planes on the ground: this is how it is stored

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When planes are grounded for whatever reason, This is the preservation and storage process that must be followed to keep it in top condition. Photo author unknown.

Post written by: Captain Rudolph Star
FAA Commercial Pilot
Twitter: @rodo_estrella

Now that after the global crisis of COVID-19 the aircraft fleets of most of the world's airlines are grounded, thousands of planes parked waiting for the solution of this serious health problem to be able to fly again and recover the losses.

Nevertheless, for airlines and aircraft operators in general it is not as easy as closing their doors and returning when everything is over, Aircraft, even if they are not in service, have to be maintained and adequate for their storage process until they return to service., that's what we'll talk about today.

Since everything in aviation has a standard, manufacturers issue their recommendations for the storage of aircraft that are not serving. They usually divide it into:

• parking
• docking
• Storage
• return to service

The manufacturer Airbus for instance, divides its recommendations depending on the type and duration of storage: up to a month, more than a month, of up to one year or more than one year and whether the conditioning of the aircraft will be whether it will be stored in flight conditions or not.

The priority will always be the safety and physical integrity of the aircraft, minimizing the possibility of damage by outside agents on the ground..

If possible, the aircraft should be parked with the nose against the direction of the wind if it is outdoors and its main landing gear secured with double shoes., behind and in front of each wheel:

For berthing, some aircraft have fixed attachments on the wings or tail where the aircraft can be anchored with ropes or chains to fixed points on the ground, to avoid sudden movements of the aircraft in the event of external conditions of strong winds., you usually see this on small aircraft or helicopters.

Control surfaces sometimes have fixed locks that engage their moving parts to prevent equally sudden movements caused by wind.:

The flight controls also in many cases tend to be insured with insurance in the cabin to prevent their movement:

Likewise, on the outside, air intakes are covered engines, static sockets and pitot tubes that are usually exposed to the open air but must be protected from dirt, foreign objects and improper handling:

In this way, if the aircraft is stored outdoors, it is protected from the elements., and its most delicate parts are likewise protected from external agents.

If the storage is going to be for a very long period of time, it is probable that motors are disassembled and stored separately in controlled environments after a process of draining liquids and after subjecting them to a process of protection with resins and protective waxes. There are other cases where airlines use aircraft with leased engines and the engines are returned to the owners..

Some parts of the plane will also be protected and secured indefinitely., special heat-repellent films are used for windshields and windows, electrical systems must be disabled, hydraulics, cover and protect tires and all openings in the aircraft, as well as the fuel tanks are drained and filled with a preservative oil.

Even so, in this state of permanent storage, it is sometimes necessary to open the doors to recirculate air and tow the aircraft from time to time for a short stretch to avoid settling on only one part of the tires..

For its commissioning again, some manufacturers suggest an inspection of 50 hours, where the general condition of the plane is checked, review of operation or malfunction of switches, batteries, flight controls, avionics systems, which are tested for correct operation and also in this inspection minor defects are corrected for putting back into service.

as we saw before, the parts that are protected are covered with colorful elements in red marked with the phrase “Remove before flight”.

These elements are usually in addition to showy, quite bulky and flap loudly in the wind, all in order to alert the operators that a part of the aircraft is with its protection element and that said protection must be removed before each flight, Let's remember that in the past accidents have happened where vital parts that were protected and these securities were not removed produced the catastrophe.

Since a commercial aircraft is essentially a money-making machine, if it should be stored, the main objective is to do it in such a way that when it is required again for the service, This can be enabled in the shortest possible time, in the most economical way and that it operates again in optimal conditions.

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