PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-562
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 562
SEPTEMBER 1999
CH-47 . . .
Forget Pry Bar
All Aircraft . . .
Dear Editor,
I’ve noticed that some
aviation units use high
pressure washers to clean
their aircraft. Pressure
washers can develop very high
pressure, sometimes in
excess of 1,500 psi. That
pressure can harm numerous
items on the birds, including
bearings, composite panels,
and painted surfaces. Can
you help me get the word out
to units to keep that high
pressure off their birds?
CW4 George Dugan
AMCOM
Redstone Arsenal, AL
F
orget the pry bar when it comes
to removing drive shaft mount nuts
and bolts on your Chinook.
Drive shafts are balanced tubes.
Using leverage to raise the drive
shaft for easier access to the
lower nut and bolt can throw the
tube out of balance. Then it would
need rebalancing, or perhaps even
replacing.
Forget pry bar!
stay on the
safe side
and
follow
the
instructions
for task 6-14 in
tm 55-1520-240-23.
Sure can—and will—right now.
You’re right on target on pressure-
washing. Para 3-3.9, on Page 3-22 of
TM 1-1500-344-23,
Aircraft Weapons
System Cleaning and Corrosion
Control
, says to use no more than 175
psi nozzle pressure when you use a
water hose. The softer, the better. A
soft spray is all an aircraft can
handle.
Here are some other targets to keep
in sight when cleaning your aircraft:
Don’t overdo the chemicals.
Aircraft cleaning calls for the use of
cleaning chemicals. The right amount
cleans the area as intended. Too much
causes run-off that can damage
wiring and bearings, as well as doing
the environment no good.
Start your chemical-cleaning job
with a dampened cloth. If the dirt is
stubborn, add water to dampen the
cloth more. If there’s danger of run
off, protect the areas that could be
damaged by wrapping them in
waterproof paper, NSN 8135-00-753-
4662, and preservation sealing tape,
NSN 7510-00-852-8180.
No lint, please.
Sure, you can grab
just any old rag for any old cleaning
chore, but use only a clean, lint-free
cloth on your bird. Lint can clog a
filter, ruin an electrical contact, or
pollute a vital fluid. Don’t take that
chance.
Wipe it up.
Any standing water left on
the aircraft after cleaning needs to be
wiped up. Water corrodes—standing
water corrodes absolutely.
Prevent corrosion.
When you finish
your cleaning job, it looks good, right?
But you’re not done yet. You’re only
halfway home. Now you must add
corrosion prevention compound (CPC) to
all the areas called out in your TMs.
Don’t forget those areas that your local
SOP says need CPC. NSN 8030-01-347-
0979 gets you a 16-oz spray can of CPC.
PS 562
PS 562
36
SEP 99
37
oops,
you’re
right!
don't you
know what
high
pressure washing
can do to me?
no high
pressure!
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