T

Trey767

Member
Hey guys, I got internet back now so I just wanted to read some good news on fellow builder progress. Sandy did a job on us up near in NJ, NY coastal area. I had 7 feet of water in the basement, 5ft in the den and garage.

My work shop was in the basement,with the empennage. The wing was in the den. Everything was lost. I guess I have to start all over. I don't know what the effect salt water will have on my completed items. I guess it can always be worse. I had builders insurance, just waiting to see what they do.

The family are all good, we should have heat on today, had to buy a new boiler and water heater. Like I said, it can be worse, did Sandy affect anyone as well

Trey
 
trey, you seem to have a good attitude on the whole matter. photo albums were the big loss of the 95 flood here in florida.
with sandy the water came within inches of entering the house on 4 high tides. whew. flood insurance is kind but i dont want to go there.
a yak went in the salt water here in stuart. he made a tub and submerged it in a solution that neutralized the salt. i would think the parts are salvageable after insurance claim. hmm. good luck. always cost less to buy. :)
 
I think your parts are salvageable Trey assuming no dents. I flew over your area recently lots of damage there. I couldn't even pull the trigger on my camera it was so sad to see it. Let me know if you need any help.
 
I bet the parts can be salvaged. I think the secret is to keep the parts immersed in the same water as much as possible, do not expose them to the atmosphere before giving them a fresh water rinse. If the water receaded and the parts have been exposed to air, I would rinse them ASAP.

Anyone know someone in the salvage (preferably aircraft) business to confirm this?
 
Like Scott said.

I would also disassemble any part, hinge, etc that you are able to and rinse.

Blue plastic, of course, take it off and rinse!

Sorry to hear about the project, but like you said it could have been much worse.
 
A local pilot here put his Harvard (T-6 for you US-types) into the ocean landing short one day with engine trouble. Water was only about 6 feet deep so he was able to both get down safely with little to no damage, and walk away from it. He had the wings removed, and the whole thing airlifted to his house, where he immersed it in his pool and soaked it in fresh water. I don't know for how long. That airplane still flies in airshows regularly.
 
Short term, saltwater is not a death sentence. I can't count how many times I've had to flush salt water out if an engine. In the case of aluminum assemblies, I would flush it good with fresh water, soak in fresh water to desolve crusted salt, flush again, soak and flush. Electronics are a different story.
 
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Saltwater

I maintained cessna floatplanes for years that saw some degree of salt every day. Wash with mild soap, rinse with tons of fresh water and treat with Corrosion X. If you have the ability to totally submerge parts in fresh water i would do that too. I've seen inflatable kiddie pools, rectangular 5'x8'x2' and cheap that would work or a pressure washer or car wash, use that carefully to rinse. I don't see any issue with corrosion.


Don B
Mooney Driver
RV-9
Rebuild in progress
 
I am no expert on this issue but my gut feeling is that if you can make a reasonable insurance claim, that may be better than wondering if you cleaned it properly.

I would not buy a plane that went through what yours did.
 
I agree with Ron.

The near-term value might be unaffected but as I see it, the long-term value and the resale value just dropped significantly.

Dave
 
Ron Lee said:
I am no expert on this issue but my gut feeling is that if you can make a reasonable insurance claim, that may be better than wondering if you cleaned it properly.

I would not buy a plane that went through what yours did.
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I have to agree with you on this one. I've not had any experience with an aircraft submerged, but I saw many vehicles (including all of our site trucks) go under salt water during Wilma. We cleaned, and rinsed, and cleaned, and rinsed so many times I can't count. The good news: they run. The bad news: Almost every week something new crops up that can be attributed to their immersion. I personally would never purchase an aircraft that had been submerged in the sea. Way too many nooks and cranny's that you can't be sure are cleaned of the salt. If your insurance will deal with you in good faith, well, that's why you bought it in the first place, right? To me, the peace of mind would be worth the extra build time. Just my .02 and worth far less than that...
 
Salvaging After Salt Immersion

The two cases I know of where the airplane was salvaged after salt water immersion were an amphibian that sunk in the Pacific, then stripped of equipment and re-sunk in Lake Washington for a full year before it was rebuilt. The second case was the Boeing 307 that had the misfortune of ditching in salt water after a complete rebuild. That airplane was bathed in naptha, but I am not sure of the procedure they used. It would be appropriate to contact the museum staff at the Museum of Flight in Seattle to see if they have some advice for you. An RV is a lot smaller and simpler than a Boeing 307, so their techniques might be manageable for you. All the best, as we know you have suffered a lot from Sandy.
 
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