Away-from-home outdoor storage concerns and tips

[SuperSmash]

Hi, all!

I'm in the process of purchasing a Bravo, and I wanted to solicit some insight and tips regarding my storage situation. At home, it will be in a nice hangar well-protected from the elements. However, I will be using it to travel quite a bit to the California Bay Area, and it is possible that hangar space will not be available, and therefore facing some more prolonged time (perhaps several months) of a tiedown when not in the air.

Definitely planning on getting a cabin and cowling cover; are there other things you would recommend? And how much do I risk its overall health (and corrosion risk) being outside in the bay area a couple months of the year? Am I overthinking this?

Thanks for all of your insight!

[RoundTwo]

You’ll be fine. No need to worry.

[PT20J]

Many more airplanes are parked outside than in hangars. They are made for that. I’d skip the cowling cover and just get cowl plugs and a pitot cover. The weather in the Bay area is pretty mild. I kept a M20J tied down at KSJC for seven years and it was never a problem. It just got dirty and needed washing more often. 

[GeeBee]

When I am outside I cover the cockpit, plug the cowl, cover the pitot. I also place a strap around the yokes as an aileron gust lock. Recently I have started placing screen vented covers over the fuel vents (so mud daubers do not enter) and covering the caps with these units

https://wingviewtint.com/collections/universal-plane-tint/products/fuel-cap-covers

I have seen too many fuel caps leak rain water because the little O ring on the shaft breaks, even the fluoro blue ones. 
 

I also place a do not tow placard on the nose wheel.
 

 

[ArtVandelay]

When I am outside I cover the cockpit, plug the cowl, cover the pitot. I also place a strap around the yokes as an aileron gust lock. Recently I have started placing screen vented covers over the fuel vents (so mud daubers do not enter) and covering the caps with these units
https://wingviewtint.com/collections/universal-plane-tint/products/fuel-cap-covers
I have seen too many fuel caps leak rain water because the little O ring on the shaft breaks, even the fluoro blue ones. 
 
I also place a do not tow placard on the nose wheel.
 
 

I just use painter’s tape to cover fuel caps as well the speed brakes slot…ounce of prevention theory.

[SuperSmash]

2 hours ago, PT20J said:

Many more airplanes are parked outside than in hangars. They are made for that. I’d skip the cowling cover and just get cowl plugs and a pitot cover. The weather in the Bay area is pretty mild. I kept a M20J tied down at KSJC for seven years and it was never a problem. It just got dirty and needed washing more often. 

Good to know! Thanks. How frequently did you end up washing it?

 

 

2 hours ago, GeeBee said:

When I am outside I cover the cockpit, plug the cowl, cover the pitot. I also place a strap around the yokes as an aileron gust lock. Recently I have started placing screen vented covers over the fuel vents (so mud daubers do not enter) and covering the caps with these units

https://wingviewtint.com/collections/universal-plane-tint/products/fuel-cap-covers

I have seen too many fuel caps leak rain water because the little O ring on the shaft breaks, even the fluoro blue ones.

I also place a do not tow placard on the nose wheel.

Neat, yeah those fuel cap covers look like a wise idea. Thanks!

[PT20J]

13 minutes ago, SuperSmash said:

Good to know! Thanks. How frequently did you end up washing it?

I washed it every couple of months. The problem at KSJC was soot from all the jet exhausts. It didn’t get as dirty when I had it at KRHV. That was 30 years ago and maybe the newer jets are cleaner. 

[M20F]

Do you worry about parking your car at a hotel overnight?   They are planes not sugar cookies they hold up well.
 
I am not a fan of covers.  They wreck the paint and in my opinion (and there will be strong differing opinions which is ok) they don’t do much.

I do use cowl plugs and what  not.  Now is the time of the year.  You leave a plane on a ramp at lunch and you can have 4 birds nests before you get back.  They move that fast. 
 
Enjoy the ride. I’m 

[201er]

1 minute ago, M20F said:

I am not a fan of covers.  They wreck the paint and in my opinion (and there will be strong differing opinions which is ok) they don’t do much.

I’ve been parked outside over 12 years now. I’d argue the cabin cover is your most helpful cover. Who cares about the paint? It protects much more than that. It keeps water from leaking in the door seal, keeps wind and sun off the interior and avionics. Keeps airport debris from flying into windows. Keeps out peering eyes. And as for paint, I can tell you that despite frequent waxing, the only paint that wasn’t faded after a decade outside was the parts normally under the cover. So it does more to protect than to harm paint.

