate of less than 25


per cent is acceptable; that is, greater than
60/80 using a differential pressure gauge.
Anything greater than 25 per cent or less than
60/80 will require maintenance. Again, AAC
6-32 refers.
Maintenance. Before carrying out maintenance to correct an excessive dynamic leak rate,
the following points should be considered:
Piston rings can rotate around the piston
during engine operation. If during rotation,
two or more ring gaps line up, the dynamic
leak rate may be above limits at the time of
leak check.
Pistons can rock in the cylinder. If the piston leans away from a number of ring gaps at
the time of the leak check, the dynamic leak
rate may be above limits.
When a piston
engine cylinder leak
check indicates one or
more cylinders have a
high dynamic leak
rate (greater than 25
per cent) the engine
log book should be
examined to determine for trends from
previous cylinder leak
checks. If the previous
readings are consistently low, maintenance is the only
answer. However, if
the latest reading is
unusually low and all
other
parameters
including oil consumption are normal, it may
be appropriate to fly the engine for a limited
period and then repeat the test.
The point is that piston engine cylinder
dynamic leak rates may vary from one check
to another. Maintenance organisations should
not necessarily pull a cylinder based on the
results of one leak check without addressing
at least the above points.
A piston engine cylinder leak check is only
effective if aircraft owners, maintenance
organisations and regulatory authorities
appreciate the cylinder leak check is not just
about recording the cylinder leak rates and
closing the book. CAO 106, AD/ENG/4 requires
the results and interpretations of each piston
engine cylinder leak check to be recorded in
the engine log book. The results should be the
leak rates based on the differential gauge readings and, if required, the maintenance action
carried out to address a dynamic leak rate
greater than 25 per cent. The interpretation
should indicate either "no static leaks" or the
maintenance action carried out to rectify any
static leaks.
- Les Lyons.

Proposal for no
fixed engine time
between overhaul
AIRCRAFT ENGINE CERTIFICATION REQUIREments for continuing airworthiness require
the publication of engine time between overhaul periods (TBO) in order to maintain the
appropriate standard of performance. For
Australian registered aircraft powered by piston engines, those requirements are currently published in Civil Aviation Order, Part 106,
AD/ENG/4 Amendment 5. CASA powerplant
specialists in Canberra recently compared
AD/ENG/4 with the piston engine TBO
requirements of selected overseas regulatory
authorities.
The selected regulatory authorities were;
CAA(UK), the FAA, Transport Canada and
CAA(NZ). The review established two significant issues. Firstly, all of the selected regulatory authorities have requirements that control
TBO periods based on operational categories.
Secondly, the selected regulatory authorities
provide for no fixed TBO for piston engines
operated in certain operational categories.
In response, CASA is proposing to revise
AD/ENG/4 to reflect TBO requirements based
on operational categories and to introduce
"No fixed TBO". A discussion paper for public comment will be released.

Determining
take-off power
WHEN CONSIDERING THE POSSIBILITY OF AN
engine failure during take-off, very few general aviation pilots enjoy the luxury of being able
to plan landing back on the runway. In the real
world, most pilots just appreciate having some
confidence in the engine's ability to provide
the horsepower required to clear the fence.
However, very few pilots appear to know
there is information and procedures available
to permit a pilot to determine if an engine is
capable of providing take-off power.
American Federal Aviation Regulation FAR
23.51 addresses take-off performance requirements for most light aircraft. FAR 23.51
details; the distance required to take-off and
climb over a 50 foot obstacle must be determined with the engine operating within
approved operating limitations. Engine operating limitations are detailed in the Approved
Flight Manual (AFM) or Pilot's Operating
Handbook (POH). For most large aircraft,
engine operating limitations are detailed in
the Operations Manual.
Those limitations provide pilots with information to determine the engine's ability to
produce the required horsepower, and obtain
an appreciation of the engine's condition
using engine health parameters such as oil

pressure, oil temperature, cylinder temperatures, and so on.


