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2 Answers

Why don’t we need to wipe the oil dipstick?

Asked by: 3314 views Aircraft Systems

When checking the oil dipstick, wouldn't the turbulence from a flight affect the dipstick reading?

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2 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    Thomas Vaillencourt on Jan 04, 2017

    Turbulence? No. Not really.. During a flight there is so much oil being thrown around turbulence is not a factor. However, as for wiping the dipstick during pre-flight, you should be trying to do this if possible, though not everyone has a rag during preflight. Some instructors will tell you not to bother especially in an aircraft that was just flown during a previous lesson because you will not be getting an accurate reading anyway for two reasons; one, if the aircraft was just flown the oil in the case will not have fully settled and would result in a false reading, and, two, the dipstick tube is likely also coated with oil slung up inside it during the last flight, so until that settles you would get a false reading for that reason. the best reading is the first flight of the day, and for this oil quantity check the dipstick should be wiped.

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  2. Mark Kolber on Jan 05, 2017

    Who says we don’t need to wipe the dipstick?

    I like Thomas’s answer overall. But, just to quibble, in terms of the false reading when the airplane has been flown, it’s kind of like bad fuel gauges. Full doesn’t mean full, but empty does mean empty!

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