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Thoughts on outdoor storage for Pacific NW winter


ChrisV

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I live in Portland, OR and am looking to purchase a J model.  I've been holding off buying until a hangar is available, been on the waitlist for 3 months and no spots have moved.  What are your thoughts on tieing down an aircraft during the rainy season?  Are there covers that protect enough?

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1 hour ago, ChrisV said:

I live in Portland, OR and am looking to purchase a J model.  I've been holding off buying until a hangar is available, been on the waitlist for 3 months and no spots have moved.  What are your thoughts on tieing down an aircraft during the rainy season?  Are there covers that protect enough?

Bruce covers are really good. I would not pass up on the plane of your dreams waiting on a hangar. I have seen waiting list on some hangars that were over a year out

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15 minutes ago, ChrisV said:

Are the bruce covers the best money can buy?  If I am gonna leave a $100K outside, I want to protect it as much as possible, no matter how much it costs

 

Yes, they are great. Never heard of any issues with them. I have seen $300k planes with them on. Very nice and durable.

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I left my 1989 J outside for ~2 years in South Florida and bought a full set of custom Bruce covers (fuselage, tail, wings). I highly recommend Bruce Covers as well, they are excellent and are the only ones I'll buy for aircraft now. They were a pleasure to do business with as well. South Florida is a lot different than the NW US but I'll give you my experience on keeping a J outside. I'm only the fourth owner of my aircraft, she was apparently hangared by the other three owners in the NE and she still has her original paint job from 1989. Keeping the plane outside was the worse decision I ever made. If I had to do it over again I probably still would as my dream plane came available and I'm glad I bought her, but it cost me a lot of stress and money. I will never own an aircraft again, regardless of where I live, unless I have a hangar for her and if I couldn't hangar my baby anymore I'd unfortunately rather sell her then keep her outside. The Bruce covers really help with the sun and light rain but the rain still gets into the tail and at least in FL the humidity from the rain evaporating doesn't help either. My paint job started to self destruct outside within months that I had her outside, I had lots of small mechanical issues from water intrusion too (issues with light connectors, superficial corrosion, speed brake problems, etc.). I have her in a hangar now and the plane is very dependable and I have no problems and MX doesn't get too crazy anymore. I'm sure other places aren't as bad as South Florida (we do have a reputation as being tough on metal aircraft) and I know others who haven't had as many issues keeping their planes outside, but it makes a huge difference having the plane hangared. I used to have a lot of issues with wasps and spiders making nests in the plane  too, which was fun... Just my 2 cents... 

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If a great aircraft comes across it can still be worth it, just figure it will be more wear and tear on the aircraft and cost you more in MX. I actually drive almost an hour to my hangar as none of the airports nearby had any available. I'm a big believer in CorrosionX and Camguard too - in my opinion/experience they make a difference and seem to help a bit, especially if you keep the aircraft outside. 

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4 hours ago, ChrisV said:

I live in Portland, OR and am looking to purchase a J model.  I've been holding off buying until a hangar is available, been on the waitlist for 3 months and no spots have moved.  What are your thoughts on tieing down an aircraft during the rainy season?  Are there covers that protect enough?

I'd say if you're actively looking for a hangar, a couple rainy months should not be an issue as long as all the door/window seals are good.  It's not like the plane is going to melt away after a couple months!

Things that might help (and might make you feel better):

  • Covers and cowl plugs
  • Close the cowl flaps and cabin vents (including the roof vent) when tied down
  • Keep some dessicant in the plane (calcium or silica based stuff)
  • Keep some Tri-Flow to lubricate hinges.  @Piloto will sell you a lifetime supply of WD-40, which I suppose would work (WD stands for "water displacement"), but Tri-Flow is the approved lubricant

FWIW, I had to tie down outside for about 2 months in the rainy season here in Oregon before I secured a hangar, no obvious harm done.

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Good luck! I really agree with @jaylw314 too and he had really good points. I didn't really start seeing or having any issues until 6-8 months outside in South Florida, which would probably be even longer for you. One thing I'd add to his list too is to check the o-rings in the fuel caps and if they don't look good replace them as well - really helps keep the water out of the tanks. 

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Doing things one step at a time will take several years to complete...

1) getting a hangar first... you pay rent for an empty hangar...  and people don’t like waiting for a hangar while you store nothing in it...

2) It May take a year before finding the right Mooney and close the deal...

3) there used to be two good cover manufacturers... Bruce is the only one left.

4) Get a nice cover with all the options...

5) have a plan for things that don’t get covered.. fuel caps and tail openings...

6) M20C stored outdoors for a decade...

Ice in the fuel caps, rain in the tanks, birds nests in the tail...

Get plane, get hangar, get trained, fly often... repeat...  :)

East Coast PP experience...

Best regards,

-a-

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11 minutes ago, ChrisV said:

Thanks again guys.  I think it's time to tell the wife to pull the trigger

I should also point out that even though we get a lot of rain here, the humidity in the Willamette Valley is actually pretty low.  As long as you can stay out of water, things dry out pretty quickly.  Of course, staying out of water during the winter is the tricky part :rolleyes:

Come summer you'll definitely want to get the cabin window reflective shades from Bruce as well, even when you have a hangar.  They work amazingly well when it's sunny and 90 degrees out.

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I am in Victoria BC, similar weather I think. Lots of rain. I tie down outdoors all year due to hangar space being $750 or more per month if you can find it.

I have one of the sunbrellla canopy covers, bruces' cowl plugs and it works fine.

Most importantly, I have a small heater and humidifier in the cabin that keeps the moisture out. Heater is 100 watts; dehumidifier is about 20 watts, so low power draw. Makes a huge difference.  I had some condensation issues and electronic issues until I did this.

 

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