[M20F]

18 hours ago, 201er said:

I’ve been parked outside over 12 years now. I’d argue the cabin cover is your most helpful cover. Who cares about the paint? It protects much more than that. It keeps water from leaking in the door seal, keeps wind and sun off the interior and avionics. Keeps airport debris from flying into windows. Keeps out peering eyes. And as for paint, I can tell you that despite frequent waxing, the only paint that wasn’t faded after a decade outside was the parts normally under the cover. So it does more to protect than to harm paint.

I have a working door seal, if yours is leaking it should be fixed not covered up with a cover.  I am a big fan of window inserts which are inside, keep out the Sun, and prying eyes. 
 
This topic is like LOP lots of debate both sides.  In the end we have to do right by ourselves which you feel you do which is good. 

[GeeBee]

Sun does a lot of damage to interior components and causes early failure of windows and windshields in the form of crazing and cracking. Any thing to break the rays helps.
 

As an example I keep a cockpit cover on my boat. Despite its 25 years of age, the seats and interior looks factory new. Even the plexiglass hatches look new because they are covered. I get many compliments on its condition. 

[exM20K]

57 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

Sun does a lot of damage to interior components and causes early failure of windows and windshields in the form of crazing and cracking. Any thing to break the rays helps.
 

As an example I keep a cockpit cover on my boat. Despite its 25 years of age, the seats and interior looks factory new. Even the plexiglass hatches look new because they are covered. I get many compliments on its condition. 

Kennon used to have an article up on their website about crazing of windows and windshields. They claimed the temperature differential between the outside side and inside side of the windows, and not the sunlight passing through the windows, causes the crazing, and this is why they sell sun shades but no longer covers. 
 

I dislike covers for a few reasons:

1. If the windows or doorway water, fix the problem; don’t paper it over with a cover.
2. covers will scratch the windows and windshield.
3. covers are a big, fat, soggy mess to deal with on a dewy or rainy morning.

I would recommend an anti-corrosion treatment for the airframe as well.  With the Bravo, you’ll probably be up high quite a bit, and when you land, the cold-soaked airframe will get condensation in places you can’t see.

+1 on cowl plugs.  My rocker covers developed some spots of surface rust after only a short time outside in Vlorida despite the cowl plugs, but every little bit helps.

+1 on making sure the controls are belted.

-dan

[GeeBee]

If that were true center console wind screens would never craze as the temp is the same on both sides……yet they do.

Some people pointing to the quality of WW2 blisters say American made stuff does not craze. Maybe so, but my experience is the more you block the sun, the better.

[Utah20Gflyer]

Personally I am a fan of covers especially cabin covers.  Sun seems to be the biggest factor in the damage done to anything stored outdoors including airplanes.  Second biggest factor is likely water.  A cover protects the airplane from both to the degree to which you cover it.   
 

In regards to covers scratching windows I haven’t seen any indication of something like this happening. In fact I think covers prevent scratching because if you clean the windshield before you put the cover on then it hardly ever gets dirt on it that needs to be cleaned off, and it’s the removal of dirt that scratches the windshield.  No cover and your windows will have dirt on them every time you show up to fly it.  
 

Maybe if you buy a super cheap cover that could be an issue but almost all good covers have microfiber on the inside,  also it’s extremely important to have a proper tight fit and to have it locked down on the plane so it isn’t flapping around,  a cover made of heavier material is helpful.  I’ve watched my cover in 45 knot winds and it hardly moves, that is what you are going for.  
 

I currently have a cabin and tail cover,  I am likely adding wing cover this year. 

[SuperSmash]

Figure I can resurrect this since I was the OP... Does anyone have experience with Bruce's lightweight travel canopy covers? My plane is hangared probably 3/4 of the year, when not traveling (which I do a lot). I like the idea of a lighter weight cover that doesn't take up as much space or weight, but if Bruce's standard one is the wiser way to go I'll definitely do so. Thoughts?

[Pinecone]

I am interested in the same question.

[Schllc]

I have one of the light weight covers, not sure of the brand.  I don’t use it often because I hangar most places I go, but it has some good and bad qualities. 

good - it’s light, it packs small, it dries quickly, covers all the glass   
bad - has a softer liner but not microfiber, difficult in calm conditions to install alone, impossible alone in wind  it doesn’t come all the way to the wing like conventional covers so it moves a bit when it sits in wind, meaning you have to check on it frequently to make sure it hasn’t rotated on the fuselage  you can drill a snap into your plane to eliminate this and make it easer to install but I didn’t  

 

 

[A64Pilot]

Ref the $60 fuel cap covers, I use $3 red toilet plungers just remove the stick, they are heavy enough so that they stay put in anything less than a real thunderstorm and are available everywhere and cost next to nothing and are soft rubber so they don’t hurt anything. I use them on my C-140 where the fuel vents are two 1/8” holes drilled into the caps so without a cover rain will get in. 

