Parking Outdoors

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Therookguy

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Therookguy
I'm moving and need to park my plane outdoors for close to a year before I can get into a shade hangar. I wanted to make sure I covered all my bases when it comes to preserving a plane that'll be parked outside.

It's a 182RG going to be parked at North Las Vegas. Pretty sure it gets real hot with a good bit of wind (15-20 knots consistently when I was out there last week)

My real concern is hail, I'm not sure how to protect myself from that...

I already have: Pitot and Cowling Covers. Ordering an internal sunshield. Internal gust lock on the yoke.

Considering:
  • Exterior gust locks?
    • Do I need them if I already have an internal gust lock
  • Exterior cover?
    • I was told not to use these since they just trap dirt/moisture underneath them
Let me know if anyone has any other suggestions.
 
Has it ever hailed in Las Vegas?
Wouldn't that be extremely rare?
 
champ driver said:
Has it ever hailed in Las Vegas?
Wouldn't that be extremely rare?
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I've been trying to figure that out with the google machine. Seems pretty rare from what I could find but it always could happen. I know when I lived in Colorado Springs there was always one or two bad hailstorms a year. I know Vegas is also next to a bunch of high terrain so idk if that is a factor that makes hail more likely?? Anyone on here live out there?
 
Is it worth it to find a sleepy airport with hangar/shade and fly it there and return home without the plane? Or will you be flying it during the year that it’s stored outside?
 
Therookguy said:
Exterior gust locks?
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I’m a fan because it avoids abuse on pulleys and cables. Just be super thorough on preflight. More than once have gust locks been the demise for airplanes/pilots.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Is it worth it to find a sleepy airport with hangar/shade and fly it there and return home without the plane? Or will you be flying it during the year that it’s stored outside?
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I plan on flying it during the year. There aren't any hangars at other airports either. I'm not interested in paying more than $250 for a hangar anyways
 
I’d be more worried about getting sand blasted during a haboob.

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Blowing dust will be your enemy. 15-20 knot winds are a light zephyr for Las Vegas. Make sure your door seals are in good shape, and have a good cockpit cover with non abrasive backing (i.e. Bruce's Covers). Yes, some dirt will get under the cover, but it is a better alternative than leaving the windows uncovered. You may want to cover the wing inlets for the cabin air vents.

External gust locks not really needed on a 182.

Make sure you close your cowl flaps.

Don't overfill your tanks. Fuel expands in the heat, and coming out of 70F underground fuel tanks and then getting baked in 110F wings causes significant expansion.
 
I can tell you from personal experience that hail can cause five figure damage on a 172.
 
In roughly ten years of cumulative airplane ownership, I have parked in a hangar approximately 2 months in an environment similar to LV. Here are my thoughts:

- Yes, I do think it is *a bit* hard on the look and feel of your plane, over time. It’s not the end of the world, and most of my planes I’ve had haven’t been lookers anyway. It’s not that bad.

- The worst impact will be on your windshield. Whether you go with an external cover or not (I recommend not), it’s going to get more scratched. If you go with a cover, it grinds dust into your windshield. If you don’t go with a cover, every time you go to fly there will be a layer of dust in the windshield that needs to be cleaned off, and it is very difficult to do in a perfectly clean, grit free way. You won’t notice an impact over, say, a year, but over five years your windshield will just kind of lose its luster. Fortunately, such things can be replaced. If you don’t go with a cover, try to keep some water in the plane and a assortment of clean shop rags, it’s the best you can do.

- A cover will not keep rain/snow entirely out of your plane, fortunately that’s not an issue in LV.

- If you don’t go with a external cover, I would recommend sun shades to try to keep the plane from baking inside too bad. I’m not sure it will be avoided in the LV summer, and for me, I wouldn’t bother with getting them for all windows - just the windshield ones are fine (I assume we’re talking Cessna/Piper/Mooney/Bo - if it’s something with a bubble canopy like an RV-8, I’m not sure what I’d recommend).

