Savings Can Be Made by Using Compressed Air When Testing Aircraft for Fuel Leaks

Gao ID: PLRD-83-69 April 22, 1983

GAO reported to the Secretary of the Air Force on the cost and time savings that can be achieved by using compressed air in lieu of engine runups to check for fuel leaks in aircraft that use external fuel tanks.

In a 1982 report, GAO concluded that large amounts of aviation fuel could be saved if the compressed air test procedure were used to check for fuel leaks in aircraft with external fuel leaks. GAO asked the Tactical Air Command (TAC) to evaluate the compressed air testing procedure on its F-4 aircraft. The TAC evaluation showed that using compressed air saved a substantial amount of fuel annually and also reduced the amount of time and labor needed to test for fuel leaks. As a result of the TAC evaluation, compressors have been authorized for all TAC F-4 aircraft maintenance units.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Robert M. Gilroy Team: General Accounting Office: Procurement, Logistics, and Readiness Division Phone: (202) 275-4268


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.