Preparing glider for storage

Hi all,

I am about to head off overseas for a 3yr assignment. I will be
leaving my LS6 in its trailer (fibreglass Komet). Are there any ideas
on specific prepapration I could do to limit deterioration? I would
like to give her a coat of wax before putting her away. Maybe a
sheet of plastic over the hull in case the trailer leaks? Although
this could trap condensation and make it worse. It's generally pretty
dry here. Mouse poison?

Thanks, Ben

On Sep 25, 8:00*pm, Ben C wrote:
Hi all,

I am about to head off overseas for a 3yr assignment. *I will be
leaving my LS6 in its trailer (fibreglass Komet). *Are there any ideas
on specific prepapration I could do to limit deterioration? *I would
like to give her a coat of wax before putting her away. * Maybe a
sheet of plastic over the hull in case the trailer leaks? *Although
this could trap condensation and make it worse. *It's generally pretty
dry here. *Mouse poison?

Thanks, Ben

Where are you located? I have a dehumidifier in my trailer in the
winter to keep the corrosion down.

9B

The glider is in the Hunter Valley in Australia, a few hours north of Sydney. We have had a few wet winters but generally a short period of heavy rain followed by dry spells and not a lot of humidity. Temps -2 - 20 deg C in winter, 15 - 40 deg C in summer.

Regards, Ben

For three years, it might be worth taking your glider with you! This
may not apply to Antarctica, Iraq, or a few other places.
Since you used the term fibreglass, perhaps it's not registered
Experimental, so easy to register elsewhere.

If you must leave your glider behind, coat the lift pins, spar
pins, L'Hotelliers, etc with a rust inhibitor like LPS-3 or Boeshield.
I've had decent luck using a modified "mole chaser" to keep out
rodents. Remove the device from it's original housing, mount it in a
project box with a voltage regulator on the incoming power. Use a 12V
glider battery and a solar panel to keep the thing running. Leave it
somewhere in the trailer that will resonate nicely.
Waxing is good. Don't forget the trailer.

Or you could lease it to the fellow a few threads ago...
Jim

On 9-26-2011 03:00, Ben C wrote:
Hi all,

I am about to head off overseas for a 3yr assignment. I will be
leaving my LS6 in its trailer (fibreglass Komet). Are there any ideas
on specific prepapration I could do to limit deterioration? I would
like to give her a coat of wax before putting her away. Maybe a
sheet of plastic over the hull in case the trailer leaks? Although
this could trap condensation and make it worse. It's generally pretty
dry here. Mouse poison?

Thanks, Ben

Yes, I would think rodents would be one of the primary concerns. They
crap and pee on everything and that stuff is very corrosive. If you
have any wiring, they will surely chew off all of the insulation. Seat
cushions would be the next in line. Would you have anyone that could
periodically put out more poison? They will finish the stuff off long
before the three years has passed. Poison is probably not a "cure all"
anyways. The damn things will go and bury themselves in the deepest
recesses of the ship and die. I think it would be far better to find a
trusted pilot friend to keep the ship active for the three years...

Some suggestions for glider storage.
Find and seal the cracks and holes in your trailer.
At night, put a bright light bulb inside your trailer. Close lids and
doors.
Roll underneath and mark anywhere you see light coming through the
trailer.
Seal everything, even the smallest openings. This also helps keep
road dust out of your trailer.
Remove the edible cushions and any accessible wiring if possible.
Don't leave any food crumbs or liquids in the cockpit -- ever!

Decon pellets is a brand of mouse poison found in the USA.
After they eat the little green pellets, mice get dehydrated and
hopefully go outside to find water and do not die inside your trailer.
An undisturbed box of Decon is a indication you do not have mice.
Scattered Decon pellets will indicate mice.

Store the trailer inside a building if you can. Might be worth the
extra expense.

In Texas, mice may attract snakes, so we try our best to sabotage the
food chain!
So far, no snakes inside . . . but we know they are out there.

Burt
Marfa Gliders Soaring Center, west Texas
USA

Three years is a long time to keep the glider idle in a trailer. You
should consider leasing it so that it gets aired out and exercised.

If you do decide to park it, don't put a plastic cover over the
trailer. I know someone who did that for 6 months and when the glider
came out of "storage" it was covered in mold. Now two years later you
can still see stains in the gel coat where the mold grew.