[avrojockey]

This is not an actual situation but curious more than anything...

Given oil analysis is looking at PPM levels of wear, would one expect a change in metal levels if your flying changed? Let's say from cross-country flying, with long periods of no or limited power changes, to aerobatics and formation flying, with additional loading and more power changes.

I know oil analysis is all about trends - would you see a trend change?

 

[Low Pass]

Almost certainly. The forces that the components in the engine see increase with aerobatic maneuvers. The more extreme the maneuvers, the higher the odds of increasing wear.

A little more thought. I'm sure the relationship between aerobatic leads and wear is not linear. Mild acro may not cause much if any greater wear. But there's a point where oil films can't sustain the loads, or bending and twisting cause bearing damage. And there's heat. Heavy acro requires a lot of cooling.