If you own or fly a Phenom 100 or 300, here are two maintenance items you should “keep an eye on” during every preflight:
1) Engine Accessory Gearbox Seals
Your engine has multiple engine driven components that attach to the accessory gearbox. All of these components have individual drains that come out of the bottom engine cowling. On your pre-flight walk-around, these drains should be inspected every time on both the left and right engines. Inspection of these drains on preflight will get you accustomed to what the normal buildup looks like. If or when a seal does start to go bad, you will know how much oil is normal and then be able to prepare for it to be replaced.
2) Gap Seals
Embraer uses flexible seals around fuselage gaps such as the flap seals or where the wings meet the fuselage. When these seals become torn or loose they can quickly start to produce a loud hum during flight that is audible to the crew and passengers. In some cases these seals can vibrate throughout the entire airframe. If you see any of these seals loose or damaged against the airframe, it is time to get them replaced before it gets any worse and starts to affect the flight.
Hope these tips are helpful. Safe flying everyone.
The Stevens Aerospace Maintenance Team.
