Hurricane Prep

[Mike A]

By now I'm sure everyone knows that Erika is going to be lurking around the east coast of Florida next Monday and Tuesday.  I have not had to deal with a real hurricane threat since have lived and Florida and purchased an aircraft.

 

 I had to commit this morning to Atlantic at KORL for hangar space for Monday and Tuesday nights (I wanted to postpone as long as I could but got a call this morning that they needed my commitment for the last available spot).  Only downside is that I am stuck paying for the hangar for Monday and Tuesday whether or not Erika hits....

 

What do you all do for aircraft hurricane prep?  How far out do you make your preparation?  

 

I was tempted to buy the Aerospoiler kit http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/aerospoiler.php?clickkey=14480), but decided against it.

[ELT]

Hi Mike,

My insurance pays me to move the airplane.  Did that once several years ago but could not fly back home as the governor declared the NC coast a disaster area.  The cat 2 did very little damage to decent structures.  July  2014 we had a cat 1 direct  hit.  I did not move the plane.  That said as of last year new hangers were built and I have one.  The hanger looks stronger than my house.  Most owners in Beaufort would not consider leaving a good airplane outside storm or no storm.  The wind always blows and carries salt.

 

Good luck to us all.

[carusoam]

Move the plane...

Check with your insurance carrier, they probably cover the expenses.

We visited Chicago getting away from an east coast hurricane several years ago.

Of course they don't cover the top end big city vacation. But it is all up for negotiation...know their rules

Try to leave a day early. We got delayed because of kids sports. We left IFR in heavy rains, then ATC sent us closer the tough weather while sequencing us into the system....

Mini vacation in a different city goes over well with the family.

Don't plan on tying down outside being a good idea, unless you can defend against every other plane not tied down up wind from you...

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

When I last lived on the NC coast, I discovered [courtesy of work] that a really nice place to be when a hurricane is blowing ashore over your house, is in a hotel in St. Louis. No hurricane ever hit there. We had beautiful blue skies, electricity, hot water, the restaurants were all open . . . 

[Mike A]

I like everyone's suggestions to get the heck out of the way of the storm, but unfortunately my job forces me to remain here so that I can assist after the storm leaves.  I'm not sure that its worth making an insurance claim for 2 nights of hangaring.  

[Danb]

Elt

Old memories of that area....Semper Fi

I fly down to Beaufort every few yrs looking for my blood

You have a great Mooney inst. there Doug Carmoudy who has abondanded us...

[carusoam]

Ask the insurance guys if they want to pay for the two day hangar fee first...

Share openly between the hangar owner and the insurance company. One wants to be paid, the other wants to delay until the last moment...

Managing financial risk is one thing. Delaying, and then flying out in crummy weather can be too much risk...

If you have to be there for work...

There are also CFIs that run this service for flight schools and clubs. It could cost a couple hours time for a CFI to fly your plane an hour away and back a couple of days later. Four planes go out, one returns with four people aboard...

Best regards,

-a-

[ArtVandelay]

I have a boat as well , the Mooney goes into the hangar as always, I will block the wheels and hope for the best.

[steingar]

You couldn't pay me to ride one of those things out.

[fantom]

In SoFL since 1983 and have rode them all, big and small, out with nary a scratch. Hangered, of course.

 

They just don't make pilots like they used to. 

[Piloto]

Most airplanes tied down outside can survive hurricane forces winds. Actually when they fly they do it in winds greater than category 1 hurricanes. The damage comes when loosing the tiedown ropes or improperly tied down. To keep the plane from lifting tie the nose wheel to the ground. Close to other planes on the tie down is also another source of damage. Not to mention flying debris. Hangar is the best protection. Best T-hangar location is the middle hangar in the row in between rows. This reduces substantially airflow into the hangar structure. The ones I have seen damage are the ones facing the runway and at the ends of the row.  

 

José  

[jetdriven]

a friend of mine lost his R172K due to stong winds from a thunderstorm a couple weeks ago. The rope was the typical sun faded, rotted stuff you see on ramps.  You can buy Amsteel, which has a 13K lb breaking strength to tie your airplane down. The stuff I used  (from the boat store) was also around 10K breaking strength. More than enough. But both planes on either side of me used faded racheting tie down straps. Those are 450 lb breaking strength new, I'd bet old and faded 150# would snap them.  The airplane can develop 6-8K LB of lift at 90-100 MPH.  Please use ropes that can do the job. 

[kmyfm20s]

You can also use duck tape to make spoilers on the leading edges. Tape down something down like PVC pipe or plastic angle on the top of the leading edge to reduce the lift ability of the wing.

[ArtVandelay]

Most airplanes tied down outside can survive hurricane forces winds. Actually when they fly they do it in winds greater than category 1 hurricanes.

José

While true, those winds are from the front.

