Full or Empty tanks?

[Larry Vrooman]

I think this is an urban myth...here is a picture of my old camshaft, been sitting in my hangar in SE Florida, only a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean, no oil it, for 3 years...


According to your theory this should be a pile of rust by now.

Pile of rust is hyperbole. The cam lobes are face hardened and all that it takes is a small pit through that hardened surface. Once that happens it starts to spall.

I agree there's no guarantee. For example, I grew up with a PA-12 that sat in a hangar on the ranch for at least 20 years until I started to fly and talked my step dad into getting it airworthy. The engine was fine, with nothing more than being taxied out for a wash every year or two. However, it was in a hangar and it was in a fairly dry climate where 30% humidity was about average.

That said, why risk it when pickling it with storage oil and desiccant plugs takes less than an hour.

 

[Radar Contact]

I think this is an urban myth...here is a picture of my old camshaft, been sitting in my hangar in SE Florida, only a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean, no oil it, for 3 years...

According to your theory this should be a pile of rust by now.


If you change the oil frequently and especially before any long layoffs it will prevent acids from forming and I think this is what causes corrosion, not moisture in the air.

It could be. I’m certainly no expert on the subject. That being said, I picked my plane up from several months in FL at the paint shop. Relatively fresh oil and regularly flown. After painting and new oil from an annual they did, I flew my usual 35ish hours quickly and sent in the samples. I had the worst oil analysis report stating corrosion. I then flew it for another quick 38 hours and this just came back.

KEVIN: We haven't received the right engine's sample yet, but we'll get you that report as soon as it arrives. As
for the left engine, it looks great! All that corrosion we saw back in June has cleared out, and now all we're
seeing are metals at levels that suggest this engine is doing just fine. In fact, these are the best overall wear
levels on the whole page. Nice! All of the oil's physical properties were in spec as well, and we couldn't be
more pleased to issue this Continental a perfect report. Keep up the good work!

We all know what’s going to happen now that I put this glaring report out here.