You have to have a ladder to get up on the wings to cover the engines on the Gulfstream. We only did it when there was a chance for snow and ice. Even then they had a tendency to blow off. This isn't a job OSHA would promote.

These work great, collapse like an umbrella.

http://www.jetbrella.com/inlet-covers/

I plug it anytime there are winds strong enough to to spin fans. Always overnight.

Huge storms in Midwest tonight. Tops to 55,000. Found a hole. Light turbulence at FL380. In the clag the whole way.

Cruising IMC must be pretty rare.

Even at my altitude of 270/280, I cruise IMC maybe 2-3% of my time on average. Usually, when the weather in the Midwest goes above FL250, it shoots on up to FL450+.

Mike C.

Cruising IMC must be pretty rare.

Even at my altitude of 270/280, I cruise IMC maybe 2-3% of my time on average. Usually, when the weather in the Midwest goes above FL250, it shoots on up to FL450+.

Mike C.

The nice thing about flight planning with the II is departure and destination weather are the focus. You can get over or around most other stuff enroute unless it's a huge system. Of course there are times it's not worth dealing with the weather in between but much less than the KA where I normally fly in low flight levels.
Of course, Archie Trammel cautions about hail anytime tops are more than 10,000 feet above the freeze level and one has to consider that. Turbulence can still occur high, but for the most part, if one can depart and the arrival is reasonable, the enroute part is much more doable than in the KA. I still am cautious about moderate icing and freezing rain but more departure and arrival oriented, where in the KA, I might not be as able to get over it.

I have a friend who used them on his Citation until one day he forgot to remove one before engine start. That type of a cover does LOTS more engine damage then a foam plug would do if you start the engine with it on. There is a reason the OEM covers are just foam that would do no engine damage if left on.

I have a friend who used them on his Citation until one day he forgot to remove one before engine start. That type of a cover does LOTS more engine damage then a foam plug would do if you start the engine with it on. There is a reason the OEM covers are just foam that would do no engine damage if left on.

I recall a certain young jet pilot, many years ago, forgetting to remove the hard fiber glass engine covers on a CE500. Fortunately, because the engine couldn't get enough air, only a a hung start resulted. There was enough suction, however, that cracks formed around the inside diameter of the cover. Lesson well learned and it never happened to that fellow again.
MM

Most jets have a 10kt maximum tailwind component starting limitation. However, it's a better idea to just never start with a tailwind. Ten knots from the back will create significant negative rotation, and when you hit the start button everything changes direction. Plus, the exhaust will have negative pressure until the turbine spools up. On the other hand, starting with a headwind just lightens the load for the starter since the turbine is already rotating in the right direction.

Tyler - these look good on paper and on the picture... until you realize the engine inlet is halfway into the wing, and if it is slippery (Permagard or a nice wax job), it will be hell putting them on. I almost pulled the trigger on these until a friend showed me what I was going to have to do to put them on.

I picked full covers instead which are real easy to install by one person. Also they provide better protection against possible FOD, sand/grit from other aircraft jet/prop blast. As for leaving them on before engine start....

Tailwind starts can be exciting...

Tyler - these look good on paper and on the picture... until you realize the engine inlet is halfway into the wing, and if it is slippery (Permagard or a nice wax job), it will be hell putting them on. I almost pulled the trigger on these until a friend showed me what I was going to have to do to put them on.

I picked full covers instead which are real easy to install by one person. Also they provide better protection against possible FOD, sand/grit from other aircraft jet/prop blast. As for leaving them on before engine start....

The first pic is from a different incident then the last two. The pilot and the owner of the plane in the last two pics is a friend of mine and I heard the story of that incident. It was not a simple tail wind start. It happened on a Caribbean airport and planes were parked tail to tail.

Sequence of events were:

- Pilot needed to move plane to fuel pumps so he intended to start one engine to taxi.
- Pilot got into plane and tried to start first engine. Engaged starter, added fuel, didn't start after 30 seconds, went fuel to idle cutoff, motored engine for 15 seconds per checklist.
- Pilot knew there was no tailwind and was not sure why it did not start.
- So after scratching his head and waiting a few minutes he tried start again. This time engine started normally.
- As he taxied to fuel pumps line man was frantically waving at pilot to shut down.
- Upon shutdown pilot got out and saw fire damage to the tail.

What he believes happened:

- While he got settled in the cockpit the plane parked opposite him started their engines. Suddenly he had a big tailwind blowing into his engines on start.
- The engine did not start due to the "tailwind" and Jet-A was pumped out the back of the motor.
- The "tailwind" blew the Jet-A onto the tail.
- Then the aircraft creating the tailwind pulled away before he tried the second start
- Engine started normally the second time and it ignited the Jet-A on the airframe.

Repairs were a few hundreds of thousands. Skins and control surfaces needed to be replaced as well as paint.

Lessons learned are:

- Other aircraft can create artificial tailwinds. Be aware of your surroundings during an engine start.
- If a turbojet engine does not start don't try another start until you get out an look over the situation. Check where all the Jet-A went during the aborted start.
- A hung start in training is treated as a benign event. It can be much more complex and dangerous.