Question?

[Victor Gennaro]

I no longer own a Maule. Probably not my best choice. I now have a Bonanza. I had an unfortunate situation where the owner of the hangar next to mine elected to install a new concrete floor in his hangar and then grind and polish it. The next week when I went to use my plane is discovered that the entire hangar and airplane were covered with a thick coat of concrete dust. He never notified me or the other three hangar owners that were similarly coated. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this. Is the cement dust corrosive, will it cause damage to my plane. What is the next step? Any Advice?

[andy]

Most of the dust is probably sand. However, lime (which is caustic) can also be in the dust and sometimes asbestos was added to older concrete. As long as it doesn't get into the engine air filter or inside the cabin, it shouldn't cause problems. It would be a good idea to get rid of it as soon as possible though and not to breathe it. You might want to clean out your engine air filter before running the engine. It might also be a good idea to have a professional take samples to see if there is any asbestos. If so, you'll want to have it professionally removed.

[Tomkatz]

Victor,

I have owned a concrete supply and restoration company for 20 years. Community Concrete, Baltimore, MD

The quick easy: Very unlikely there is asbestos, but very, very, very slight chance. Most people would not have gone through the additional expense back in the day for a hanger slab.

What you are dealing with is very abrasive.

First pull the plane out of the hanger, then blow the aircraft off with compressed air. Blow the complete hanger out. Keep the aircraft up wind while doing so.

Float off as much or all the remaining dust on the aircraft with soapy soapy water. DO NOT RUB! Treat the wind screens with soapy water, again DO NOT RUB!. The soapy water will act like a lubricant. Soap, rinse, soap rinse and repeat as much as possible. You are basically dealing with a very course rubbing compound.

After all is thought to be gone, give the acrft a wash. Buy a box of clean rags and replace them with new clean rags throughout the washing.

You should be fine. Its the scratching that is of most concern.

Do not start up the aircraft until all is blown out (inside and out). You don't want to draw air into the engine and instrument filters. I would change them within an hour or two after flight. If you change them too soon you will just contaminate the new filters.

I hope this helps.

Take care all,
Tom

P.S. Andy's posts are always great and I love reading what he has for us, I just thought I could help in addition to what Andy has contributed.

[Victor Gennaro]

Thanks for the advice, I did thoroughly was the plane and my mechanic cleaned all of the fittings and lubricated the entire plane. My big concern is is there a long term problem that can occur because of the corrosive nature of lime in the cement to the metal or the paint.

[ajak]

My advice is to thoroughly document the effect on your plane, if it's not too late already. I experienced a similar event a while back where a train locomotive operating close to the marina in which my boat is moored emitted an unusually heavy amount of soot. The company recognized their error, and offered to pay $1500 plus provide cleaning materials, or provide professional cleaning services, contingent on signing a release of liability for the event.

I'm not a litigious kind of guy, but I do believe in personal responsibility. I'm personally very sensitive about creating any kind of impact to my neighbors' property.