If you’ve ever had to ship an engine, tell me your story
Internet searches for “how do I ship an engine” gave me a general overview, but I want to know more specifics.
If you’ve ever had to ship an engine,
- which carrier did you use? Is there a well known carrier that has a lot of experience shipping GA engines that I should consider reaching out to?
- how did you pack it, pallet or crate?
- where did you get your shipping materials?
- did you pack it? Did your A/P?
- how did you even know how to pack an engine for shipment?
- what is one thing you learned from the experience that you wish someone had told you beforehand?
Background: I bought my first aircraft, a new-to-me Arrow, and my lender is requiring an overhaul. I have both the shop and the overhauler selected, and they are about 200 miles apart, hence the need to ship the engine. I have no idea what I’m doing, none.
Comments
My shop packed the engine when sending in for overhaul. My understanding is that there are specific packing crates/pallets for engines. My shop had one and the overhaul shop returned the engine in the crate after overhaul. I would not try to ship on a pallet only because there are other parts and pieces (i.e. exhaust) that need to go with the engine and you do not want risk these getting lost. Your overhaul shop should tell you what to send with the engine. Take pictures before sealing the crate!!!! Your shop should be able to answer most of your questions. If they have never sent an engine before, strongly recommend finding a different shop.
Ben
Both A&Ps and Engine Shops know a lot about safely shipping airplane components around the country or around the world. And it's not just engines, but propellers, overhauled wings with new spars installed, etc. It's very common. Most engine shops have crates and can send one to your A&P upon request, together with the exact configuration they want shipped, just like Greygoose says.
Historically we shipped engines by Yellow Freight and a few other specialist carriers. But now the big shippers, like Fedex, DHL and UPS all have heavyweight divisions and are often very cost competitive. The last time I called for quotes, Fedex was by far the cheapest, much to my surprise. I think they just happened to have a half-full truck already going where I needed to go.
There's one other possibility, if you're up for an adventure. A few years back I needed a quick-turn repair on an engine and was lucky enough to know both an IA and an Engine Shop willing to help me out. Starting at 5am we removed the engine, built a cradle around it, and ratchet-strapped the cradle into the back of a Transit rental van. I drove it to the engine shop, where the owner unloaded it with a forklift, and immediately got to work on it. The best part was seeing it run like a champ after repair in the dynamometer, before we packed it up for the return trip and reinstallation.
Bob
+1 on the chorus of using known good shippers and practices as laid-out by the engine company.
From a possibly erroneous perspective, I have shipped a diesel V8. Definitely make sure to crate the engine per the shop's instructions, insure the package, and (as mentioned) take lots of pictures. Do not recall the actual shipper for my V8 as the engine's reseller picked the carrier and we just had to make the engine ready for pick-up (this was a warranty action). Have high confidence that the engine was properly secured to a pallet as the local mechanic did this all the time with even heavier engines than mine, but upon arrival at the far end it had ruptured one of the straps, had a deformed harmonic balancer, and notable golfball size dent in the oil filler tube (above the harmonic balancer). My best guess is that the carrier did not secure the pallet, the truck had to do a hard brake, and the pallet slid to an abrupt stop where hit something inside the truck. Point is, damage sometimes happens.
Toward FedEx, while not bashing, I prefer to use shippers with actual employees when it comes to valuable items and not contract drivers who might, or might not, have devotion to the company reputation. Same thing for when I am the cargo. Just say-in 😉
Some may think this as a bad idea, but if that were me and the destination is 200 miles away. I load it into the back of my truck, or rent a U-Haul trailer, if it doesn't fit in the truck, and drive it there myself. UHaul trailer one way or two day unlimited mileage truck rentals are not much then you can make sure it is handled carefully. If it was much more than 200 not sure what my distance limit would be. Good luck with your decisions.
Andy Sikora
1972 PA28R-200
X51
Retired Miami ATCT/Tracon
+1 for Andy’s idea. I got the Ford Transit van from Thrifty for $20/day, and unlimited mileage.
Another vote for driving the package within a 200 mile range. This way you are able to control how secure the load is to the vehicle. Only thing not controllable is all the drivers who think they are "above average" and insist on getting one car ahead or tailgating to get you to drive even faster than above the speed limit.
I drove mine to the shop (about 4 hours away) in my F-150, but when it came time for it to come back home, I let the shop take care of the shipping. That way, if anything happened to it on the way back, I wouldn’t be left “holding the bag” :)