Back in the day—danged near 40 years ago—when in the aviation insurance business, I learned that no claim was more difficult to settle than aircraft damage caused by hail. Often such damage was a slight dimpling that caused little, if any, deterioration in aircraft performance, and sometimes little in appearance. The owner, of course, wanted the airplane returned to pristine condition which was danged nigh impossible without reskinning the entire airplane, which was not economically practical.
As I understand it, that remains true to this day—or did.
Last week I was surprised to get a press release from Motor City Aviation—hereinafter called MCA—announcing a new way to repair hail damage. The pictures were impressive, and I called Todd Bates of the company for more info.
Bates said MCA sprays the damaged areas with a form of powdered aluminum which fills in the dimples and becomes “a permanent part of the airplane.†He says MCA holds a patent on this process and that nobody else is using it.
In cost, Bates reported, the repair is more expensive than Bondo but less expensive than reskinning. He says it is widely accepted by many aviation insurance companies.
I have no reason to doubt Bates on any of this, but have not had a chance to confirm it all. He offers references and photographs at the MCA website. Personally, I hope this is the solution of a problem that has existed since aluminum replaced fabric on aircraft. Surely some readers have more info on this and—hopefully—will comment on this post.
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