Many people are still out of work, and the other day when I was in Wichita, KS, I noticed that the general aviation manufacturing capital of the world was still hurting pretty bad. When discussing this with a local at a Starbucks there, he mentioned that he had been laid off for quite some time. It seems that President Obama made some disparaging comments about CEOs flying corporate jets and literally overnight sales of used corporate jet planes plunged even more than before, and orders for corporate jets they stopped as if they hit a brick wall.

We started talking, mostly about hangars, planes and flight stories. He said that he would like to start an aviation business but he did not know what to do. Since he had previously built a pretty good aircraft cleaning business, he asked; “How long does it take to wash a small Cessna or similar aircraft?”

Good question and my answer was this. For exterior washing, one person with a 5 hp pressure washer can clean, debug, wipe down the windshield and degrease the underside of a C-152 in about 15-20 minutes if washed weekly. A Corval is a few minutes faster since it’s a low wing, but not much faster because it’s a four-seater.

For interiors, well, it does matter if it’s a privately owned or chartered aircraft. Flight school, club and FBO aircraft interiors take longer due to the number of flights and people who do not own the aircraft that fly them. Private owners are pretty quick as you can use a portable speed vac, clean the dash, detail the instrument panel, and pump-spray the plastic, leather, and vinyl doors and interior.

In fact I’d say 5 minutes, a little longer than a car due to the tight spaces and difficulty getting around inside. Add an extra 5 minutes for flight school planes, they really get messy, especially when food gets between the seat guides and such.

The big money in aircraft cleaning really is the corporate jet market, but until things drastically improve, I mentioned I’d have a tough time. But you could still do well detailing light aircraft, single engine jobs, as not all aircraft owners were in for a tough time, it really depends on where your money is coming from and what type of business they are in. “Airplane washing is hard work,” I told him, “make no mistake about it.” If you are considering starting an aircraft cleaning service, you might want to consider all of these.