Originally Posted by
ShyTorque
Years ago I was asked to sit in as pilot for a comp wash on a Puma, which was a fairly new procedure. The ground crew had a converted fire extinguisher with a long lance for spraying the fluid into the open intakes.
The procedure was to start the engines one at a time and then use the roof throttle to control the engine at just above self sustaining rpm. It could be tricky because the water based fluid tended to put the flame out. The rotors were turning, hence the requirement for a pilot.
During the first run, I received an urgent “Cut, cut, cut!” signal.
The brass end of the nozzle on the lance had come off and gone into the compressor!
Lessons were learned. The new engine worked better than the old one…..
Yup had done lots of those, the Wessex Gnome’s used crushed up fine walnut shell to clean the engine, which we sprayed in during cranking.
i remember seeing a sorrowful Gnome that had the wrong grade sprayed through it and the sparkling clean blades were paper thin as a result. lol.