Owning more expensive than renting

Curious as to why no soap and water. The paint is probably some
polyeurethane (Imron etc...) so it wouldn't be hurt. JK

Jay Honeck wrote:

Speaking of washing planes. How do you get your plane washed in the
winter? Mine could use it and I have no idea what to do.


I *never* wash my planes (or motorcycles) with soap and water. Everything
is done with Lemon Pledge and cloth diapers.

Unfortunately they no longer make pump-spray Pledge, and the aerosol stuff
is just not right. (It comes out in a foam, instead of liquid.)

Luckily, I bought 6 cases of the stuff before they stopped making it -- so
I'm good for a few more years. ;-)

Anyway, Pledge works on any above-freezing day. The paint looks new, and so
does the plexiglass. I haven't had to find a substitute yet, so if anyone
finds an equally economical solution, please post it here.

Jay Honeck wrote:

Speaking of washing planes. How do you get your plane washed in the
winter? Mine could use it and I have no idea what to do.


I *never* wash my planes (or motorcycles) with soap and water. Everything
is done with Lemon Pledge and cloth diapers.

Unfortunately they no longer make pump-spray Pledge, and the aerosol stuff
is just not right. (It comes out in a foam, instead of liquid.)

Luckily, I bought 6 cases of the stuff before they stopped making it -- so
I'm good for a few more years. ;-)

Anyway, Pledge works on any above-freezing day. The paint looks new, and so
does the plexiglass. I haven't had to find a substitute yet, so if anyone
finds an equally economical solution, please post it here.

You obviously don't get your cars or airplane very dirty. Washing off
mud or any amount of dirt with Pledge and a diaper would make a great
abrasive that would trash your paint in short order. Vehicles should
always be washed with lots of water prior to touching the surface with a
sponge or cloth. Soap helps loosen the dirt and avoid scratches, but
water alone does a pretty good job. Never take a cloth to a dry and
dirty painted or plexi surface.


Matt

"Jay Honeck" wrote

Unfortunately they no longer make pump-spray Pledge, and the aerosol stuff
is just not right. (It comes out in a foam, instead of liquid.)

Jay Honeck

Have you tried turning a can upside down, and spraying out all of the
propellant? Then you can stab or cut the can open and get the stuff out.
I'll bet the foaming is not there without the pressure.
--
Jim in NC

I've been reasonably happy with Dry Wash N Guard... Enough so that I
quit using Pledge a few years back...

http://www.dri-waterless-car-wash.com/

The devil is in the details, of course...
Start with the 32 oz. with the pump sprayer to see if you like it...
Shake it WELL before decanting or using - and after you have it shaken
(not stirred), then shake it for double the time you thought was
adequate... There are some 50 ingredients in it and some settle out...
After the 32 oz. bottle gets low then the 64 oz. jug is good...

Oh yeah... On the pump sprayer, do NOT tighten the cap crushing the
O-ring seal, as this dents the O-ring and it eventually stops holding
pressure... Gently screw the cap down until you can just feel the
O-ring start to add drag, then add about one ounce of torque beyond
that... My O-ring on the pump is 4 years old and still going strong -
guys who just have to torque it down until it jams and the bottle
starts to distort will be lucky to get a few weeks out of the 0-ring
(gotta stop them leaks doancha know)...

It looks pricey but goes a long, long ways... ymmv, bni, sar, etc.
Denny

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 13:04:21 GMT, Jon Kraus
wrote:

Speaking of washing planes. How do you get your plane washed in the
winter? Mine could use it and I have no idea what to do. Thanks!!

I figure that's added insulation.

Mine rarely gets washed in the winter.

OTOH you can use the so called "dry wash". It's not really dry and
goes on much like wax with a wet cloth. It does a good job on
everything except grease and oil. There, I guess you could use some
solvent followed by the dry wash.

It does need above freezing temperatures though.
A couple of the catalytic LP gas heaters do a pretty good job of
making the hanger warm enough you can shed the "long snuggies", but
it's definitely not tropical in there.


Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Dirty Mooney Owner


Jay Honeck wrote:

I find walking out to a rental airplane that someone else has already
washed, fueled, fixed, annualed, etc. etc. etc. pretty damn convenient.

Down time is the only time I miss the multi-plane club.

There
are two sides to every story.


Wow -- the rental planes I used to fly we

a) Clapped out

That's the only kind I can afford.

b) Unwashed -- for years

Why wash? Bugs stick better to a clean plane.
Once they build up a layer it doesn't seem to get any thicker.
As slippery as they are, you'd think they'd make the plane go faster.

c) Rarely fueled by anyone except me

Your contributions are appreciated, but not acknowledged publicly.

d) Had lots of things wrong -- or, at least, not quite right

You are describing a normal airplane.
and they say, FORD = Fix, Or Repair Daily.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

And if it was hangared (few were), I had to drag the thing out of a group
hangar from behind a couple of other planes.

There is nothing about renting that I miss -- except at annual time.

;-)

Jay Honeck wrote:

Wow -- the rental planes I used to fly we

a) Clapped out
b) Unwashed -- for years
c) Rarely fueled by anyone except me
d) Had lots of things wrong -- or, at least, not quite right

There are two FBOs around here that have 172Rs and 172SPs that are in
pretty- to quite-good shape. One is also a Cessna dealer, so I expect that
this plays some role.

Unfortunately, though, stepping up from the 172 is tougher to find. Add
that to my list of club advantages.

There are other FBOs here, of course, which are more as you describe. So I
guess there is a market for that.

- Andrew

Vaughn wrote:

That said, I envy owners and hope to be one some day.

Someday I hope to be two. :-)

I carry my aircraft keys in my pocket. My headsets are in the plane,
plugged in. My logbook is in the plane. My charts are right where I
need them, in their special place, in the plane. My sunglasses are
tucked away into their place, in the plane. If I feel like it, I drive
out to the airport, push it out of the hangar and away I fly! I don't
have to ask anyone's permission, sign any forms or any of that rental
stuff. It's about FREEDOM!!!!!

"Doug" wrote:
I carry my aircraft keys in my pocket. My headsets are in the plane,
plugged in. My logbook is in the plane. My charts are right where I
need them, in their special place, in the plane. My sunglasses are
tucked away into their place, in the plane. If I feel like it, I drive
out to the airport, push it out of the hangar and away I fly! I don't
have to ask anyone's permission, sign any forms or any of that rental
stuff. It's about FREEDOM!!!!!

You're dam' right.

Owning is expensive and comes with headaches renters don't get, but it's
well worth it, IMO.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Doug,

Just one suggestion. Take the log books out of the airplane and keep
them in a safe place. If, God forbid, you were to have an accident that
destroyed the logbooks, that wouldn't be a good thing. You probably would
want them available to the accident investigators and the insurance
company.

Rick Graves
N34759 - 1974 C177B

On Sat, 18 Dec
2004 07:57:26 -0800, Doug wrote:

I carry my aircraft keys in my pocket. My headsets are in the plane,
plugged in. My logbook is in the plane. My charts are right where I
need them, in their special place, in the plane. My sunglasses are
tucked away into their place, in the plane. If I feel like it, I drive
out to the airport, push it out of the hangar and away I fly! I don't
have to ask anyone's permission, sign any forms or any of that rental
stuff. It's about FREEDOM!!!!!