Maintenance Oil

Oil Analysis Providers: Its About Service

We consider engine oil analysis to be a valuable early warning system for certain types of engine problems. It allows an aircraft owner and maintenance technician to catch those problems before they become safety of flight items. Because we feel its valuable, we wanted to know more about the labs that perform it. Do they give results consistent with each other? What is the turnaround time for a sample? Can they explain the results of a sample in a way that makes sense to an aircraft owner? Is there information on their website about the process and results clearly?

Rick Durden
Verified

We consider engine oil analysis to be a valuable early warning system for certain types of engine problems. It allows an aircraft owner and maintenance technician to catch those problems before they become safety of flight items.

Because we feel it’s valuable, we wanted to know more about the labs that perform it. Do they give results consistent with each other? What is the turnaround time for a sample? Can they explain the results of a sample in a way that makes sense to an aircraft owner? Is there information on their website about the process and results clearly?

Rick Durden

Senior Editor Rick Durden has written for Aviation Consumer since 1994 and specializes in aviation law. Rick is an active CFII and holds an ATP with type ratings in the Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation. He is the author of The Thinking Pilot’s Flight Manual or, How to Survive Flying Little Airplanes and Have a Ball Doing It, Vols. 1 & 2.