These are scary times for the average aircraft owner. We have watched the value of our aircraft drop as much as 30% in some cases. With the rising costs of fuel, most aircraft owners that fly for pleasure have either reduced their time in the air, or simply parked their plane.
As for the business flier, they have reduced their number of flights annually carefully choosing flights and destinations that make financial sense. Usually, the longer trips are pawned off to the airlines. Not sure if you’ve flown the airlines lately, but it is miserable. Flights are jammed, customer service is at it lowest and the number of flights available are at their lowest.
So what do we do?
My opinion is molded from various ventures in my current career as a manager of multiple corporate flight departments, an owner of an aircraft maintenance shop as well as the owner of four very different aircraft. These experiences have led me to some very apparent observations and recommendations:
We tend to think of our aircraft as our babies, our pride and joy. It’s easier to manage our own aircraft if we look at them as tools or investments. The market on this investment may be down now, but that will change. Aircraft manufacturing is at its lowest, just as it was it the early 80’s. We all saw how the aircraft values leaped in the late 90’s to only a few years ago.
By taking a less personal look at your tools or investments, you are able to choose what you need to do to keep it maintained and serviced during these hard economical times.
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If you fly for pleasure, don’t ignore your aircraft, don’t just leave it at the airport without following a few rules. If you have decided not to fly you aircraft for six months or more, consider pickling the engine. If that seems a little too extreme, do the next best thing. Go fly your plane and right after you land, dump your oil and replace it with fresh. Then add a can of Cam Guard. Run the engine again for a few minutes and shut it down and put it away. This will help get rid of any contaminants in your old oil, it will remove any excess moisture and the Cam Guard will assist in preserving your engine.
Remember, the object here is to not let the cam, crank shaft or steel cylinders and parts develop rust. Making the commitment to flying your aircraft at least once every 20 days for a minimum of 30 minutes will aid in the prevention of corrosion.
A huge misconception many pilots have is to think that it’s ok to just start the engine once a month to keep the parts drenched in oil with only a run up hoping this will prevent any rust. Not true. The engine needs to develop a high temperature to remove moisture in the case, by starting the engine once a month; you are actually making matters worse by increasing the temperature to the point of causing additional condensation after the shut down. You never reach the temperature needed to burn off the excess water in the case with only a run up. Your engine will only reach the temperatures it needs to remove the moisture when it hits at least 160 degrees F. For at least 20 to 30 minutes and remember, give your engines time to warm up prior to run up and take off.
Check for mice or varmints. When fall and winter hits, these little guys can make an expensive mess of your interior and can even cause corrosion in aluminum and steel parts.
Don’t ignore the Annual or AD’s. These can add up quickly and if you ever decide to sell the aircraft, the first question from the interested buyer will be, “What else did you do or not do to save money?”Close up and cover up. Cover the cowl intakes and cowl flaps, stuff some rags up the exhaust stacks (just don’t forget to take them out on the start up), unhook the battery, cover the dash to keep the dirt and dust away and cover that Pitot tube.
Airplanes don’t like to sit. If they have to, make them as comfortable as possible.
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If you fly for business, fly gentler.
For piston equipment, allow the engines to warm up. I wait until 115*F for oil temperature before I start my run up. I never take off until at least 125*F.
Slower throttle movements please, don’t jockey the throttle. Bring the power in and out smoothly.
Stay out of the rain.
Sure, the plane can take it, but why. You have the equipment on board to keep you clear of precip. The rain is hard on the paint and de-icing equipment and where there is weather, there is usually turbulence. Banging your aircraft in moderate turbulence for 10 minutes is like driving your Mercedes through a corn field. If you can go around it with minimal delay, why not do it.
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Business or pleasure, get to know your shop. Start a relationship and let them get to know you and your aircraft.
These are just a few tips that have helped me keep costs down for my customers as well as my own aircraft. I look forward to your comments, questions and any additional hints that will help all of us in this industry.
Thank you for visiting Minnesota General Aviation Today!
Michael Wiskus
West Metro Aviation
Lucas Oil Airshow Pilot
