Finding hangar space

Cluemeister

Cluemeister

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Cluemeister
I'm starting pilot training soon (doing the ground portion now), and have a plan to own a small plane. I am now finding that local hangar space is very difficult to find. Long waiting lists or non returned phone calls/emails are the norm. It's not a question of asking too much money for the space, it's a lack of availability.

Prior to starting this process, I never would have guessed hangar space was in so much demand. Especially when you hear about the significant drop in the number of general aviation pilots over the last few decades.

Assuming this has happened to others on this forum, I would be interested in hearing your experiences in how you resolved this.
 
Buy an airplane. A hangar usually shows up. People get serious about finding you a hangar when they know you really do own a plane.
 
Local airports are dying / being converted into shopping centers. Less hangars exist. 30 years ago, most aircraft sat on a tiedown. Now days, everyone seems to think you need a hangar.

Fewer hangars around times higher hangar to tiedown ratio = less availability in some markets.
 
Depends on your location and size of the airport. Hangars are getting harder to find at reasonable prices,I keep my aircraft in a group hangar in Florida but on a tie down when in Ma.
 
Here is Cbus we've got a nice mix of small uncontrolled, a sleepy class D, and a busier class D and there still aren't many hangars available. I know at the busier D (KOSU) there is a multi year wait for t-hangars last time I heard. Keep looking around and realize you may have to base at an airport a little farther away if you're set on a hangar.
 
Post a note "hangar wanted" in the FBO.

CHeck craigslist. Drive around the hangars, sometimes they have for sale signs taped on the door. Ask line guys.
 
coloradobluesky said:
Buy an airplane. A hangar usually shows up. People get serious about finding you a hangar when they know you really do own a plane.
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Maybe, everyplace I've been has had some crazy waiting list yet I've always been able to get my plane into a hangar on rather short notice.
 
I was wanting to move my plane in Florida to a closer field. Called several times over several months about hanger and he said I was on list. Really didn't know when I could get one. So started going up and hanging around visiting with the guys and few weeks later I asked manager how I was coming on the list. He looked up, smiled, and handed me a hanger key.
 
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Unless you buy a hangar at my home airport (around 50K for a T or 120K for a box) the County will be happy to put you on a list, looks to be about a 8 year waiting period.
 
My experience has me saying put your name on the list anyhow. Before joining my current flying club, I was airplane and hangar shopping. Both FBOs here said it all were full, no planned openings, there were at least 15 ahead of me and it might be a very long time before I got a call.

I got a call from one of them 10 days later saying a spot was open and the other called 8 days after that.

Evidently the names above me were very stale or had found something elsewhere. The point is not to get caught up in the doom and gloom of the long list.
 
AggieMike88 said:
My experience has me saying put your name on the list anyhow.
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Evidently the names above me were very stale or had found something elsewhere. The point is not to get caught up in the doom and gloom of the long list.
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Great advice. I put my name on a list when I moved and ended up finding another hangar that was even closer to where I live. I feel fortunate that I was able to move into an area and find a hangar immediately. If I move again in the future I'm not so sure it'll be the same.
 
Reno recently tore down a row of hangars. I am on the West side at $470/mo and on a 7-year wait list for the East side.
 
Was impossible to find a suitable hangar in the town where I live when I needed one; an economic boom was going on. Best I could do was being offered the number 70 on their waiting list. Needless to say, they could use some new hangars here. But, the city plans to close this airport at some point and expand the GA operations to the other, larger city airport where current hangar rental rates are triple what other area airfields charge.

My A&P mechanic is located in the next town, about 25 miles away, and got me into a hangar there when a customer's Bo got relocated elsewhere. I was really lucky to be able to quietly weasel in there ahead of that FBO's waiting list.

The kicker is that I found many rented hangars were occupied by hopelessly unairworthy aircraft, or just random junk in spite of supposed efforts by Homeland Security or whoever to limit aircraft hangar use to actual aircraft at these local area airfields. The fact that I was trying to rent a hangar from these business-hungry FBOs for a fuel buying Cessna with two pilots did not seem help at all. Like Rodney Dangerfield said, no respect!
 
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I was shocked at Odessa few months ago when they wanted me to pay ramp fee. Had never been asked that in several years of going there. New owners I guess. Hate to think what they want for all the new hangers they put up.
 
DesertNomad said:
Reno recently tore down a row of hangars. I am on the West side at $470/mo and on a 7-year wait list for the East side.
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I couldn't imagine paying that for a hangar; that's really high. I have a feeling that's probably not uncommon though.
 
1. Get on the waiting list
2. Hang out at the airport a lot, learn what aircraft are based there and have hangars.
3. Plant drugs in those aircraft, somewhere they won't be noticed.
4. Using a burner phone, tip off customs & border patrol
5. Repeat until you have a hangar.
 
My $470/mo is for a T-hangar with a 45' door. Utilities included (power, but no heat). I know people on the East side paying $600 for a 51' door as that is the only size they could get. That is the going price around here... and the airport would like to tear down other hangars too.

Where I bought my plane in Texas, the same size hangars go for $145 in better condition than mine.
 
Get your name on the list now - I had about 15 ahead of me when I signed up in March, they called me in July so it wasn't too bad. 12 of those passed on it.. So while the lists may seem really long, a lot of them are stale names as mentioned above. Ours are $230 w/Electric. 40' T hangers in great shape.
 
Check out hangar trader .com http://www.hangartrader.com/final/index.php

The listing isn't 100% accurate, but it will give you a good idea of what is available in your general area and how much it is going for.

I contacted a mechanic at an airport I wanted a hangar at and he got me in touch with an owner that only used his hanger 1/2 of the year (he was a snowbird). I started there and then transitioned to full time use of that hangar when the owner stopped flying.
 
If there are 15 people on the hangar list, chances are that all 15 are on the waiting list at 27 other airports. Do the math.

Ken
 
So this is what I got for advice:

- If you have a plane, they know you're serious and you'll get space
- Hang around the FBO, you'll get space sooner
- Get on lots of lists, you'll get called much sooner than you think
- Plant drugs on someone else's plane if none of the above work
- Call Cowman for bail money

Seriously, thanks for letting me know it won't be impossible to get space. Just a little due diligence!
 
I'm #3 or so in the city I'm trying to move to, but they have very few city hangars. There are a bunch of privately owned hangars, but the one I looked at wanted $40k(+ land lease) and that needed a roof and new siding. So I may end up 45 minutes away initially at a place that does have T-Hangars for rent.
 
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