DAR inspected the plane on Thursday and issued Phase 1 restrictions. After closing the covers I taxied out for more tuning. My chip detector went off so back to the hanger. I pulled the magnetic plug and could see one small chip. It was a little smaller than a pin head. Since it was the third warning in 18 hours I decided to dissemble the gearbox and take a look. Much to my surprise I couldn't find any problem with the internals. Bearings, gears and the spline all looked perfect. I did find extra RTV in the machined pocket by one of the oil drain holes. Fortunately it had adhered to the aluminum and was not blocking the oil exit.  The chip detector is located in a machined aluminum block between the gearbox oil exits and the oil pan. The block also has a temperature sensor. The detector may be overly sensitive but I am confident it will provide advanced warning of a major problem.

 

Bobby Hughes

RV10 Supercharged Renesis.