Greetings to everyone from Houston/Galveston. Our Scout was upcountry and made it through Ike without a problem. Not so fortunate was our friend and his Bonanza. Its a relatively low time Bonanza that was in a tidal surge of perhaps 7 feet for several hours. Uninsured.

Anyone have any thoughts on whether it could be salvaged or has any value at all. The owner is actually not a pilot. It belonged to his Dad (the Doctor) who passed away several months ago so there was no one to fly it out before the storm. It it just junk or could it fly again?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Tom

Hosing every last inch of it down with fresh water ASAP is the key. Right down to the circuit boards in the avionics and the inside of the gas tanks.

Its not the salt water that does the damage - its the corrosion that starts when the oxygen shows up again...

Don't know if there's any feasible way to do this but how about a dunk-tank filled with fresh water? It's like a floatplane used in saltwater- you can spray all you want with a hose, but IMHO you're never gonna get all the salt residue.

Eric

Was it insured? If so, it will likely be "totalled" and offered up for
salvage / auction.

Only safe way to make it fly again is to completely dis-assemble it
and apply corrosion control methods ASAP.

I do know of a CCF Harvard IV that was ditched in saltwater years and
years ago, but it was recovered quickly, dis-assembled and the large
parts were submerged in a (private, fresh water) swimming pool
to arrest the corrosion. It is still flying today....

Thanks for the ideas. I don't think there is any water pressure on the island as of yet. The storm came through last Friday. How soon would the complete washdown need to be done to be effective and save the aircraft?

Here is a link to an AOPA article regarding the storm.
http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/arti ... eston.html

The Bonanza shown in the picture is not the one in question here.

Although things are returning to normal on the mainland, it will be years for Galveston to rebuild. Its really a mess down there.

Tom

When a floatplane sinks in saltwater, the first thing people do is take it to a fresh water lake and submerge it for a day or so to flush it out completely. About the only way to do it. (drain the oil and fuel first to make the EPA/DNR not quite as unhappy)

Brad

(it might be too late but still worth a try)

Amid the chaos of cleanup, somehow find a way to slip it off the back off the trailer into the local YMCA's pool.

I owned a C172 a few years ago that a fellow wrecked on a beach and the tide covered with saltwater. There was substantial damage from the wreck.

The aircraft was slung out via helicopter and washed out completely within a couple of days with a high pressure washer after all panels, interior, avionics, etc. were removed. Then it was treated with ACF-50 inside out.

One wing was totally rebuilt, and there were several skins replaced on the fuselage, control and tail surfaces.

I purchased it several years after the damage was done. The aircraft was repaired and flying, but not repainted so we got it for a song. We took it to a paint shop in Canada that allowed my dad and I to do most of the "grunt work" type of paint prep stuff. That allowed us to really look it over. There was very minor surface corrosion on the flaps and ailerons that was treated and refinished. There was no other sign of salt and it turned out to be a really nice airplane.

gb

I have to side with BRD. "Resinking" in fresh water for a few days is a time tested technique that works. Call the folks at Kenmore Air in Washington state, they know the drill.