Go Back  PPRuNe Forums > Non-Airline Forums > Private Flying
Reload this Page >

Where is the water getting in?

Wikiposts
Search
Private Flying LAA/BMAA/BGA/BPA The sheer pleasure of flight.

Where is the water getting in?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 30th Nov 2014, 17:47
  #1 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Faversham
Posts: 283
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Question Where is the water getting in?

My buddy and I have different models of Cessna 172 parked side by side outside. Both have the best covers available, which cover cockpit completely. Only the very bottom of each door is exposed. Anywhere I can think of is covered, so I just can't work out how damp can get in. Today we both found our carpets wet. Any Cessna experts know how the rain is getting in?
Curlytips is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2014, 17:51
  #2 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: UK
Posts: 3,325
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Doesn't the 172 fuselage floor slope downhill (gently, but still downhill) from tailplane to cabin? Could rain be entering in the tailcone by the elevator, and running down inside the fuselage to the carpets?
Shaggy Sheep Driver is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2014, 18:19
  #3 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: The World
Posts: 1,271
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Are you certain it is rain dropping in? Does it change with pressure in the nose wheel damper? Is the cabin too tightly closed and this is water condensation?
ChickenHouse is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2014, 18:21
  #4 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Canada
Age: 63
Posts: 5,202
Received 133 Likes on 60 Posts
I have never seen a high wing Cessna that did not leak.......
Big Pistons Forever is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2014, 18:24
  #5 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Faversham
Posts: 283
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
That could figure because the carpet behind front seats is certainly damp. Guess I need to check under rear seat and luggage bay. Maybe it all drifts downhill. But if so, how do I seal / protect the aperture(s) at the back? (Without the expense of hangarage)?
Curlytips is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2014, 18:41
  #6 (permalink)  
JHO
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Differing
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Make a small wooden ramp, only a few inches high to biased the fall the other way. Could incorporate a chock as well, two birds one stone!
JHO is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2014, 22:01
  #7 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 631
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have never succeeded in stopping the leaks in my C 150M. I beat the problem by building a hangar, and that solved it. Good luck, I've given up!
9 lives is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2014, 22:18
  #8 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Moray,Scotland,U.K.
Posts: 1,777
Received 5 Likes on 5 Posts
Not a Cessna expert, but we had water get into a Jodel DR1050 parked tail downslope, with cover over cockpit. We found water in the heater air hose - it had come in the intake, and flooded over into the cabin. Into wind and air intake not covered/open?
Maoraigh1 is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2014, 22:59
  #9 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 162
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
When you put it outside after flying, and you had the cabin heater on, then the cabin was nice and warm. Warm air can contain much more moist than dry air. When you get out and leave it for the night, then everything cools down below dew point and all the water vapor stops being vapor... the rest is gravity.

At least that's how my car get's damp inside each morning...
Pirke is offline  
Old 1st Dec 2014, 01:51
  #10 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 1998
Location: Escapee from Ultima Thule
Posts: 4,273
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Are the drain holes at each fuselage frame clear? Have you left any vents open? You might have to remove the interior & use chalk dust to trace the H2O path.
Tinstaafl is offline  
Old 1st Dec 2014, 12:57
  #11 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Wales
Posts: 532
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You should be able to empty most of the water out by doing a vertical climb....
phiggsbroadband is offline  
Old 1st Dec 2014, 15:15
  #12 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Uk
Posts: 183
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A vertical climb in a 172 ?
150 Driver is offline  
Old 1st Dec 2014, 17:05
  #13 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 1,112
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
A vertical climb in a 172 ?
Yes.

That, together with the tail first, vertical descent that will immediately follow, will, at least temporarily, push damp carpets a very long way down your priority list!

This is of course, best performed close to the ground, where the resulting high speed impact/fire will provide an immediate, and permanent solution.

Ps. H+S Notice: This post is for entertainment purposes only, and not intended to seriously suggest a practical cure for damp carpets.

PPs. Sorry this doesn't help, but I was just reading Part. FCL and I needed a lift.
Mach Jump is offline  
Old 2nd Dec 2014, 12:25
  #14 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: U.K
Posts: 207
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
wing closeout panels where they wrap up around the top of the screen...worth a look
Germstone is offline  
Old 2nd Dec 2014, 12:53
  #15 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: north of barlu
Posts: 6,207
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Try sealing the INBD and FWD edges of the training edge to Fuselarge panels, there is a big hole under them for the Aleron cables to pass through.

This may reduce the problem but the only leak proof Cessna is the one parked in a hangar.

Last edited by A and C; 2nd Dec 2014 at 18:51. Reason: predictive text Grrrrrrr
A and C is offline  
Old 2nd Dec 2014, 16:38
  #16 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Toronto
Posts: 2,558
Received 38 Likes on 17 Posts
Us glider folks tape over the wing/fuselage junctions, mine spends nights in a trailer where water seems no get in by the door, but not on the glider. The parachute no longer stays there

As I faintly recall, high wing Cessnas generally have a metal strip covering the wing/fuselage junction. Good luck waterproofing that

The glider folks have access to various tapes that work well and possibly will not remove the paint when they come off. But how much room is there between the cover strip and the rivet line?
RatherBeFlying is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.