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GENER AL AVIATION Depending on the season and particularly on the extent of repair and parts replacement necessary, turnaround — from receipt to shipping — is typi- cally about three weeks, for the 500 or so engines that get overhauled or repaired in Fairhope every year. TIM KERN is an aviation writer, aircraft builder, and private pilot. He is based in Anderson, IN, and can be reached at info@ timkern.com. 6 MAY 2017 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY fter the press event announcing Continental Motors' investment in its Mobile facilities (see sidebar), I was invited to their nearby Fairhope overhaul facility, located on Sonny Callahan Airport (KCQF), where repairs and overhauls of existing Continental and Lycoming piston aircraft engines are performed, and where they assemble and test the Titan line of Experimental engines. Though this facility, too, will be upgraded soon (including a new paint center and a workflow revision), I was allowed to pho- tograph nearly everything, and followed the path of an incoming engine through its various stages of inspection, testing, and assembly. Individuals, fleets, and other shops send engines to Fairhope, some with obvious damage, some with little documentation. After cleaning, the disassembly team performs a visual inspection and then performs nondestructive testing using a traditional array of methods: Magnaflux, Zyglo, and ultrasonic. If a part is undamaged, Tony Campbell (general manager, CMS Fairhope) says, "We'll check every dimension, looking for repairable or out-of-spec parts. We provide the customer with a quote for the repair or overhaul, and once it's approved, we pro- ceed with the repair or overhaul. However, if the anticipated cost of the engine repair or overhaul is beyond economic sense we will contact the customer." There are several options. "We can offer a core allowance on a new or rebuilt engine from the factory, or swap his engine to a continuing time overhauled, zero time since over- haul. These three options offer a range of value propositions for the customer, including different war- ranties and content of new parts." Though owners can and do run their engines beyond recom - mended TBO (Time Before — or between — Overhaul), common sense should govern the decision. Obvious damage or trauma, such as a prop strike, severe overheat- ing, or a loss of oil, are easy calls. But owners should start regular oil analysis early, always check the used oil filters, monitor oil con- sumption, and check for blowby WHAT'S IN A CONTINENTAL MOTORS SERVICES OVERHAUL? At Continental's Fairhope facility engines are cleaned, inspected, tested, repaired, overhauled, or replaced By Tim Kern CONTINENTAL MOTORS