I bet she flies again.
There are some pretty good anti-corrosion compounds available (ACF-50, Corrosion-X) that work well in penetrating seams and displace water. I've read reports where these even work on electronic components, e.g. radios, that have been immersed in water.
I saw one of these at the Warhawk Museum. HUGE plane. I was surprised at the scale of it. MIG in the same area looked about Guillow's sized in comparison.
When we lived on the beach on Siesta key, a guy just down the beach from us kept a nice little Luscomb in front of his house. He flew it occasionally and one day I noticed that he didn't have it in front of his house for quite a while and found out that he had taken it in for its annual and it was grounded. Corrosion and rust from the salt air had done it in.
When I was looking to buy my first airplane I avoided anything that had more than a couple yrs near the gulf and east coast. 5yrs on the gulf coast would cause more damage than 20yrs sitting outside in WA.
In the video the last two people in the water that he passes before 'landing' are surfers. You can see them catch a wave as soon as he goes by them.
As I remember, this airplane was on and off the beach for a period of about 2 1/2 years. The sun and salt air on the mid-state Gulf coast is brutal on everything.
I looked at one Mooney that had spent about 10yrs in Fl. There was corrosion around every inspection plate on the wing, and Mooney's used clad sht.
A lot of you probably know this but I thought that I would offer it anyway. Every time a clad aluminum sheet is trimmed or drilled the alloy is exposed no matter if it is clad on both sides. A deep scratch will do the same and I have spent a few hours with a supply of vaseline and a burnishing tool closing the opening by working the clad back over the wound. Universal head rivets can trap small amounts of contaminants under the head but a countersunk or flush rivet exposes a relatively large area of the alloy under the head and in the case of an unpainted surface operating in a salty environment, the corrosion never sleeps. Soon the material around the rivet head deteriorates , pillows, and fails and precipitates a blow out or other structural failures . Steel fasteners produce rust that insinuates the aluminum structure around it and destroys the connection.
I didn't remember that, if I knew it. The only thing that I could think of was the invasive action of the rust into the surrounding materials and the conjoining of steel into steel when two adjoining pieces are exposed to the environment. I have lived with fabric covered, wooden, and aluminum airplanes and all are vulnerable in their own ways to the environment that always tries to take them back to their origin.
Yes. The difference being neatly arranged and selected atoms vs a pile of random atoms randomly arranged.
Correct and no they do not. Seaplanes land in salt water everyday. PBY's, Clippers, and others did for yrs. They, like every other airplane, have seams in the skins. Seaplanes/floatplanes leak, constantly to some degree. Standard practice to pump out all water prior to TO. But yes, corrosion maintenance is an on-going task. This plane sitting in the water for a few hrs won't fall apart. More work replacing damaged components than worrying about the salt water bath.
We're not talking about water-borne aircraft that are designed and prepared for operating from the water's surface. We're referring to totally immersing an airframe that has little or no protective coatings internally or externally. We're not imp[lying that the TBM will "fall apart" from sitting in salt water for a few hours but it will eventually have hidden and unstoppable corrosion in every element of the structure and instruments. Well , what the heck did the Air Force know, anyway? They only operated aluminum airplane for 88 years.
Doubtful. What they don't clean directly during the rebuild they will treat with Lear Chemical Research Corporation or CorrosionX Aviation – Corrosion Technologies They will have likely already treated most of the airframe with one of these. Instruments and avionics can also be treated with these products, then thoroughly cleaned and re-built. There will not be "hidden and unstoppable corrosion in every element of the structure and instruments".
Aw, come on ! According to the experts, they can buff that out in the morning and squirt some stuff in it..