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Aircraft Washing 101
Tips From the Experts
by Dale Smith
No doubt you’ve been fol- lowing our rather casual yet Pulitzer-worthy series on “adding value to your
aircraft.” So far, we’ve looked at the positive profit impacts of things like engine maintenance programs, avi- onics upgrades and cabin refurbish- ment when it comes time to sell your beloved airplane. But, none of them come cheap.
So, what if I could offer up a virtu- ally guaranteed way to up the selling price and, in many cases, won’t cost much more than a bit of elbow grease. Interested? Sure, you are. Well, that one little secret is to wash your air- plane. Yep, that’s it. This simple act can go a long, long way to saving you money now and making you more money later on. The question is, why don’t more owners do it?
“Aircraft owners spend time and money cleaning their cars and boats, but you’d be amazed at the number
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of them that don’t wash the exterior of their aircraft on any regular ba- sis,” said Brian Elmer, regional sales manager at Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems. “We see airplanes come in all the time with five- or six- year-old paint and it already looks terrible. You can tell from 20 feet away that the owner put no effort into tak- ing care of that airplane.”
(Leaving everyone who sees that airplane wondering, “If the exterior looks like that, what other mainte- nance items are the owner skipping on?” I’m just saying.)
“On the other side are customers we have who clean and care for their paint religiously,” he added. “Even seven, eight and more years after the airplane leaves our paint shop, it still looks virtually brand new. There’s real value in that level of care.”
Just like with the previously men- tioned car or boat, or anything that sits outside for that matter, Elmer
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENS AEROSPACE
said that the two biggest enemies of paint are moisture/pollutants in the air and the sun.
Along with those things, Jon Kennedy, director of operations for Hillaero Modification Center, added, “Aircraft are subject to extremes in hot and cold temperature cycles within minutes. They also have the stresses from f lying, turbulence, pressuriza- tion cycles, and the removal of various inspection panels,” he said. “These will all damage an aircraft’s paint. You have to say on top of it because it can degrade quickly.”
So, what does washing your air- plane have to do with staying ahead of paint damage from ongoing airframe stresses and maintenance? More than you think.
The Benefits of a Good Scrub
The number one benefit to rou- tinely hand-washing your airplane is the obvious removal of all the dirt,