Hangar at Oakland Airport

D

dimitar

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Dimitar N909RD
Hi pilots, first post here.

I have a fairly attractive offer to buy a hangar at the Oakland Airport to house my Socata TB-20 SEL airplane. I have had very little experience with that airport other than flying in and out a few times. I am doing my due diligence on the offer and would like to hear any opinions about the airport as far as GA is concerned.

1) I have heard that the airport has a high humidity levels that promote corrosion, much more than the other areas of the San Francisco Bay Area?

2) Others have told me that dealing with the Oakland Port Authority who manage the airport is a PITA… whatever that means specifically.

I hope to hear from some folks who have direct experience with OAK, or know of others who do so that I can hear what the common opinion is.

Blue skies,

Dimitar
 
Rented a couple of different hangars at KOAK, first the New T's and now in the Old T's. At one point there was a 10 year waiting list for the Old T's. You always get a transponder code and flight following which is cool, but there's often fog in the summer....so some times CCR or Napa would be clear and Oakland is IFR.

Its a class Charlie and international airfield so security is a big deal, but I live 15 minutes away driving 25 mph so it's a good place for me and the North field has some very active GA pilots.
 
Thank you Leo,

does that mean that it is harder to get an access card, or there are more checks? How does the extra security translate to the GA community?

This is a good point about the fog.
 
dimitar said:
Hi pilots, first post here.

I have a fairly attractive offer to buy a hangar at the Oakland Airport to house my Socata TB-20 SEL airplane. I have had very little experience with that airport other than flying in and out a few times. I am doing my due diligence on the offer and would like to hear any opinions about the airport as far as GA is concerned.

1) I have heard that the airport has a high humidity levels that promote corrosion, much more than the other areas of the San Francisco Bay Area?

2) Others have told me that dealing with the Oakland Port Authority who manage the airport is a PITA… whatever that means specifically.

I hope to hear from some folks who have direct experience with OAK, or know of others who do so that I can hear what the common opinion is.

Blue skies,

Dimitar
Click to expand...

First post...

Welcome to POA..

:cheers::cheers:
 
I've no experience with the hangars, but flying in and out of the North Field is trivial. The only issues are that fuel is stupid expensive, and traffic is nuts during A's games.

It's easy enough to deal with that I've been known to fly over there to practice landings from time to time, especially for night currency, as all the runways are long enough for stop'n'goes, and it's a real short flight from Palo Alto.

Most of the Bay Area airports are right on the bay shore, so I don't buy that corrosion is any higher at Oakland. The older hangars are rumored to have drainage problems, but I've no idea if that's true.
 
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KOAK seems like kind of a haul for you. I'm assuming you are presently at CCR? Have you checked out Napa?
 
Sac Arrow said:
KOAK seems like kind of a haul for you. I'm assuming you are presently at CCR? Have you checked out Napa?
Click to expand...

Napa is nice and close to me. I am on the waiting list. Downside -- hangars are owned by the county and one can only rent. So is Petaluma.

CCR would have been ideal for me, but finding a hangar there has proven difficult. The airfield owns some and rents them, I am on the waiting list there too. There are two other organizations at CCR that own hangars and neither has anything available -- (1) Buchanan Airport Hangar Owners Association, nice folks, took my name... (2) LCA where the contact person Jerry Elves left an unpleasant impression on me.

I did most of my flying from San Carlos (SQL) 1999-2001, but then I used to commute to the Silicon Valley a lot and it was on my way. Now for years I have worked from home and there is little point to go all the way there.

Gnoss has great folks. The summer winds do not bother me, but will bother my passengers... I will hang there for now and that may actually turn to be a very long time.

The biggest problem with buying a hangar is the land lease -- one does not own the land and is at the mercy of the landowner... the land owner fees vary and one may be forced into a very unpleasant situation.

Thank you guys for your insights.

Dimitar
 
Port of Oakland is a colossal pain in the a55. Just wait 'til you sit through their rebadge BS, and the only avgas was over 9 bucks a gallon - it's clear to me they just don't want GA airplanes...unless it burns kerosene. A buddy moved his Stearman to Hayward and couldn't be happier.
 