But I’m Retired and grew up as a CB

I think your smart to be concerned, ref covers I know your not in the desert, but on AH-64 helicopters that were we couldn’t find any kind of cover that didn’t damage the windows, ended up with the shiny bubble wrap interior sun shield exactly like used in cars, you can buy it and cut to fit. They really did make a big difference in keeping the Avionics alive, but months sitting in the sun will damage your interior too.

‘Airplanes have plastic transparencies where Auto’s are glass, and while I’m not sure but I think glass may block more of the harmful rays than polycarbonate, so I think blocking the sun is worth doing myself.

Who cares about paint, well not me so much but I bet that people with over $20,000 paint jobs do.

I think doing the SB that removes the water absorbent insulation and inspecting and treating if necessary the tubing would be money well spent if it’s not been done.

[N201MKTurbo]

On 6/10/2023 at 5:21 AM, A64Pilot said:

‘Airplanes have plastic transparencies where Auto’s are glass, and while I’m not sure but I think glass may block more of the harmful rays than polycarbonate, so I think blocking the sun is worth doing myself.

Well, I have to let my inner smart ass out.

The windows are made of acrylic (PMMA, Plexiglass) not polycarbonate.

I just did some research and plexiglass blocks UV and degrades very slowly in the sun. That is why it was chosen for airplane windows in the first place.

If your boat windshields are degrading that fast, they are probably polycarbonate.

[A64Pilot]

On 3/19/2023 at 11:59 AM, GeeBee said:

If that were true center console wind screens would never craze as the temp is the same on both sides……yet they do.

Some people pointing to the quality of WW2 blisters say American made stuff does not craze. Maybe so, but my experience is the more you block the sun, the better.

My windows are crazed, I don’t know who made the plastic but assume as it’s an 80’s airplane they are likely US made.

Military Milspec polycarbonate is very different than what we have, I know because we built several aircraft for the US State Dept to spray drug crops and the contract required the Mil spec plastic and it was much more expensive.

I think WWII canopies were Perspex, which I think is a brand name, but may also be a higher quality of Acrylic. I’m mostly guessing, but your right those canopies do seem to last a very long time, some of that I’m sure is because you don’t see Warbirds tied down, but some of is likely because it’s better quality.

[A64Pilot]

8 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Well, I have to let my inner smart ass out.

The windows are made of acrylic (PMMA, Plexiglass) not polycarbonate.

You sure? I’m pretty sure Polycarbonate is widely available. If I change mine it will be Polycarbonate. Why? because a bird bounces off of Polycarbonate, it’s what bullet proof “glass” is often made from. AH-64 has an about 2” thick blast shield between the two cockpits, will supposedly stop a 23mm HEI anti-aircraft round, but I’m dubious of that.

https://www.aeroexpo.online/aeronautic-manufacturer/polycarbonate-aircraft-windshield-3877.html

I’m no plastics expert, but think the Polycarbonate is hugely tougher than acrylic, the downside is it’s easier to scratch, but there are some kind of treatments that make it scratch resistant. I have no idea how it’s done, but it does work.

Pretty sure our helicopter side panels and overhead were Polycarbonate, but regular aircraft windshields are probably Acrylic, because I believe it’s much less expensive.

The other thing, your not breaking out of a Polycarbonate windshield in a crash, been 40 years ago but we changed the windshields in an OH-58 (Bell 206 pretty much) and I jumped on one to break it, well it turned inside out, left white marks where it bent, but it didn’t break, and I fell on my arse.

Is Lexan a brand name of Polycarbonate?

[N201MKTurbo]

4 minutes ago, A64Pilot said:

Is Lexan a brand name of Polycarbonate?

Yes LEXAN is polycarbonate. It is stronger but doesn’t last as long in the sun.

[N201MKTurbo]

I made my landing light cover out of polycarbonate about 10 years ago. It is starting to get milky. The windows and windshield have been on for 25 years and are still crystal clear.

[A64Pilot]

5 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Yes LEXAN is polycarbonate. It is stronger but doesn’t last as long in the sun.

Nothings perfect, everything has downsides.

I think I’ll just say windows are plastic from now on, because I’m going to forget

[N201MKTurbo]

https://www.kitplanes.com/clearly-the-same/

Here is a good article about the difference.

https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_25_775-1.pdf

This is a better one.