I sold my 182B to a friend about a year ago and he hasn't flown it much lately. I hate to see it rest so much. He also encourages me to fly it, knowing that its better for the plane.

It had a thorough annual inspection end of July and flew probably 10 hrs within the following month. However, it hasn't left the hangar since Sept 1, and I was the last one to fly it then. Fuel was left full less about 20 min. I would like to hear any advice on what the the preflight should entail before I takeoff in a plane that's been sitting for five months.....however, a plane that I know very well.

Do I just do a thorough normal preflight? Extra precautions? Should I sniff and taste the sump samples??

Thanks
Ross

What is a preflight? If I preflighted my agcat every time I had to leave the ground I would never takeoff. They just worry you about what could happen. Just do it!!! LOL

Hangered?
Birds nests and dead mice in pretty much anyplace they could get into.
If you find any, best be sure to sniff and taste them....

Five month old fuel, drain it out of the airplane and the carburetor, and get rid of it safely. Clean or replace the fuel filter if there is one. Check for things like mud-daubers in every single hole they can get in to. Check all the wiring you can see, including opening all the inspection covers and look for any evidence of rodent activity. Change the oil and filter (if it has one). Checks the tires for signs of dry rotting, if you see any check the tubes as well. Check that the annual is current.

What else am I forgetting guys?

Is the insurance coverage changed from non-movable storage to inflight coverage? Easy to forget.

Do a normal preflight, check the air in the tires, give the battery a good charge the day before and go fly it. Don't overthink it. Avgas doesn't spoil like auto and even it is auto, it won't varnish in five months. September wasn't that long ago. Have fun!

Jeredp wrote:Do a normal preflight, check the air in the tires, give the battery a good charge the day before and go fly it. Don't overthink it. Avgas doesn't spoil like auto and even it is auto, it won't varnish in five months. September wasn't that long ago. Have fun!

+1

Do a normal preflight, check the air in the tires, give the battery a good charge the day before and go fly it. Don't overthink it. Avgas doesn't spoil like auto and even it is auto, it won't varnish in five months. September wasn't that long ago. Have fun!

+2
My 170 sits for a few months a year when Im gone working. Outside in Alaska. I do a good walk around, look at all my usual stuffs, check battery charge, kick the tires and light the fire! Go burn that tank of gas and change the oil. Thats it for me.

If you are going to fly his airplane, make certain you're covered by insurance. Otherwise, look for nests of critters and go fly. Avgas is really stable.

MTV

Jeredp wrote:Do a normal preflight, check the air in the tires, give the battery a good charge the day before and go fly it. Don't overthink it. Avgas doesn't spoil like auto and even it is auto, it won't varnish in five months. September wasn't that long ago. Have fun!

+3. Check for bird / rodent nests inside the engine compartment, drain the sumps sveral times, otherwise do a regular (but thorough) pre-flight and go.

Just like everybody else above had said. Do a really good check and check anywhere the rodents can hide or chew on wires.

I too used to go months without flying. Kept my plane in the hangar, but still looked it over very well. A nice tight hangar like I have, helps.

Yours is not a serious situation. Just look it over good. I brought a Cardinal back after several years outside on the ramp at Wily Post. The donor/ owner got it given back to him after it being refused as a missionary plane to be shipped over to Africa. It was not cost effective for them for shipping and really not a suitable aircraft for the use intended and terms of his gift dictated it go to a service that a friend of his was in. It sat while he figured out what to do with charitable deduction already taken. Dead battery, flat tire, engine compartment and air filter blown full of red dust, no sign of rodent damage but an engine compartment bird nest and little spider cocoons inside pitot and water in the fuel system. I rocked the wings sloshed it around and drained the whole thing and did it again after partial refueling and letting sit overnight. The next day I kept it in the pattern for an hour. I needed my head examined for accepting that request. What a guy won't do for a free flying adventure when given a plane ticket and another man's gold card. It flew back to Aberdeen SD without a hiccup though.

Jeredp wrote:Do a normal preflight, check the air in the tires, give the battery a good charge the day before and go fly it. Don't overthink it. Avgas doesn't spoil like auto and even it is auto, it won't varnish in five months. September wasn't that long ago. Have fun!

mtv wrote:If you are going to fly his airplane, make certain you're covered by insurance. Otherwise, look for nests of critters and go fly. Avgas is really stable.

MTV

Thanks y'all. I agree with your recommendation and it makes me feel better to hear others echo it.
I am actually listed on the policy. We knew that I would be flying it periodically.

On the battery charging....use a regular auto 12V charger or is a different "aviation" (read more expensive) battery charger required for plane batteries? It is a 12V system.
Use 2amp trickle charge or 10 amp or ??

RWM wrote:

Jeredp wrote:Do a normal preflight, check the air in the tires, give the battery a good charge the day before and go fly it. Don't overthink it. Avgas doesn't spoil like auto and even it is auto, it won't varnish in five months. September wasn't that long ago. Have fun!

mtv wrote:If you are going to fly his airplane, make certain you're covered by insurance. Otherwise, look for nests of critters and go fly. Avgas is really stable.

MTV

Thanks y'all. I agree with your recommendation and it makes me feel better to hear others echo it.
I am actually listed on the policy. We knew that I would be flying it periodically.

On the battery charging....use a regular auto 12V charger or is a different "aviation" (read more expensive) battery charger required for plane batteries? It is a 12V system.
Use 2amp trickle charge or 10 amp or ??

Here a links to Gill and Concorde Batteries maintenance and charging recomendations. My recomendation is put it on a 2 amp trickle the day before. If you forget to do that and you're ready to go, put the 10 amp on for a short time like an hour or two at most. It's very easy to overcharge and damage batteries with high amp short durration charges. Slow charge is ideal. If it's a Concorde RG/XC, be sure to read about charging precautions as these batteries are easily damaged. Also do yourself a favor and pull the battery out of the airplane and put in on a bench to charge it, this allows you to check water levels if it's not sealed and prevents acid from splashing out of the cells and onto the surrounding structure(you need to pull the caps of of non-sealed batteries in order for them to vent properly while charging). Hope this helps.

http://www.gillbatteries.com/maintenance.aspx
http://www.concordebattery.com/main_air_tech.php

I keep my odyssey on one of those Battery Tenders during the winter. It's a smart trickle charger. I also use one on my rock crawler and classic car as they only get started every few weeks. They have small leads you can attach with a rubber cap so you dont have to pull the cowl or a panel to plug it in. You can get them at Autozone/Kragens fairly cheap. I see Aircraft Spruce sells them too.

Assuming there's nothing wrong with the battery (like having frozen due to being discharged during freezing weather), a 2 amp trickle charger will bring it to full charge in a day. If it's been damaged, however, nothing will fix it.

Cary

Got it. Thanks for the help guys.