Jetbrella (A product review)

James Albright

Updated: June 2, 2021

You may have heard many GVII operators have opted for the "Jetbrella" brand of engine covers to avoid the inlet fan icing problems that have become an issue for us. They are certainly easier to install than those provided by Gulfstream. Video: Jetbrella installation. Installation is easy for one person but you need to practice it, the force required to lock the inlet cover into place is more than you might suspect. Not shown in the video but seen in the next photo, there are also two bungee straps on either side which use existing "pip" pins. We found that moving the ladder to either side of the engine makes these easy to install too.

From a distance it seems the covers leave a gap around the circumference of the intake, which would fail to prevent all contamination from getting behind the cover:

But that isn't true. The black triangles which appear to be gaps in the cover are actually part of the cover and the seal is quite good:

The back cover is a hard plastic shell which fits through the baggage door for storage. It is secured with bungee cords which clip onto the thrust reverser hinges on either side of the engine. The cover is easy to install but I wouldn't recommend it on a windy day; that huge plastic shell can catch the wind and push you right off the ladder.

We've heard that every now and then somebody injests a Jetbrella when they attempted to start an engine without removing it first. The intake covers come in a carrying bag and our plan is to put the carrying bag over the throttles whenever the inlet cover is installed.

Bottom line: I do recommend the Jetbrella. The cost for the set of two intake and two exhaust covers came to $7,424.00 for us in June 2021. You can find them here: https://www.jetbrella.com

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