I asked Mike if I could do a slight modification to the secondary to prevent a re-occurrence of the seal dropping. It seemed to me that the seal was being forced out by the expansion of the grease in the bearing when it became warm as we hovered. I came up with a simple fix. Just remove the grease fitting, grind the end off just enough to remove the ball and spring, and then clean and re-install it. Add an 18” piece of clear vinyl tubing and secure with safety wire or zip tie. This way any extra grease will evacuate into the tube where you can see it and will not force the seal out. Just remove the tube to grease and replace it. This worked like a charm and I immediately shared this issue with the factory and the Rotorway community. Below is a photo of the fix.

During the subsequent years I have seen a few seals that have been forced from the secondary during run-ups prior to my arrival for flight training. I have posted a couple of photos below so that you can see the mess made when this happens. It has been several years since I have seen this problem reoccur. It is always a good idea to keep an eye on all seals and bearings in any helicopter.

The seal above was most likely forced out when the bearing was overgreased and then the grease expanded as the helicopter hovered. Be sure to follow the factory grease schedule and watch for any sign of the seal moving down. I am pleased to note that I have not heard of a seal coming out of the secondary in the past 5 years.

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