- I’d go with a yoke gust lock, I don’t think I would do external. If you have a rudder-sensitive plane like a 182 where the rear bulkhead can get bent from a flapping rudder, you might consider an external rudder gust lock. I have owned a 182, however, and didn’t do so. If possible, try to park into the prevailing wind. It’s a strong gusty tailwind that is the issue.

- Hail would be a concern in certain parts of the country. It probably does hail in LV during monsoonal thunderstorm cycles, but I probably wouldn’t worry about it too much. The only way to mitigate it is with padded covers, but for the headache, I’d probably just take my chances.

- Preheating is actually the biggest inconvenience of not having a hangar, but fortunately that won’t be an issue but for a couple of days each year in LV, so I wouldn’t worry about that, either.

In summary, it’s not the end of the world. Unless we’re talking a tube and fabric plane in which case I’d have a pretty different opinion (that said, I haven’t owned a fabric plane and I hear how much better the fabrics are now, but I would be concerned about the sun damage). Good luck!
 
Oh - one last observation: I do use cowl plugs, but parking on a giant concrete ramp alone, I think, deters most of the vermin issue. I’d be thinking about mice and packrats if I were parking on grass, but it has never been an issue. Same for birds, although there is another active thread on bird poop, so it is obviously an issue for some.
 
For those arguing against an exterior cover, don't forget that without one the sun will absolutely bake the inside of the airplane. With Vegas area outside air temperatures above 110F, you can be sure the internal cabin temps will be will above that, baking your avionics and instruments. A light-colored cover makes a huge difference in internal temperatures, and is well worth the theoretical risk of sand-scratches on paint or windshields. The good covers come with padding to protect against this. The interior window covers aren't nearly as effective, but are better than nothing.
Jon
 
I have been parked outside at that airport (KVGT) for the last several years; custom interior window shades for ALL windows, cowl plugs, internal gust lock and ensuring properly tied down. Wind of 20kts here is considered a breeze... Over the last few weeks, we had 3 separate days of 50kt gusts blowing dust on planes. I personally find that a cover just increases the window scratches. Gently cleaning windows before flight to remove sand/dust is the only chore (to avoid scratching). Hangars here are almost never available, and when they are, expect around $700pm. I finally got into a shade hangar (open parking with a roof)which only mitigates the direct sunlight but does nothing for the dust/sand. Put yourself on the list for a shade hangar - only $50pm more than 'outside' parking, list moves surprisingly quickly.
 
I've been in Vegas almost a year, flying with a club at KHND since I sold my Yankee. Before I was in Vegas, I spent a year in Lancaster, CA (very similar, but not quite as hot).

First, consider requesting a shade hangar at Henderson as well, you are more likely to get one at North Las Vegas, but its worth being on both just in case.

Hail can happen out here, but it's relatively rare, and less likely to be big enough to do damage than (for example) the midwest.

The biggest threats to your plane are wind, sun and heat.

I had an exterior cabin cover, and the worst damage to my plane was caused by that cover. You need something to keep the sun and heat out, an exterior cover or internal wind reflectors. Both can work, but if you go with an exterior cover, replace it at the first signs of wear. Mine ripped in the wind at a spot that was clearly showing wear, but I put off replacing it.

Inspect your tie downs regularly (including the cables and hooks that the airport provides). If a tie down fails out here you can have a really bad day.

North Las Vegas has had reports of avionics thefts recently, lock the plane, make sure the avionics that you leave in the plane are covered by insurance (especially portables, they are easiest to steal).

Consider joining the Facebook group for Las Vegas Pilots and Flyers if you want to connect with other locals.
 
For longer term storage outside I have wrapped the wings with bubble wrap before putting on the covers. Never had a chance to measure effectiveness against hail.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
External gust locks not really needed on a 182.
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External gust locks will save ANY airplane. I say that as a mechanic with experience in repairing wind damage to control systems. The internal lock does not immobilize the surfaces. It can't. The systems are not rigid enough.

At the very least, the holes in the control column and panel bearing that the internal lock fits into get wallowed out.

