In the early 1990s juniper supplied the Royal Netherlands Navy at Valkenburg with two self-contained washing rigs for their fleet of P3 Orion aircraft. The rigs were connected to the engine via a delivery hose attached to the engine’s anti-icing system and a bleed hose connected to the speed sensitive valve. A prototype spray ring was developed by the Dutch to help reduce washing time and eliminate the need to disconnect the anti-icing system.
The use of these spray rings proved a success and Juniper was approached to take the development and manufacture a stage further. Consequently, Juniper made further spray rings for the Netherlands Royal Navy and also applied the same system to the T56 engines fitted in the Hercules aircraft, with their first customer being the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
Now recognised as an efficient and cost effective method for cleaning these engines, the idea was then sold to the UK RAF, Australian RAAF, Belgium Air Force, Austrian Air Force, Air Atlantique and the Sri-Lankan Air Force.
In 2007, Juniper manufactured a Universal Engine Compressor Washing Rig for the RAAF, enabling them to hot-water wash an engine without the use of chemicals or detergents, although detergents can be used if necessary. The rig was successfully trialed at RAAF Richmond, Sydney and an order has just been received for three more for their P3 Orion fleet based at RAAF Edinburgh in Adelaide.
