How Healthy is Your Airplane's Engine? An Interview w/ Blackstone Labs

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The inner workings of an airplane engine cannot be seen or inspected with the engine still attached to the airplane. As mechanics, there’s really no way to know the overall health of the engine’s critical parts, specifically on the bottom end of the engine where are your crankshaft, and all the rods, bearings, and are located. Oil analysis is a quick, nondestructive way to gauge the health of an engine by looking at what's in the oil. People use oil analysis for different reasons: to see if there are any problems developing, to see if their oil is working well in the engine, and to see if they can run longer oil changes. In other words, an oil analysis is another tool in the toolbox, like a flashlight, allows you to shine a light into the inner workings of your engine to see how everything is holding up. As an A&P/IA that does a lot of annual inspections and prebuys, I am a huge proponent of doing regular oil samples. It’s a fast, simple, and affordable way to help detect unusual engine wear and ensure long-term engine health to TBO and beyond.