Insight Wanted: Survey on Catastrophic Oil Leak Detection

[Half Fast]

Um, you know these are kids who are going through a learning process, dontcha? It's a "process". Cut 'em some slack.

Yes, I know, and my post was intended to help them learn.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

@mur_2003 I filled out your survey and I had mentioned gauges. Yes, the required gauges CAN be inaccurate, but the pilot that flies with an inoperable required gauge is not following the rules and is unlikely to be someone that spends money.

Oil pressure gauge is vital - if it’s inaccurate then the pilot is at risk and should get it fixed. Oil temperature gauge is important and same.

@Racerx attached a pic of an engine monitor that not only gives the oil T and P info, but also other critical engine operating data. Unless the equipment you are proposing is low cost, most would opt for a multi data unit for a few dollars more.

Here is what I installed, in addition to my 1976 gauges:

 

[Dana]

As others have mentioned, oil pressure gauges are required, but they won't warn of an oil leak until you're pretty much out. Oil level gauges exist (though I've never seen one on an airplane), and they probably don't give much useful information when most of the oil is circulating around the engine instead of in the sump.

The best preflight indication of low oil is the level on the dipstick, which should always be checked as part of the preflight inspection.

 

[wanttaja]

From what I can recall, it was mentioned at the meeting that the oil gauges in older aircraft are often inaccurate, and reliable readings can only be obtained after landing, following a flight.

The title is "Catastrophic Oil Leak Detection," which I interpret as all of the oil leaving in a matter of seconds. Doesn't matter how inaccurate the oil pressure gauge is, as long as it indicates zero if there's no oil pressure.

If the engine goes from eight quarts to zero quarts in five seconds, the drop in pressure would be obvious.

What might be of more use is an annunciator, not a second gauge. An audible warning in the headset.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[Dana]

What might be of more use is an annunciator, not a second gauge. An audible warning in the headset.

Don't some engine monitors already do that? Of course, by the time you get the alarm it's too late...

Still, the Flightchops guy did a video a while back where he drained all the oil out of an engine and ran it at cruise power until it seized. It lasted a surprisingly long time.

 

[Half Fast]

The title is "Catastrophic Oil Leak Detection," which I interpret as all of the oil leaving in a matter of seconds. Doesn't matter how inaccurate the oil pressure gauge is, as long as it indicates zero if there's no oil pressure.

If the engine goes from eight quarts to zero quarts in five seconds, the drop in pressure would be obvious.

What might be of more use is an annunciator, not a second gauge. An audible warning in the headset.

Ron Wanttaja

If the oil departs the engine that rapidly, it will be via a sizable hole in the engine and I suspect the BANG! of one or more pistons making their exit will be a sufficient annunciator.

 

[Bell206]

Oil level gauges exist (though I've never seen one on an airplane),

Some older jets had remote engine oil level sight glasses in the cockpit to check static levels but some had issues as there were ADs issued to check oil levels at the engine to verify the cockpit level on a regular basis. But as you stated wouldn't help during engine ops.

Don't some engine monitors already do that?

There are standalone warning engine oil warning systems used in some aircraft that would illuminate before oil levels would get to zero depending where the sender was placed. But if the engine is pizzing oil under pressure out I don’t believe any system could warn you soon enough.

 

[wanttaja]

Still, the Flightchops guy did a video a while back where he drained all the oil out of an engine and ran it at cruise power until it seized. It lasted a surprisingly long titime.

Guy in Kiplanes did the same thing in the '80s with a A65. Don't recall the actual time, but was about 10-20 minutes until the engine started to labor.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[wanttaja]

If the oil departs the engine that rapidly, it will be via a sizable hole in the engine and I suspect the BANG! of one or more pistons making their exit will be a sufficient annunciator.

I gather they want a gauge that activates before the BANG! but after the HISS.

Gawd, I love tightly-defined specs.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[Albany Tom]

To the OP, congrats on having the patience to hang out here.

Your group reminds me of an old joke. Four guys are traveling for work in a rental car. Going down a steep hill, they lose their brakes and almost go off the edge of the cliff, but through luck and skill they survive, gently stopping in some sand most of the way down. After they catch their breath, the lawyer says "I'm going to sue that rental company for thousands!". The project manager says "we've got to get back on the road in a hurry, we're going to miss the meeting". The engineer pulls out a leatherman and say "I think I can fix these brakes".

In the joke version, the punch line is that the software guys say "wait, before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to push the car to the top of the hill and see if this happens again."

In the real-life version, the pilot says "to hell with you guys, I'm not getting in that again, and walks home."

There's probably a moral in their somewhere, but I don't know what it is.

 

[Half Fast]

the punch line is that the software guys say "wait, before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to push the car to the top of the hill, close and reopen the windows, and see if this happens again."

Bill Gates version.