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wrongway john

Well Known Member
How much of a concern is this to older RV?s? I'm wanting to buy a used 4 while I take my time on building mine.

Let?s take two airplanes, for example, that were built in the early nineties. Both had the insides primered. Both have been hangared all of their lives. Both have been located well inland, away from the ocean. But one has been located in an area that receives 50+ inches annually. The other is out west and receives less than 16 of rain annually. Would it be noticeable which one was located in the wetter climate? My concern here is obviously corrosion, in particularly hidden corrosion.

I?ve found about a handful of planes I like, and kind of narrowed down my choices to two, and faced with this situation. I will probably be making a decision very soon, maybe as early as tomorrow on which direction to head. The one out east is better equipped for the same price, and I like the way the interior is done better. But due to the fact the other has been in a desert all of its life, I?m still leaning toward it.

Again, keep in mind both have been hangared all of their lives, and primered on the insides, and both about 20 year old planes. Am I making too much about the wetter climate? :confused:

John
 
Buy the one you like best

Yes you are making too much of the dry vs. wet climate. Most certified aircraft were never primered and there are thousands of 50 year old examples flying and in good shape.

Make an offer on the one that suits you best, inspect it thoroughly for corrosion, and finding no significant corrosion, buy it.

I think the original builder's knowledge and workmanship is a far more important issue to determine than the climate it was operated in. This too should be apparent during the pre buy inspection.
 
I hope you're right. Was thinking more would have an opinion on this. I'm going to get a pre-buy inspection. So, I should know and feel better about it after I hear what he says, assuming everything turns out okay.
 
Warning: I'm no expert

The airframes themselves should be pretty good with both primer and the alclad. That would not be a concern of mine. I used to own an Aircoupe and the corrosion issues were metalurgy (intra granular corrosion) not climate. I think the current metalurgy is sound so now you'd be looking for corrosion caused by mechanical/chemical issues.

The areas I would want to be aware of would be anywhere where there may be dissimilar metal contact and at the electrical connection/pins. There are sufficient differences between different airplanes and avionics connections and materials that I would be looking carefully there regarding quality of fasteners, electrical terminations and technique. Crimped or soldered?, gold or other metal? shrink tubing wire support and sealing?...

The issue isn't wet vs dry climate but rather number of connections and materials/technique.

Then again, I could be all wet!:D

Good luck!

Jeremy Constant
RV7A 110hrs
 
My thoughts

Give the airplane you want a good look at, I imagine it will be fine. I have been actively maintaining airframes for over 20 years, and have seen more than a few older airplanes that lived outside in a tropical ocean side enviroments. Look for failed paint on steel parts, interior grounds, and arround nutplates. There is going to be some corrosion somewhere. Just make sure the paint is sound, and there is no dust on dirt piled up in the belly.
Good luck!
 
I am working on an rv that is only 4 years old and lived on the west coast. It is amazing how much more aged the components are than aircraft of that age in a dry climate. I never would have thought. The tie downs are totally rusted, the cad plated hardware (bolts and ap control brackets) are really all oxidized to some degree. The lower exhaust nuts are rusted so bad they need replacing ASAP. The airframe looks fine so far but it is nothing like aircraft in the midde part of the country. I think an important item is if it is in a wet part of the country it should be in an insulated hanger. I think the high temp fluctuations along with the moist air really condenses on everything if the plane is in a hanger that is just a shell. All the rv's I have looked at around here look just like new on the inside even after many years.
 
Glad others are weighing in. I?d like to think that these older RV?s are not going to have any corrosion that?s been in the wetter climates most of their lives, but the more I research this, the more I feel like it is wishful thinking. The best it seems like one can hope for, is that the corrosion isn't anything major for now. Having someone store their RV?s in an insulated hangar with some kind of dehumidifier might be the exception to the rule, but so many hangars are not even insulated, and rarely do they have dehumidifiers or some kind of climate control.

Here?s a few good cites that are worth reading that deal with corrosion. The first one is a brief read, but tells us that climate is the major contributing factor to aircraft corrosion. http://www.aviation-safety-bureau.com/aircraft-corrosion.html

At the end of that article it links to this FAA circular that has a great deal of insight into corrosion, what to look for, how to prevent it that others may find of interest.
 
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