Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers
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Blow-dry Your Plane!
Today I washed my STOL 750 in anticipation of flying to the Zenith Homecoming in Mexico, MO. My typical routine is to wash the belly first, then the wings, tail, and then the fuselage. Typically I would then use a chamois or towel to wipe down any remaining water to try to avoid water spots.
Today, I suddenly had an inspiration - my hangar-mate and I had recently purchased an EGO 56V leaf blower for occasionally blowing off the hangar floor and ramp. I had heard of people blowing their cars dry, so I gave it a try on the plane and it worked great! There were just a few spots of fine droplets left that I dried with a towel, but the vast majority of the surfaces were perfectly dry and no spots!
I've not seen this mentioned before, so I thought I'd mention it - it's a real work and time-saver. Of course, one must be cautious and use some judgement when directing the air stream at control surfaces and avoid blowing into the trailing end of a fairing that is open such as the one on the dorsal tail fin, but on my STOL 750, the leaf blower's air stream was not sufficient to lift or buffet the elevator, rudder or flaperons - probably a balanced control surface would be more susceptible to movement.
John
N750A
Hope to see you at the Homecoming! :>)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Harmen van der Velden on
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Hope you have a good time and stay safe, we will not be attending this year , We would have to self quarantine for 2 weeks upon return ,may be next year, That would give more time to finish the cruzer project to fly it down to zenith
harm and Trish
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Permalink Reply by Bob Pustell on
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My favorite way to dry a plane is to go flying. When there are localized rain showers in my area I have even been known to go up and fly in and out of the rain columns if the plane is getting grimy. It is fun to watch the dirt line work its way back along the wing surface as the rain moves aft.
I freely admit my method does not result in a perfectly clean plane but it does surprisingly well, better than one would expect. And, it is way more fun that washing and drying on a washstand.
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Permalink Reply by John Austin on
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This turned out to be a timely topic! I flew to the Homecoming and there at KMYJ one of the members was washing his 701 by sitting it on its tail. This tilts the wings so you can easily scrub them with a brush on a pole and also exposes the underside of the wings better for washing. Of course they obviously drain better, too. Why didn't I think of that?
I don't know if the 750 STOL will sit on its tail, but I have a lead weight I sometimes strap to the tail tie-down ring to lift the nose off to work on the front wheel, etc, so that'll work just fine to pull the tail down and aid with washing!
John
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