Corrosion and Airplanes

FloridaPilot

FloridaPilot

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Is it true buying airplanes here in Florida are a challenge because of corrosion, Especially if it has been tied outside? Is it because it's humid here? Does corrosion tend to affect other places in the US more than others? Inquiring minds want to know.


Thanks for your input!
 
Yep. I'd avoid Florida, especially ones located near the ocean. Go to a Florida airport located by the beach and you'll see planes tied down just full of corrosion. My Velocity sat at Sebastian for about a year. Hardware had to be replaced and the inside of the engine was a rust bucket. Of course the airframe was fine being fiberglass.

If an aircraft is looked after (corrosion X / ACF-50) it shouldn't be a problem but if you're looking to buy, look it over with a fine toothed comb.
 
Velocity173 said:
Yep. I'd avoid Florida, especially ones located near the ocean. Go to a Florida airport located by the beach and you'll see planes tied down just full of corrosion. My Velocity sat at Sebastian for about a year. Hardware had to be replaced and the inside of the engine was a rust bucket. Of course the airframe was fine being fiberglass.

If an aircraft is looked after (corrosion X / ACF-50) it shouldn't be a problem but if you're looking to buy, look it over with a fine toothed comb.
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Would it be different if a plane was in a hangar instead of outside?
 
I fly out of Santa Maria, Ca; about eight miles from the Pacific Ocean.
Corrosion is an ongoing maintenance issue even inside the hangar.
Aircraft left outside are very hard hit because the fog off the ocean often wets everything down and any salt on the aircraft from flying along the shoreline gets a corrosion boost.
 
I dunno. I think it all depends on the level of care. If you don't keep it clean and use a good corrosion preventative on the bare hardware, then yes, you will get corrosion, rust and delamination. But, if you keep it clean, and use good corrosion prevention practices, there shouldn't be any problems. That being said, any airplane , located on any sea coast (not just Florida), can have corrosion problems; more so than say an airplane parked in the desert in Arizona.
 
FloridaPilot said:
Would it be different if a plane was in a hangar instead of outside?
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It'll help. Obviously you won't have rain filled with salt from the ocean coming down on it. But they'll still be humidity in there and pollutants can still get in.

My planes are hangared but are still covered in pollen right now, they have bird crap on them and I always have to look out for mud daubers. Heck, even had a mouse in one of them. Hangers are good for UV protection and rain but that's about it.

Being near the ocean is the biggest thing. I can tell you in the helicopter community, some turbine aircraft have to have a maint write up if flown within so many miles of salt water. This usually necessitates increased aircraft / engine washes. That should let you know, that environment is not the best for aircraft to be operating in.
 
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Higher temps greatly accelerate the process, also. I parked aircraft outside, near the beach, in Southcentral Alaska for many years. The only serious corrosion issues I saw on my or my friends aircraft were related to operations in saltwater on floats or lots of operations on beaches.
 
two aircraft are not a vary good representation but the two I have been involved with from Florida were both a corroded mess.
 
Cessna has a corrosion map in their SID documents.
 

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Parked near salt water + high levels of air pollution = bad for everything.
 
My 180 has parked outdoors 1/2 mile from sea water since 1975. No corrosion. Look at the Cessna map and corrosion is worse on the Atlantic coast than the Pacific but in both cases the threat decreases as you go north. Temperature has a lot to do with it.
 
Stewartb said:
My 180 has parked outdoors 1/2 mile from sea water since 1975. No corrosion. Look at the Cessna map and corrosion is worse on the Atlantic coast than the Pacific but in both cases the threat decreases as you go north. Temperature has a lot to do with it.
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Very true. I would add that humidity is another factor and why you see worse corrosion in the southeast compared to California.
 
Tom-D said:
two aircraft are not a vary good representation but the two I have been involved with from Florida were both a corroded mess.
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Were they hangared or outdoors?

My Beech 18 came from Florida. It was kept in a very nice hangar the whole time. The airframe and internals were actually very nice and nothing unusual for an airplane of its vintage.

Now, the airplanes I saw that were parked outside at the same airport .....holy hell.

We saw an Icon sitting on the ramp that looked like some WWII airplanes discovered decades later in New Guinea. And considering the Icon's first flight was in 2008, the airplane couldn't have been sitting THAT long.
 
