Oil drippage EVERYWHERE!

[SgtPappy]

Why is it sometimes oil drips out of one of some aircraft's many orifices and it's considered 'normal'?

A lot of airworthy planes on display will have pans under such said parts which will regularly drip a tiny a mount of oil. Spitfires for example, actually drip oil from the rad housing. I always supposed it was lubrication for parts, but something like a radiator door should be lubed with either grease or oil from say an oil can. Dripping oil looks like there's some kind of reservoir leaking.

[ImADot]

Why is it that the SR-71 leaks fuel like a sieve before a flight?  It is the way it is. 
Actually, in the case of the Blackbird, the skin has gaps in it to allow for the expansion at high mach speeds, which then seal it up nicely.

So aside from not answering your question with any authority, until someone who knows (or cares) comes along to answer you, "it is the way it is" will have to suffice.

[Golfer]

I'd be worried if they were not leaking because that means they're out of oil.

[RipChord929]

Reminds me of the "hotseat" in a CH53..   Back in the day, there was a certain spot in CH53, where noone would sit, (no one who knew better)... Because above the overhead, was an oiltank.. When the oil got BLAZIN hot, it would overflow the tank, and drip thru the overhead panels, down the neck of anybody who sat in the "hotseat"... Hot oil burns Deep into flesh, ya know!!!    I still have scars from it, LOL!!!

It was common practice to make sure the Noobs all got their turn!!!

RC

[Widewing]

The standard routine for shutting down a radial powered aircraft after being chocked includes throttles to idle, mixtures to idle cutoff, magnetos off, battery off. Finally, drip pans under the engines.

Most radials leak oil like Chris Matthews leaks brain cells.



My regards,

Widewing

[SgtPappy]

Haha, wow WW, good one.

Would it have something to do, like ImADot said, about heat expansion? Perhaps a cooling engine would release oil out its crevices. After all, oil does get past the piston rings. Though I still don't know why it can come out a Spit's rads.

[bj229r]

The standard routine for shutting down a radial powered aircraft after being chocked includes throttles to idle, mixtures to idle cutoff, magnetos off, battery off. Finally, drip pans under the engines.

Most radials leak oil like Chris Matthews leaks brain cells.



My regards,

Widewing

Wow, that's almost the exact same procedure as my Panhead!

[Treize69]

...Spitfires for example, actually drip oil from the rad housing...

And everywhere else. Gotta love British 'engineering'.

[Bruv119]

PFFT     all spits come with an emergency oil leak system that only gets used in the rare occurance that a bandit can actually get on your 6 and stay there !!  

Think  James Bond     .   Shoot me now with oil over your cockpit!!    .

2 very pretty pictures though    

[bj229r]

Classic joke: WWWHHHYYYYYyy do Brits not make computers? They can't figger out how to make em leak oil

[Saxman]

Corsairs were also pretty notorious for throwing oil. Early Birdcages had cowl flaps that went all the way around, and were so bad about splattering oil all over the wind screen that ground crews permanently jammed the top four shut. They were eventually removed on the production line.

They also saw heavy leaking and staining around the oil cooler exhaust.

[1sum41]

the FA18 leaks oil when its not on... had to clean it up at an airshow.

[SgtPappy]

Sounds like there were no viable means of keeping oil in where it needed to be all the time.

Oil coolers, I suppose leak due to those small perforations in the cooler itself, and the full cowl flap birdcage F4U-1's was really a technical problem.

Looking at the Spit, there's oil behind the cab intake and even from small holes near that which look like their sole purpose is to let oil drain.

[Charge]

I recall there is a special small container in P-51 which collects the oil spill from valve stack and dumps it out when the engine is running. Somewhere near exhaust stack?

-C+

[Treize69]

I recall there is a special small container in P-51 which collects the oil spill from valve stack and dumps it out when the engine is running. Somewhere near exhaust stack?

-C+

Thats that plume of oil you see coming out of the hole on the right lower side of the cowling on Merlin 'Stangs.