Gotcha covered – Protecting your investment
February 19, 2009 by Dave HirschmanA hangar is the best way to keep an airplane out of the elements. But what if none is available, or affordable? What can aircraft owners do to protect airplanes living outdoors? Canvas canopy covers, and even whole-airplane covers, are a compelling option.
A new canopy cover made to protect all windows and doors in a typical single-engine airplane usually sells for about $400—or about one month’s hangar rent at my local airport. Such covers virtually eliminate sun damage to windshields and do a great job of protecting aircraft interiors from excessive heat, and the cracking and fading that come with it. The avionics also benefit from being in the shade, and the covers usually offer some protection from rain, snow, and wind- or blast-driven debris.
“There’s a hidden cost to avionics from excessive heat, direct sunlight, and water that can seep into the wiring and create problems,” said Tom Blaine, a sales manager for Bruce’s Custom Covers in Palo Alto, California, which manufactures about 10,000 aircraft covers annually. “Aircraft owners used to buy covers to protect their windshields and interiors. But as they’ve added more sophisticated avionics, protecting those investments has become more critical.”
A generation ago, fabric-covered airplanes seldom merited hangar space. The rationale was that, since the fabric had to be replaced periodically anyway, there was little point in keeping low-end, fabric airplanes inside. But since today’s lifetime fabrics can last indefinitely—and the cost of recovering such aircraft has gone up significantly—there’s more interest in protecting their exteriors. Wing and even fuselage covers are becoming increasingly common for fabric airplanes.
“We ask a lot of our Decathlon and want to keep it, and its gorgeous green paint, in top shape,” said Evanthe Papastathis, owner of SkyBound Aviation, a flight school at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta. “I spent $1,500 on a whole-airplane cover, and it was money well spent. The cover’s not easy to put on on a windy day—but it’s doable.”
Composite airplane owners also have been buying full aircraft covers to protect their airplanes from prolonged exposure to sunlight’s damaging ultraviolet rays. Full-airplane covers for single-engine airplanes typically cost between $1,500 and $2,000, and one person can usually put them on in about 15 minutes and remove them in about half that time.
A new paint job on a typical single-engine plane can easily top $10,000. But aircraft owners who save $3,000 or more annually by keeping their airplanes outside, and covered, could get their airplanes repainted every five years or so and still come out ahead.
June 30th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Keeping the aircraft inside a hangar is best way to keep it nice longer. If you must have one, then take care of it.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I fly a turbo carged Cessna P-210 with Gammi injectors and a graphic engine monitore. The POH recmmends that the Turbo TIT should not exceed 1650F. How would I fly LOP with that limitation?
July 12th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Planes really need to be inside… one hail storm and the plane is ruined. Plus corrosion from rain, faded paint, cooked avionics, etc…
July 31st, 2009 at 9:21 am
Our ownership group of 10 makes the plane, hangar and maintenance quite affordable. First task is finding 10 people that get on!
August 31st, 2009 at 12:26 am
block heaters are much cheaper than a hanger.
a good wash/wax once or twice a year goes a LONG way.
don’t avoid the airport in nasty weather. thats a good time to check for water leaks.
untie it and fly it once in a while.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I own a 1973 Piper 140 that has never been hangered. I use the canopy cover, pitot tube cover and a cover on the tail. I wash it frequently and wax it three times a year. No corirosion and the interior looks very good. You can keep a plane outside and save BIG BUCKS but you have got to work at keeping it up.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:12 am
Keeping a plane outside, like mine is, is a more economical method but it does come at a price. I have asked my insurance broker about the cost differences between keeping a plane hanagered as compared to kepping it tied down. I was informed that the insurance premium is 8% – 10% higher if the plane is kept outside. Even with a protective cover, the cost does not come down. The reasoning is that the plane is exposd to the elements and by being so, is more apt to being damaged due to the weather, i.e. wind damage, hail damage, storm damage, etc.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:59 am
I have read that external covers cause wear on the windscreen and windows due to dust /grit getting under the covers and scatching the glass–every aircraft maker recommends against covers because of the scratching that can result–and recommend internal heat reflectors instead. I have started hangaring my aircraft after 25 years of keeping it on the ramp and the difference is amazing; both from warmup times in cold weather to reduced chance of damage from the elements, to reduced insurance premiums. If a hangar is available–even a T-hangar–I would recommend paying the extra bucks to hangar your investment if able.
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Its not just the well-heeled that enjoy flying. Many of us fly regardless of high hanger rentals and fuel prices. Covers are a good way to maintain your AC outside. Granted, You just cant park it in the hanger an walk away. The additional time it takes to put on your covers and cowl plugs is just another example of good piloting and AC maintenance.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I’ve always wanted to see someone manufacture an airplane tent of some type, or a “soft hanger” that could be attached to the tiedown links in the tarmac and that would allow entry and exit of the aircraft. Basically a really cheap hanger with a lifetime for ~10 years. Haven’t seen anyone come up with such a device and the people I talk to say it may violate wind safety or fire safety codes, but I see planes all over the bay area that are $300k and up out on the line simply because the owner can’t even find hanger space. There has got to be a portable solution that will prevent excessive rain, hail and UV damage but that will work on a tiedown spot!
November 15th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I don’t see why someone has not come up with an inflatable hangar that would put the plane in a controlled air bubble (low humidity) with a buffer such that hail would bounce off and a UV reflective top surface. If engineered right, it would attach to the ramp tiedowns and follow the contours of the AC with internal cells to keep the fabric clear of the main surfaces. This thing could be engineered such that winds heavy enough to damage it would damage the uncovered AC as well. Solar panels could run the pump. I pay $195/mo for my T-hangar, some pay twice or more than that. All the T does is keep the sun and rain off the plane. If this thing had a five year life, that’s about $12K to play with on the low end.
I think there is money to be made with this idea.