I am in plant city area and I have bought several planes in Florida. Most are perfectly fine but I did buy an172n year ago or so for parts that had been outside at Naples airport. It was terrible. I didn't even want the wings as there was nothing salvageable in them other than maybe the navi light lenses. The main fuselage was pretty good with minimal corrosion. The tail underneath had a big hole corroded thru it. Still lot of good parts though for what I paid. When I have my planes down there I have them washed once a month. So far haven't noticed any problems but I do keep in new hanger. Have looked at several planes I didn't buy and most were fine but did look at a 182p one time that somebody had invested in a new engine in the last 35 hrs that looked like it had been towed out of the ocean:)
 
I wouldn't paint with a borad brush like that. Plenty of clean planes in FL, plenty of rusted crap in AZ, and vise versa, it's more about the owner than the address IMO
 
James331 said:
I wouldn't paint with a borad brush like that. Plenty of clean planes in FL, plenty of rusted crap in AZ, and vise versa, it's more about the owner than the address IMO
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I don't think it is a broad brush. Just a generality. I grew up in Arizona. Lived in SoCal for 6 years and now on the east coast. Yes, you can find basket cases in AZ....but chances are they came from someplace else.

Like I posted earlier, my Beech came from FL and it is in great shape. But others at that same airport where it was based were definitely feeling the effects of the Florida environment. I obviously wouldn't categorically rule out a Florida based airplane, but I would be very suspect, especially if it has been sitting outside.
 
There's a reason why the entire state of FL is a high corrosion zone on that map. If you don't understand that, then you haven't lived in FL long. Just not planes but cars, RVs, buildings etc. If it's not maintained properly, it'll be corroded.

One of the primary reasons Tucson AZ was chosen for AMARG "Bone Yard" was because of low humidity and rain. Corrosion will take much longer to form out there compared to FL.
 
Fearless Tower said:
I don't think it is a broad brush. Just a generality. I grew up in Arizona. Lived in SoCal for 6 years and now on the east coast. Yes, you can find basket cases in AZ....but chances are they came from someplace else.

Like I posted earlier, my Beech came from FL and it is in great shape. But others at that same airport where it was based were definitely feeling the effects of the Florida environment. I obviously wouldn't categorically rule out a Florida based airplane, but I would be very suspect, especially if it has been sitting outside.
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How long would it take on average for corrosion to start affecting an airplane that has been outside? If corrosion is a major issue in Florida why do people park planes outside?


Velocity173 said:
There's a reason why the entire state of FL is a high corrosion zone on that map. If you don't understand that, then you haven't lived in FL long. Just not planes but cars, RVs, buildings etc. If it's not maintained properly, it'll be corroded.

One of the primary reasons Tucson AZ was chosen for AMARG "Bone Yard" was because of low humidity and rain. Corrosion will take much longer to form out there compared to FL.
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I've lived in Florida for 7 years, I in fact see quite a few cars with the paint chipped off but I rarely see rust buckets, even cars that are parked outside for years.
 
FloridaPilot said:
How long would it take on average for corrosion to start affecting an airplane that has been outside? If corrosion is a major issue in Florida why do people park planes outside?




I've lived in Florida for 7 years, I in fact see quite a few cars with the paint chipped off but I rarely see rust buckets, even cars that are parked outside for years.
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People tend to wash and wax their cars more than they do their planes. And cars aren't generally 40 years old.
 
FloridaPilot said:
How long would it take on average for corrosion to start affecting an airplane that has been outside? If corrosion is a major issue in Florida why do people park planes outside?
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People park planes outside because they either can't afford or can't find a hangar.

As far as how long it takes to corrode, that is highly dependent on aircraft usage. An airplane tied down on the ramp that is flying every day with a flight school is going to do much better than something that flies once or twice a month.
 
Fearless Tower said:
People park planes outside because they either can't afford or can't find a hangar.

As far as how long it takes to corrode, that is highly dependent on aircraft usage. An airplane tied down on the ramp that is flying every day with a flight school is going to do much better than something that flies once or twice a month.
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Ahh, I got it. Thanks!

So washing your airplane and flying regularly helps against Corrosion even if it's outside.
 
FloridaPilot said:
Ahh, I got it. Thanks!

So washing your airplane and flying regularly helps against Corrosion even if it's outside.
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Which is why in the military you'll see "bird baths" at their facilities. Go down to the bold paragraph. That's exactly what we're talking about with Florida. Located near the ocean and flying less than 3,000 ft over the ocean. Combine that with the heat down there and you've got a perfect environment for corrosion formation.

http://riveer.com/birdbath-clear-water-rinse-system.html
 
Velocity173 said:
Which is why in the military you'll see "bird baths" at their facilities. Go down to the bold paragraph. That's exactly what we're talking about with Florida. Located near the ocean and flying less than 3,000 ft over the ocean. Combine that with the heat down there and you've got a perfect environment for corrosion formation.

http://riveer.com/birdbath-clear-water-rinse-system.html
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That is good stuff...thanks for posting.
 
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