Dust and sand get blown into hinges, and the constant small movement grinds away at the hinges, wearing them out far sooner than flying would wear them.

Cables get worn and abraded where they pass over fairleads, wearing the wires and eventually breaking them. I once replaced a whole mess of worn control cables in an 1100-hour TT Cessna 180 due to decades of wind. Open hangar. Lots of other worn stuff too.

Pulleys get worn from constant movement. If they aren't looked after and they seize as the grease in their bearings hardens, the cable rubs over the pulley and both the cable and pullet get worn. Dust or sand blown in makes it worse.

I have found bent and broken control surface stops. Bent aileron pushrods on Cessnas. Worn-out rod end bearings. Worn-out rudder bar bearings from rudder movement. All from wind.

Airplanes are designed to respond to wind. It's what lifts and controls them. You can't have wind without those surfaces moving somewhat with just an internal lock. If the wind is on the tail it's far worse. Things get slammed around.
 
it's a double edged sword with regard to external covers.

You absolutely need them to preserve the windshields and interior plastic parts, but the wind will drive sand under them and act like sandpaper on ant surface they touch.

The only solution I have seen is blankets taped over the area covered by the fabric covers.

I extreme cases, large spoilers on top of the wings will keep an airplane connected to the tiedowns.

[Written buy the guy who lost his first airplane in a microburst]
 
Sounds like a good mix of cover vs no cover here. I'll probably just go with what I have and internal windshields for all windows.

Does anyone know where/how I could get covers that fit over the air inlet on the wings?


MarkH said:
North Las Vegas has had reports of avionics thefts recently, lock the plane, make sure the avionics that you leave in the plane are covered by insurance (especially portables, they are easiest to steal).
Click to expand...

Yeah I figured I'd have to do that. I always lock my plane in my hangar anyways but outdoors I'd figured I'd need to remove anything valuable too. Adds an extra 5-8 minutes round trip to install and pack up everything unfortunately. :(

IK04 said:
I extreme cases, large spoilers on top of the wings will keep an airplane connected to the tiedowns.

[Written buy the guy who lost his first airplane in a microburst]
Click to expand...

Where would I find such spoilers? I'm guessing if my tiedown is done right I probably won't need them.
 
Also is an external detail worth it if I'm not moving till August? I want to see what the plane looks like clean. The previous owner never washed it.
 
Therookguy said:
Does anyone know where/how I could get covers that fit over the air inlet on the wings?

Where would I find such spoilers? I'm guessing if my tiedown is done right I probably won't need them.
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Some folks just use chunks of foam rubber, stuffing them into the vent holes. They will crumble with exposure to UV, so just use new ones once in a while.

Spoilers.

upload_2022-5-8_13-33-12.png

Typo on the size. 50cm x 50cm is 20" x 20". Oops. Should have been 50mm x 50mm, or about 2" x 2". Even a 2x2, about 1-1/2" square, will work. I just used 2 x 4's with some carpet wrapped around them in a few places on a Champ for a few years to lessen the strain on the tiedowns.

See https://www.aviation.govt.nz/assets/publications/vector/Vector_2001_Issue-5_Sept-Oct.pdf
 
An external cover is a must if a plane is stored outdoors. Without protection from solar heating avionics will fry in short order. Getting a light-colored canvas cover for my Grumman was the best investment ever. Before owning an effective cover, and later getting access to a hangar, I was racking up alarming avionics repair bills. Cabin temps remain reasonable even in summer heat when stored outdoors with the canopy cover. A cover also reduces risk of water ingress and keeps out casual prying eyes.
 
chemgeek said:
An external cover is a must if a plane is stored outdoors. Without protection from solar heating avionics will fry in short order. Getting a light-colored canvas cover for my Grumman was the best investment ever. Before owning an effective cover, and later getting access to a hangar, I was racking up alarming avionics repair bills. Cabin temps remain reasonable even in summer heat when stored outdoors with the canopy cover. A cover also reduces risk of water ingress and keeps out casual prying eyes.
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Mechanical gyros also don't do well in the heat. It dries out the lube in them.
 
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