Do clean airplanes go faster?

Rebel Lord

Rebel Lord

Line Up and Wait
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Rebel Lord
When I get my plane I'm probably going to baby it, but does keeping somthing like a 172 or pa-28 super clean and waxed actually help performance much?
 
If that were true you would see a lot less grungy planes on the ramp. Look how much money people put into speed mods that only give them a couple of knots. If it only took a bucket of water and some soap every plane out there would look brand new LOL
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
If that were true you would see a lot less grungy planes on the ramp. Look how much money people put into speed mods that only give them a couple of knots. If it only took a bucket of water and some soap every plane out there would look brand new LOL
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What if your wings looked like this after some bug smashing TnG in Texas
 

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You might gain a hair or two.
 
Rebel Lord said:
does keeping somthing like a 172 or pa-28 super clean and waxed actually help performance much?
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Maybe some, but nothing earth shattering. With that said, I still love a clean waxed plane. I wipe my airplane down after each flight with BlackFire waterless wash to clean the bugs off. The polimers really keep the wax job in great shape and my airplane is never dirty. It only takes a few minutes. I also use it on my cars too.

http://www.autogeek.net/waterless-car-wash-kit1.html
 

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It's noticeable on a 200kt airplane, much less so on a 100kt airplane.


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They do go faster... :D

We baby our Mooney and clean her after every flight during summer - or as soon as the bug season starts. It's just nicer to come back to a clean plane the next time we go flying. You may also see upcoming issues early.
 
MickYoumans said:
Maybe some, but nothing earth shattering. With that said, I still love a clean waxed plane. I wipe my airplane down after each flight with BlackFire waterless wash to clean the bugs off. The polimers really keep the wax job in great shape and my airplane is never dirty. It only takes a few minutes. I also use it on my cars too.

http://www.autogeek.net/waterless-car-wash-kit1.html
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Wow! What a beauty Mick!
 
Regardless of whether or not it actually does go faster, a clean plane feels faster. And most of the time that's all that matters. :)

That said, a proper rigging is probably the best boost for your buck.
 
We used to tell people the reason we spent so much time waxing the fire engine was to cut down on air resistance.
 
I remember an article about this very question...maybe EAA, where they cleaned/waxed a mooney...it made a slight improvement (I seem to remember something like 3-4 knots) but nothing earth shattering.
 
Hell, Mooney owners take out the tie down rings when flying to go a sixteenth of a knot faster


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gsengle said:
Hell, Mooney owners take out the tie down rings when flying to go a sixteenth of a knot faster


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I bet insurance companies love this speed mod when hurricane season starts :)
 
asicer said:
Regardless of whether or not it actually does go faster, a clean plane feels faster.
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I'm sure it helps a little, but as others have said... 200 kts vs 100 kts will have a more noticeable difference. As crazy as it sounds I always feel like my car drives better with a full tank of gas!

In the sailing racing world people get obsessive about the cleanliness of their boats. Owners would hire divers to scrub the bottom before every race, and would take down any "windage" on the top deck as much as possible. Does it help? Sure maybe a little, but a sloppy pilot, poorly rigged plane, or poorly sailed boat will not suddenly make things go faster

CO used to talk about their "clean" planes and how it helped keep the costs down through fuel efficiency, as recently as 2015 it was still part of UA's key initiatives, snapshot and link below

http://crreport.united.com/environment/fuel-efficiency

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Mooneys used to have a retractable step... too much trouble.


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My crew chief was constantly vacuuming the inside of my plane, and it NEVER went a single klick faster.
Waste of time if you ask me.

Seriously, the higher performance the bird is, the more it benefits from keeping the skin clean, polished and slick.
 
MickYoumans said:
Maybe some, but nothing earth shattering. With that said, I still love a clean waxed plane. I wipe my airplane down after each flight with BlackFire waterless wash to clean the bugs off. The polimers really keep the wax job in great shape and my airplane is never dirty. It only takes a few minutes. I also use it on my cars too.

http://www.autogeek.net/waterless-car-wash-kit1.html
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Try this stuff. Works great, and it's cheap.
https://www.carpro-us.com/quick-detail-sprays/ultima-waterless-wash-plus-concentrate-16-oz/
 
Does it matter? The speed you pick up will equal about 1/100 of the hours you spend slowly eroding the paint with soap and water. I don't wash my car, either; heck, that's why they use automotive paint on outdoor sculpture - the paint is there to protect the vehicle. Am I supposed to add wax, etc., to protect the protectant, ad infinitum?

If the bug remains are grevious, I will take a wet rag to 'em, and also clean the windscreen. Otherwise, no. . .
 
Tantalum said:
Wonder how much weight it would add to make them retractable, or fold down.. some newer boats and yachts do that

View attachment 53073
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LOL.
That's the sort of "designer hardware" you find on boats made for people that really don't like sailing...
 
Mick, That's a seriously detailed plane you have there...:yes: What's your secret??? :happydance:
 
They look faster, and didn't Bill Lear say something like if it looks fast it'll fly fast?
 
GRG55 said:
boats made for people that really don't like sailing
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Amazing how many boats (and for that matter planes) just sit all year long never getting used...
 
James331 said:
They look faster, and didn't Bill Lear say something like if it looks fast it'll fly fast?
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I think Boeing also had a "looks about right" rule as well
 
I read in a P-51 history book that the crew chiefs polished the planes with Fuller's earth to gain a little extra speed. The picture was of a P-51 with dark camouflage, but shiny, wings.

2 minutes of Google did not turn up a reference...
 
While you are washing it, you could get a ball peen hammer and put dimples on the wings. It works for golf balls.
 
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