Fixed pitch propeller: For a fixed pitch propeller, normally aspirated piston engine;
engine power can be determined by running
the engine at full throttle with the aircraft stationary and positioned out of the wind. The
observed maximum RPM achieved should be
within the static RPM limits as detailed in the
AFM or POH.
Constant speed propeller: For a constant
speed propeller, normally aspirated piston
engine, engine power can be determined by:
Establish the static manifold pressure
(MAP). That is, the MAP gauge reading prior to
starting the engine (in effect, the airport
ambient pressure).
With the aircraft stationary and positioned
out of wind;
Running the engine at full throttle, and
observing maximum RPM and MAP.
MAP at maximum RPM should be within 2
inches of static MAP.
Some aircraft will not achieve maximum
RPM as detailed in the AFM whilst the aircraft
is stationary. For these aircraft, maximum
RPM should be checked during the take-off or
during climb. However, during the engine run
up, maximum MAP should still be within 2
inches of static MAP.
Turbocharged engines: For a turbocharged
engine; take-off power shall be maximum
RPM at the manifold pressure detailed in the
AFM or POH. For certain turbocharger systems, the MAP required will vary with changes
in ambient temperature and airport altitude.
Check your AFM or POH and the engine operating manual for take-off power when operating well outside ISA conditions.
Supercharged engines: A full throttle, maximum RPM, engine power check is not always
appropriate for supercharged engines. Certain supercharged engines can mask significant defects, including a dead cylinder, if a full
throttle, maximum RPM, engine power check
is carried out at sea level.
For aircraft fitted with such engines, the
appropriate Operations Manual will detail an
engine power "Field Barometric Check" That
is, the engine is run up to an MAP equivalent
to the airport barometric pressure. The RPM
at that MAP is then compared to the reference
RPM detailed in the Operations Manual.
In summary, engine certification regulations require engine operating limitations to
be published. In publishing those limitations, aircraft and engine manufacturers provide pilots with a means of establishing the
health of an engine before commencing a
take-off.
- Les Lyons.

Piston engine cylinder failures


FAILURE IS NOT ONLY EXPENSIVE,
but can also affect the safety of an aircraft.
CA YLINDER
Beech Queen Air in-flight cylinder failure during a positioning flight between
Paralleld Airport and Adelaide Airport almost
resulted in a disaster. The cylinder head separated from the barrel, resulting in a fire
which damaged the engine mounts to the
point of complete failure on one side.
After landing, the pilot found his rough
running engine "drooping' The engine was
only being held in by the cowls, one engine
mount and the wiring and plumbing.
Most cylinder failures result from cracking
of the cylinder head. The control of cylinder
cracking falls into two areas:
Operational. Pilot operating procedures can
very much influence cylinder life. High cylinder head temperatures and thermal shock are
cylinder killers. When considering in-flight
fuel mixture adjustments, leaning the fuel/air
mixture can have a significant effect on cylinder head temperatures (fuel cools). When
leaning the mixture, monitoring cylinder
head temperatures is as critical as monitoring
engine RPM, engine roughness and EGT, if fitted.
The indicated cylinder head temperature
may not be the actual temperature of the
cylinder head - the cylinder with the temperature probe may not be the hottest cylinder. A
little extra fuel will not make much difference
to flight endurance or cost, but it may save
you a $2,000 cylinder or two.
Thermal shock is the biggest killer of pis-

ton engine cylinders. To minimise this, graduated power adjustments are essential. The
"throttle jockey" pays for acts of bravado with
cylinder cracks and possible counterweight
de-tuning.
Flight planning can influence cylinder life.
Long and slow descent profiles should be carried out where possible. Once on the ground,
a two to three minute 1,000-1,200 RPM engine
cool down period will not only permit the
engine oil temperature to stabilise, especially
in a turbocharged engine, but will also permit the cylinder temperatures to stabilise.
Maintenance. Machines have a limited life.
Piston engine cylinders are no exception.
There is a limit to the number of times an
aluminium cylinder head can be heated to
around 250C during climb, then rapidly
cooled to around 75C during descent. As a
rule of thumb, an average cylinder has a life of
around two to three engine service (overhaul)
lives before thermal fatigue becomes a problem.
Aircraft owners or operators fitting cylinders with more than three service lives or fitting repaired cylinders with an unknown service history should not complain when beset
by cracking cylinders defects.
New cylinders at every second or third
engine overhaul will minimise cylinder maintenance, as well as make sound economic
sense. Alternatively, replacement cylinders
repaired by a reputable company that deals
with cylinder fatigue, and provides a realistic
warranty, are a reasonable alternative.

Les Lyons is a senior airworthiness inspector for CASA.


FLIGHT SAFETY AUSTRALIA AUTUMN 1997 35

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