How to Clean a Fleet of Flight School Aircraft Using Jet Stream Aviation Products

THE EARLY DAYS OF JET STREAM MOBILE DETAILING

In the early 1980s, Jet Stream Mobile Detailing took care of multiple flight school fleets that consisted mainly of Cessna 152s up to Cessna 182s. Every week we were contracted to wet wash 12 aircraft in a row. Our week started on Monday morning at a flight school at Addison Airport in Addison, Texas, and we would work down the line of 12 airplanes washing, degreasing, and drying every one of them. When we were finished cleaning all of the aircraft, we would go back a vacuum each aircraft and clean all of the windows.

At the time, we were the only mobile aircraft detailing service in the entire DFW metroplex, so acquiring accounts like these were very easy to do. The flight schools needed our service desperately because neither the flight instructors nor the mechanics had any idea how to keep the aircraft clean. As you can imagine, flying all 12 of those aircraft during a Texas summer resulted in an overwhelming accumulation of bugs, dirt, and oil. We quickly learned that the proper products needed to keep all of those aircraft in pristine condition for their customers each week was extremely vital.

It was around that time that we found our chemical lab and chemist, and we told them exactly what type of neutral pH wet wash soap we needed to invent to make sure that we were not going to ruin the paint on all of the flight school planes we were maintaining. In the early 1980s, there were no products invented specifically for cleaning aircraft. However, Jet Stream's Safety Wash was invented during this time and the product greatly helped maintain the quality of the paint on all of the flight school aircraft.

About every 3 months, the flight school owner would have us buff and polish the paint for the entire fleet of aircraft because he was noticing how well the planes were maintained each week and knew he had an advantage on the other flight schools who always had bugged-up and dirty aircraft. We continued cleaning this fleet every Monday morning for many years and it turned into a very good money-making contract for us.

Jet Stream Aviation Products are so chemically advanced and safe that your detailing company will have a big advantage when taking care of flight schools wherever you are located. One good way to sustain contracts such as these is by offering them a free service of waxing/sealing the paint. The owner of the aircraft will be very appreciative, and the wax also benefits you as a detailer, making any future wet wash / dry wash jobs a bit easier!

There are many regulations at airports around the country that we are very well aware of. More than likely, you will have the aircraft you are cleaning pulled over to a wash rack to clean one at a time over an approved drain. Many times, you could have multiple aircraft in a hangar with approved drains, which will cut your wet wash time down. It was always much faster and more detailed for us to wet wash and degrease flight school aircraft rather than dry wash because of how dirty the planes would be after one week of flying. With the wet wash regulations and challenges that come along with that, dry washing has become a very popular option for maintaining any aircraft.

DRY WASHING AN AIRCRAFT

Dry washing is a great option for cleaning an aircraft that does not have heavy accumulations of oil or other soils. Even heavily soiled aircraft can be dry washed, but they will certainly require a bit more elbow grease! An aircraft that sits outside will accumulate dust rather quickly, and if too much dust settles on the aircraft, it ends up being safer to rinse the plane and simply perform a wet wash. However, using the dry wash products listed below every few days will prevent dirt or other contaminants from finding their way into the microscopic pores of the paint:

• Powerfoam Aircraft Dry Wash (foaming aerosol or liquid spray) - Powerfoam has been used in the aviation industry since the mid-1990s and is super helpful for removing bugs, oil, and grease from painted aircraft surfaces. We call it "degreaser in a can."
• Quick Turn Exterior Aircraft Spray and Wipe Quick Detailer - Quick Turn has been used since the mid-1990s and is a safe spray and wipe cleaner that is ideal for quickly removing light contaminants like dust, as well as removing light water spots leftover from rain or dew.
• Av-Shield Ceramic Aircraft Spray and Wipe Quick Detailer - Similar to Quick Turn, Av-Shield contains ceramic for added paint protection, high gloss, and easier future wipe-downs.
• Flyers Speed Wax - Flyers is a carnauba enriched product that is great for removing bugs, bird droppings, dust, and light surface paint stains. The carnauba wax provides short term paint protection and hydrophobic properties.

WET WASHING AN AIRCRAFT

For a flight school, wet washing is going to be a necessary procedure almost weekly. Depending on the flight schedule for a given aircraft, bugs, oil, and other contaminants may quickly build up to the point that a quick wipe-down is not reasonable. At this point, wet wash soaps, degreasers, and wash brushes will be needed to effectively clean the airplane. The wet wash products listed below will get the job done: 

• Safety Wash Neutral pH wet wash soap - Jet Stream's Safety Wash (and Ceramic Gold) wash soap is totally safe for all exterior aircraft surfaces and helps to produce a high gloss to painted surfaces after rinsing.
• Ultra Magnum Degreaser - Ultra Magnum is necessary for any aircraft where there are heavy accumulations of bugs, oil, hydraulic fluid, etc... Product works great when diluted into a pump spray bottle and allowed to dwell on surfaces. As long as the product stays wet and gets washed off, special surfactants in the degreaser will protect the paint from any potential harm.
• 12' Telescopic Wash Pole - Great for reaching all areas on any small aircraft. Reduces the need to use a ladder, which can be dangerous with wet feet!
• 14" Flagged Nylon Wash Brush - Safe for all aircraft, the flagged nylon wash brush will help loosen any contaminants on the surfaces of the aircraft that can then be rinsed away.

CONCLUSION

Ultimately, if you can secure a flight school to maintain the cleaning and detailing of their aircraft, the scheduling of your services will usually always come down to the flight schedule of the airplanes. If you are a new aircraft detailer, getting your foot in the door with a flight school is a great way to build a name for yourself and your services and can lead to your company growing into larger accounts and even detailing private jets in the future.