Airplane detailing?

Another opinion, please:

What would you pay to have your plane "detailed"?

What, in your opinion, should be part of the "detailing"?

Thanks!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
What would you pay to have your plane "detailed"?

Depends what it included.
I love doing the detailing myself ... for me, that's part of the fun of
owning the airplane. Some days the weather looks iffy or it's crowded up
there or ya just don't feel 100% for flying, but it's still fun going to
the airport to clean/polish/fix.

What, in your opinion, should be part of the "detailing"?

If I were going to have it done, I would think it would include washing,
waxing, vacuuming, upholstery cleaning/conditioning (if necessary), and
cleaning the panel, switches, knobs, etc. That's what *I* do when I set
out to give the airplane a thorough once over.

What do you do? or do you pay someone to do it?

I know a group at our local airport that charges $50 to wash a 150, $75 for
a 172/182, $100 for a twin etc. That's top to bottom, de-bugged, de-greased,
clean glass. So for a wax and interior clean you could probably easily
double the labor.


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:PeEZe.402587$xm3.345796@attbi_s21...
Another opinion, please:

What would you pay to have your plane "detailed"?

What, in your opinion, should be part of the "detailing"?

Thanks!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:PeEZe.402587$xm3.345796@attbi_s21...
Another opinion, please:

What would you pay to have your plane "detailed"?

What, in your opinion, should be part of the "detailing"?

Scrubbing every nook and cranny of the bottomside, and removing all remnants
of oil, exhaust, and other gook for one! LoL!
--
Jim in NC

Same here. That's part of what I love about owning and a great reason just
to go to the airport. I wouldn't mind if someone else washed it, but I'd
want to wax it myself. There's a certain hesitation to turning some one
else loose with all the tools to scratch the living H out of your paint and
windows.

And to have someone detail our Aztec, it would probably cost more than a
couple tanks of fuel.
Jim

wrote in message
...
"Jay Honeck" wrote:
What would you pay to have your plane "detailed"?

Depends what it included.
I love doing the detailing myself ... for me, that's part of the fun of
owning the airplane. Some days the weather looks iffy or it's crowded up
there or ya just don't feel 100% for flying, but it's still fun going to
the airport to clean/polish/fix.

What, in your opinion, should be part of the "detailing"?

If I were going to have it done, I would think it would include washing,
waxing, vacuuming, upholstery cleaning/conditioning (if necessary), and
cleaning the panel, switches, knobs, etc. That's what *I* do when I set
out to give the airplane a thorough once over.

What do you do? or do you pay someone to do it?

Mike W. wrote:

I know a group at our local airport that charges $50 to wash a 150, $75 for
a 172/182, $100 for a twin etc. That's top to bottom, de-bugged, de-greased,
clean glass. So for a wax and interior clean you could probably easily
double the labor.

I've seen an A&P with professional cleaning equipment wash a plane the size of a
172 in about an hour. Since the shop rate was $60/hr, $75 would not be
unreasonable at all. Waxing takes *much* longer, so I would expect probably four
times the cost if you added on a wax and interior cleaning.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

What, in your opinion, should be part of the "detailing"?

Scrubbing every nook and cranny of the bottomside, and removing all
remnants
of oil, exhaust, and other gook for one! LoL!

Well, that's exactly what my son does as a little business on the side.
He's been too busy to pursue it much recently, but when he's advertised he's
found a ready market of guys who absolutely don't want to clean the bottom
of their planes -- especially low-wing pilots -- and are willing to pay to
get out of having to do it!

I'm just trying to think of something else to add to a "getaway weekend
package for pilots" -- or whatever the heck we call it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

I'm just trying to think of something else to add to a "getaway weekend
package for pilots" -- or whatever the heck we call it.

Check with the local Scout troops. The EAA chapter over at Sky Manor has an
arrangement that allows the scouts to earn money by washing planes. Perhaps you
could arrange something similar. Find someone with a typically dirty aircraft
and offer them the amount that Mike W. listed in his post. Let 'em do that one
for that amount and see if they want to do more.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

"Jay Honeck" wrote

Well, that's exactly what my son does as a little business on the side.
He's been too busy to pursue it much recently, but when he's advertised
he's
found a ready market of guys who absolutely don't want to clean the bottom
of their planes -- especially low-wing pilots -- and are willing to pay to
get out of having to do it!

I'm just trying to think of something else to add to a "getaway weekend
package for pilots" -- or whatever the heck we call it.

That sounds like a good thing to have as an option for any of your weekends
that don't involve using their planes. Perhaps you could take them for a
guided tour through your city's new "rain forest" while they are getting
their plane detailed? smirk
--
Jim in NC

that don't involve using their planes. Perhaps you could take them for a
guided tour through your city's new "rain forest" while they are getting
their plane detailed? smirk

We are all hopeful that this embarrassment will be cancelled due to Katrina,
or Iraq, or *any* other good reason.

I can't believe Congress is appropriating $50 million (and that's just the
start!) to build a friggin' RAIN FOREST -- in Iowa!

Worse yet, I can't believe a voted for the idiot that is spear-heading the
effort.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"