Recently I was scrubbing sooty exhaust residue and runway grime from the underside of Annie, our Commander 114B, when I realized I had drastically underestimated the time required for the job. Indeed, I had planned to clean the entire airplane that day, including the interior, but after a few hours of slow progress it became clear that this task would be measured in days.
I also knew that I had only myself to blame for waiting too long to address the dirty buildup. Had I taken the time to wipe down the airplane thoroughly after every flight I could have avoided the discomfort of lying underneath in a semi-stress position, rag in hand. I have a creeper that makes scooting across the hangar floor easier, but it cannot help me scrub.
