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Importance of Cleaning During Aircraft Maintenance Your propeller deserves a little TLC. This is never truer than in the heart of winter. That is why it is always wise to invest a little time and attention and a whole lot of love to your propeller before you store your aircraft for the winter. A little devotion today can help your propeller perform exceptionally well once spring rolls around. These are just a few small things you can do that can make a massive difference for propeller performance in the spring. Look for Propeller Damage Propeller damage can come in many forms. To identify this damage, don’t rely on your eyes alone. Use your hands. Rub them along the propeller blades in search of any of the following: If your propeller is a composite propeller, use the tap test to check for delamination or debonding of the blades. Clean the Propellers Bugs, dirt, dust, and other pollutants can do severe damage to propeller paint, making it more vulnerable to corrosion. Clean the blades thoroughly before storing with a good wash, wax, and detail. Also, consider storing your plane with protective covers over the blades to prevent additional damage from occurring while in storage. Repair Immediately If you notice signs of damage during your inspection, now is the perfect time to conduct repairs. You don’t want to wait until the next flying season where you could forget, or when everyone else is having repairs that could cut into your flying time. Additionally, allowing the damage to go unrepaired over the winter could result in larger, more complex, and costlier repairs. Check Overhaul Limits Check your service limits. You’re particularly interested in how close to overhaul limits (TBO or time between overhauls) you are in either flight time or calendar time. As with many things, when you’re storing your craft and not flying the friendly skies, the winter months are the perfect time to consider an overhaul, especially if you are close to the limit. Consider an Upgrade If your plane is on the ground for a few months, it is the perfect time to consider upgrades. Not just for propellers but for a wide range of upgrades. Blue Line Maintenance can help you with all your routine maintenance needs, certification requirements, and avionics upgrades. Blue Line Technical Aircraft Maintenance Blue Line understands how important your craft is to you. We offer an 84,000 square foot state-of-the-art aviation complex at JNX that is equipped with all the tools you need for peace of mind, including a hangar, an observation area, and a rooftop restaurant. Additionally, our team of experts is available for regular maintenance, aircraft emergencies, inspections, upgrades, and more. Contact us today to learn more about the services we provide and how we can help you give your propellers the TLC they require and so much more.

AIRCRAFT CLEANING – THE DO’S & DON’T’S Did someone say cleaning an aeroplane, by hand!? There’s a common misconception in the industry that ‘car cleaning’ products are, as the title suggests, just for cars. The truth of the matter is you can practically use these products (more-so the pH Neutral ones) on a variety of subjects… cars, bikes, motorhomes to name a few. Not forgetting the fact that they’re perfect for cleaning around the house, although we wouldn’t recommend Snow Foaming! However, there’s one subject rarely spoken about and that’s cleaning on aircrafts… We recently had the opportunity to attend a local airstrip for a Fly-in BBQ event. Sounds pretty cool, right? No landing fees, reasonably priced food & drink, not forgetting the views of the South Downs. On a mission, the team set about educating owners of the event on the importance of keeping their aircraft clean & the products available to do so – easily. However, more importantly than all, the significance of sticking to safe, pH Neutral products. You’ll hear many pilots say it: “post-flight cleaning is vital”! The idea behind it is to improve safety , prevent corrosion and protect your equipment . Allowing dirt and other pollutants to accumulate is asking for trouble on all three of these points. Unlike most cars, aircraft have very thin layers of paint if they’re lucky, and this isn’t to the quality you might expect; after all, they are not designed for winter grime, gathering salt & mud with the occasional bit of road rash. The most common enemy for an aircraft is actually bugs! This said, most will agree that aircraft cleaning isn’t typically at the forefront of your mind as a pilot, so that’s why we’ve taken steps to educate owners on how to find the perfect balance between efficiency & safety. The aircraft attending provided a perfect example of the varying types of materials and finishes found on light aircraft. With finishes found from bare aluminium to polyfibre, many products from the ValetPRO range are perfect for use on surfaces of the aircraft. Among them were a great mix of Cessna, Eurofox, Bristell and various helicopters, all flying in from around the UK! Not having much room for luggage, we narrowed the cleaning recommendation down to a bucket size, covering the needs for most.

Aircraft cleaning: How does that work? Have a look at the picture here: This Boeing 777 landed at Schiphol after a long trip and the 350 passengers have just disembarked. What chaos! A ten-hour flight shouldn’t be underestimated. Let’s get the plane ready for the next flight as quickly as possible. No problem. KLM has specialised cleaning teams at the ready.   The teams use KLM’s planning system and know exactly when each aircraft arrives at Schiphol. Once it has landed, a van carrying a team goes straight to work. The van also transports the materials they will need to do their cleaning:   Finding test blocks during the security search The cleaning team does the cleaning, but also they do something extremely important: the security search. They examine every nook and cranny of the aircraft. Colleagues hide test blocks here and there: in seat pouches, under cushions, behind backrests, and so on. The cleaners find everything so we know that the plane has been checked properly.  All at once Back to the cleaning. During the bus ride to the aircraft, the person in charge tells everyone what they are going to do. As soon as the passengers have disembarked, the team members go into action. And by no small measure! Like a well-oiled machine, everyone takes their place and gets to work. A few employees collect blankets and pillows. These will soon be transported to the launderette in large carts. Other people, armed with disinfectant and cleaning cloths, clean the toilets shiny again. The galleys get a going over. They clean the chairs and tables well. Someone is at work with a vacuum cleaner. The amount of personal property found during cleaning is impressive, but generally no problem. The Lost and Found department does all it can to find the rightful owner.  Faster than at home  The entire cleaning process is similar to that at home. I use the same cleaning materials and I often find some lost belongings. Except that things don’t go as efficiently at home. While I can spend a whole day on it, a great big Boeing is all spic and span in just under an hour. And small planes go even faster. “This Boeing 777 is ready for the next group of passengers.” Good to know: Depending on the type of aircraft, after 1,000 to 1,200 flight hours, every aircraft undergoes maintenance in the hangar. The maintenance includes a major cleaning operation. We call that a deep clean. You could compare it to spring cleaning in your home: everything gets a thorough cleaning.  Did you know? The exterior of our aircraft is also thoroughly cleaned, read here why!