Page 29 - April 2015 Volume19 Number 4

let us tear up pillow cases because she knew that the winds of life are never steady for long; especially when raising children. For her three boys, kite flying was an early success and confidence builder. Once older, we got involved with Dad’s RC model airplanes, but, even armed with the confidence gained from kite flying, we never developed the skills and patience that he had for building planes. But still, I fell in love with the processes, smells, mechanics and aesthetics of kites and airplanes.Another spring “togetherness” ritual, and one not so enthusiastically anticipated, was washing and waxing the cars. Waxing Dad’s Ford Mustang, which I hoped would someday be mine, was a labor of love. Kites, model airplanes and the Mustang are the reasons I still like to get hands-on with the maintenance and cleaning of airplanes. And the warm, kite-flying air provides an opportunity to do just that, to clean out the hangar and wash our plane, enthusiastically. There are a million products for cleaning and polishing boats, cars and airplanes and, fortunately, we can still purchase some pretty serious solvents and cleaning products from the dime- store, some of them not so good for all parts of the plane or our skin. I begin by pulling the Duke around the corner and running a leaf blower through the hangar to blow out the winter dust bunnies, dirt and other bits of wintertime stuff. I’m still finding some sawdust and drywall powder from building the office. If ambitious, you can next throw a few buckets of soapy water on the floor and squeegee it out.Sponge BathAfter the hangar is clean, a warm, soapy sponge bath is in order, top to bottom and front to back – for the plane, that is. When administering the sponge bath, pay close attention to the areas most affected by winter ground operations. There are areas, though, where a sponge bath is notAOPA Full Page 4/C AdF DowtyF HArtzellF lArge inventoryF SAMe DAy SHippingF unCoMproMiSeD QuAlity Rockey Mountain PropellersF MCCAuleyF Mt propellerF CoMpetitive priCeS F worlD ClASS wArrAnty SixthPageFFACtory trAineD teCHniCiAnSF SenSeniCHF rApCo DiStributorF wooDwArD pt6Ahttp://www.rockyprop.com e-mail: rockyprop@rockyprop.comB/W Ad2865 Airport Drive F erie, Co 80516FAx: 303-665-7164 F FAA/EASA CRS FR6R545NAPRIL 2015 TWIN & TURBINE • 27