I would side with you on the C30 OLEARY.
At one point in the early 80's in an attempt to control the massive carbon build up within the engine which was leading to turbine failures one operator had each of it's six aircraft operating on different engine oils to determine which had the best anti coking characteristics.
A maintenance nightmare but the answer was Mobil 254 and that was still in use 25 years later.
The other maintenance nightmare was that every Friday one aircraft had both turbines removed which were sent for a total strip and decoke for reinstallation on the Sunday and flying on Monday.
Can you imagine having to shop visit your engines every six weeks today!!!!!
As for the armour plated engine bays, well I think that speaks for itself.
Gullibell
I think you comments about the general reliability of helicopter engines is accurate.
There are other possible reasons for a bad run, you could just as easily point the finger at operating practices, maintenance or a specific overhaul shop without even mentioning the manufacturer.
For what it's worth we flew about 10,000 engine hours over 4 years with the 1S2 without a total failure. Engines rejected for other reasons FOD, chips e.t.c. but no major failures.
Last edited by ericferret; 18th Aug 2013 at 09:12.