Blades protection

[WLM]

We work in a salty & humid environment with our R44. What is the accepted practice for protecting the blades from erosion? I remember reading negative comments about using CRC spraying of the blades on R44's, despite uisng this technique on our Bell aircraft.
Thanks in advance
WLM:D

[Vfrpilotpb]

Try soap and water, then a good rinse with clean wather,

or move away from the salty environment, come here to the wet North of the UK, then all you need will be waterproofing;)

Vfr

[helicopter-redeye]

I presume "..clean wather.." is some form of ethnic Lancastrian patois, similiar in form to the Yorkshire "..watter.." ??






;)

[ShyTorque]

Wather? A combination of water and lather?

[helicopter-redeye]

So rinse with clean water and lather (having previously washed the R44 blade with ?? dirty ?? water and lather?

:p



On a serious note, I'm not aware of any special preparation for the 44 blades for saltwater conditions, although obviously avoid the high pressure hose near the rotor head. An approved aviation cleaning soap with clean water should suffice, along with some carefull addditional inspections to ensure no corrosion of the bolts & etc.

h-r

[WLM]

Thank you for the replies guys. Yep we have plenty of water here as well....now into our tropical wet season.
I was trying to find out if I could CRC spray the blades or not, as I remember seeing comments about it about 12 months ago on this forum, but cannot locate it. How well, may be contact FR might be the answer
Merci
WLM;)

[Johe02]

Don't know what CRC spray is but I was in the Fleet Air Arm 25 years ago and we used to wipe the whole machine down with PX24 (a sort of Royal Navy WD40)

Don't rate WD40 myself but GT85 (Teflon spray) is the bizz. .

:ok:

[Lu Zuckerman]

To: Mr. Selfish

Here we go again. Do not use any lubricating spray (WD40, CRC, Tri Flow etc) on Robbo blades. The Teflon rod ends and bearings can be adversely affected and there is also a concern that the “penetrating” nature of these products could affect the internal bonding (Glue) of the blades. Wash the blades and apply car wax for the best protection.

If you do wax the blades make sure the wax does not contain petroleum distillates. WD-40 contains petroleum distillates and this is what can effect the bonding material.

Regarding the use of WD-40 on any application on an aircraft of any kind it should be noted that the WD-40 company has not approved its' use on aircraft especially on rotor blades.

The airframe manufacturer can approve its' use but if any thing happens as a result of the use of this product then the airframe manufacturer can be held liable.


:E :E

[Gaseous]

WD40 is a water repellant that dries, sticks and attracts crap. It has comparatively poor lubricant properties and the solvent is quite possibly not compatible with bearings and adhesives used in blades and rotor head. Enstrom recommend a good coat of wax which protects and seems to make the bugs easier to remove.

Failing that, slap more wather on em. In Wigan, blades are probably best protected by pie grease.

[4ero]

natural carnuba wax should do it...


....what if we put the bond on the trailing edge?....

[belly tank]

We also operate in a high salt environ here on the coast, we wash our blades every afternoon before machines go into the hangar.

apart from regular water washing and a wax!!..what else can be done to protect blades in salty environs as im not convinced on WD40 yet!

Thanks

[Peter R Clisdell]

I own a R44 and was recently advised after I carefully washed and smoothed the leading 2/3rds of each blade I apply by wiping the leading edge with WD40 -(I used RP7)- and bingo she flew like a new machine!!
I do not propose to do this often - just maintain a clean and slippery leading edge - am I wrong here??

[Rotorheadmark]

Up in Yorkshire they use Lard from t'chippy

:)

[helicopter-redeye]

It keeps them warm in the cold weather, like a cross channel swimmer ...

;)