[Deb]

In preparing for the storm, we discovered that our portable generator wouldn't start. This wasn't totally surprising since we hadn't used it since the 2004 and 2005 hurricane season. After replacing the air filter, taking apart and cleaning the carburetor, and refilling with South Florida's finest ethanol-free marine gasoline, it started. However, there was no electricity being produced. After searching online, we learned that we needed to "flash the generator field." We followed the directions in a video of a similar model generator: it involved disconnecting the automatic voltage regulator and hooking up a 12 volt battery for a few seconds with the generator running. It actually worked!

We then researched field flashing a generator (probably should have done that first) and learned that there are several techniques. One involved several light bulbs (complicated and not too practical), another involved backfeeding one of the 120 volt outputs with 12 volts while pulling the starter cord a few times with the spark plug disconnected, and our personal favorite, plugging an electric drill in the generator while it's running, pulling on the trigger and turning the chuck backwards. We didn't try the last two, but they probably would have been faster since no disassembly is required. There were more esoteric solutions involving batteries and cautions for arcing. We would pass on those.

Anyway, we'd never heard of this. It was a quick fix to try before lugging the 230 lb unit to the repair place and hoping it would be fixed before we needed it. (Apparently we weren't the only ones having generator problems, judging by the number of generator repairs they had!)

[1964-M20E]

In preparing for the storm, we discovered that our portable generator wouldn't start. This wasn't totally surprising since we hadn't used it since the 2004 and 2005 hurricane season. After replacing the air filter, taking apart and cleaning the carburetor, and refilling with South Florida's finest ethanol-free marine gasoline, it started. However, there was no electricity being produced. After searching online, we learned that we needed to "flash the generator field." We followed the directions in a video of a similar model generator: it involved disconnecting the automatic voltage regulator and hooking up a 12 volt battery for a few seconds with the generator running. It actually worked!

We then researched field flashing a generator (probably should have done that first) and learned that there are several techniques. One involved several light bulbs (complicated and not too practical), another involved backfeeding one of the 120 volt outputs with 12 volts while pulling the starter cord a few times with the spark plug disconnected, and our personal favorite, plugging an electric drill in the generator while it's running, pulling on the trigger and turning the chuck backwards. We didn't try the last two, but they probably would have been faster since no disassembly is required. There were more esoteric solutions involving batteries and cautions for arcing. We would pass on those.

Anyway, we'd never heard of this. It was a quick fix to try before lugging the 230 lb unit to the repair place and hoping it would be fixed before we needed it. (Apparently we weren't the only ones having generator problems, judging by the number of generator repairs they had!)

I have an old generator from the early 70's that was given to my dad (yes I'm a CB club member). This generator is a backup to my house standby generator.  I generally need to run it for a while before it starts producing voltage.  I just plug an incandescent light into it and let it run for an hour or so then eventually it bootstraps itself up and is goof for another couple of years.  Use 100LL in the generator it has a much better shelf life.

[1964-M20E]

In Orlando and if you are in a hangar unless it was a direct hit of a CAT 5 I'd probably leave it there especially a single occupancy hangar.  I lost one due to flooding several years ago from a  Hurricane a CAT 1 go figure.

 

Since you need to be in Orlando (I have the same issue) for after the storm and if you decide to fly it out look where you can get a nonstop commercial flight with SW or delta airlines and book a round trip from there back to KMCO.  Then is is easy for someone to pick you up a that airport.

 

2.5 hours in the Mooney gets you to Atlanta a long way from Orlando and with non stop back to Orlando.  You don't even have to be in a hangar there you can be outside though a hangar would be better.

 

In my case when I lost my previous plane I was looking to see where I could go and someone could pick me up in with 3 hour or less drive.  Now I will most likely go to Dallas and fly back home on SW non stop to New Orleans and let the insurance company reimburse me for my ticket tie down and fuel.

[carusoam]

Annual bump....

Hurricane prep, Florida, keep your eyes open for storm Hermine in the Gulf.

Strengthening.

Time to consider plans... Discuss issues... Etc.

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

My insurance will pay up to $500 to relocate the plane away from a hurricane. Those wanting out if Florida have missed their window . . . And it's not coming very close here, we'll just pick up some rain and a little wind. 

[RLCarter]

Living on the "Third Coast" (Gulf of Mexico) Hurricanes are just something that we deal with. If your not that familiar with the storms, the bad stuff is generally on the north side and they tend to head north / northwesterly after landfall. If your going to relocate family and/or property go inland and south at least 100 miles or so from the projected landfall. Hurricanes weaken over land fairly quick but they are HUGE systems that can reek havoc in the form of Nasty Thunder Storms across the country for days. When Hurricane Dolly hit here in 2008 it stalled half on land and half still in the Gulf of Mexico which fed the storm as it pounded us (20" of rain and 80+ mph winds) for 16 hours (the nasty stuff usually last 4 to 5 hrs).

[mike_elliott]

Had to pick a few palm branches out of the yard, some of the Avocado's came down a bit early, and reschedule 3 training sessions, found a new roof leak. Other than that, all is well 15 miles north of Clearwater. Pool will need some more salt.

[Highflight]

how about come along's