Cleaning outside of aircraft
 

Someone in a recent travel report stated as she boarded her plane, she noticed it was "filthy and dented" on the outside.

Is this unusual? How often are the outside of planes scrubbed and cleaned?

I don't know about dirty, but even very small dents on the aerodynamic surfaces of the aircraft (for example, the leading edges of the wings) can have a dramatic effect on aircraft fuel consumption.

I seem to remember reading that a dent the size of a nickel on the leading edge of a wing could add 2% to the fuel consumption on a typical flight.

I imagine when it comes time to clean a plane, they put a retiring pilot on it for their last flight so they can run it through the water cannon salute. :D

Go to airliners.net and search for all Air France aircraft with keyword "dirty", and you'll find 51 photos - including a few that are "not dirty".

:D

Seriously, how much dirt can adhere to an airplane moving over 500 mph? Wouldn't that kind of breeze tend to blow off most dirt during flight?

Add to that the frequent rain, snow and de-icing sprays in the winter and I would assume that airplane exteriors are pretty clean. :)

I can tell you live in LA... ;)

Frequent rain, snow, (salt), and windshield de-icer make my car dirty...

I seem to remember reading somewhere about an airline that realized the false economy of not washing the planes very often: the savings in labor was more than offset in reduced fuel economy.