Most major airports the "owned" hangars revert to city/airport ownership after a period of time. And there is the land-lease situation.

At three different airports, I found the terms and resale ability to be unfavorable compared to a lease. YMMV.

If this were an private residential air park, the situation is much different. I considered one when I lived in San Antonio, but it would have made the commute to work untenable.
 
I used to rent a hangar in the new tees at KOAK and had no real issues with the port. Cheap rent and good service. There is the whole badge/security thing, but that's really TSA putting that crap on. You will have to pay a little money, get finger printed and sit through two different classes (much like traffic school) to get your badge and get driving privileges on the field.

The new Tees are mostly owned by the port and are Porta Ports plopped down on the ramp. They do have drainage issues and when it rains, the water runs right through your hangar. Mine also had a leaky roof. The privately owned hangars are down around Hangar 7 and where Oakland Flyers is. They might be better.

If you're willing to drive a ways, there is a really nice county owned hangar like the one I'm in available out at Byron (C83). There is also a privately owned hangar for sale here.

Good luck with your hunt! Stay persistent and it will happen.
 
The Concord Jet Center charges less than it costs to own a hangar. If you don't care about having space to put junk that might be an option for you.
 
There used to be a private outfit that rented out hangers, subletting them, at Oakland. I rented a hanger there for years, 1995-2001, and it was easy. You just paid twice the price to the private guy. The name will come to me in a day or two.

Flying out of Oakland is terrific. I loved it. If you fly out of there regularly, you can fly into any major airport in the country, and that's a major plus. I did all my primary training there.

I was then based in Napa for about seven years. The waitlist is very random. Some times if you have a friend in the office, they give you a spot if the next guy on the list doesn't call back in an hour. I have seen that happen. But the negative about Napa is that the administrators are super strict. They open the hangers all the time, do background searches on your tail number and registered name, and it's not fun. They are nasty about letting you store tools, or anything in the hanger. It's for the plane and nothing else. It used to be like a bar back there, with guys hanging out and having airstreams they lived in, when they were fighting with the wife. Everybody had fridges stocked with beers and cokes, and sofas and easy chairs, hanging out and talking. I really really miss that.

But the hanger areas are as clean as a whistle. Can't be beat. It doesn't get better.

Flying out of Napa is easy, too. The services have only gotten better. It's close to the rest of the Bay Area---it's in the south part of Napa, only 45 minutes from SF or OAK when the traffic is good. The fog lifts easy and comes in late. The tower is friendly.

Plane Wrap! That was the name of the guy. Is he still in business? He always, always had an hanger available at OAK, CCR, Hayward or other places. Nice old pilot guy.
 
girlbird said:
There used to be a private outfit that rented out hangers, subletting them, at Oakland. I rented a hanger there for years, 1995-2001, and it was easy. You just paid twice the price to the private guy. The name will come to me in a day or two.

Flying out of Oakland is terrific. I loved it. If you fly out of there regularly, you can fly into any major airport in the country, and that's a major plus. I did all my primary training there.

I was then based in Napa for about seven years. The waitlist is very random. Some times if you have a friend in the office, they give you a spot if the next guy on the list doesn't call back in an hour. I have seen that happen. But the negative about Napa is that the administrators are super strict. They open the hangers all the time, do background searches on your tail number and registered name, and it's not fun. They are nasty about letting you store tools, or anything in the hanger. It's for the plane and nothing else. It used to be like a bar back there, with guys hanging out and having airstreams they lived in, when they were fighting with the wife. Everybody had fridges stocked with beers and cokes, and sofas and easy chairs, hanging out and talking. I really really miss that.

But the hanger areas are as clean as a whistle. Can't be beat. It doesn't get better.

Flying out of Napa is easy, too. The services have only gotten better. It's close to the rest of the Bay Area---it's in the south part of Napa, only 45 minutes from SF or OAK when the traffic is good. The fog lifts easy and comes in late. The tower is friendly.

Plane Wrap! That was the name of the guy. Is he still in business? He always, always had an hanger available at OAK, CCR, Hayward or other places. Nice old pilot guy.
Click to expand...

First post...

Welcome to POA..

:cheers::cheers:
 
Very interesting advice and comments all around. Thank you ladies & gents!!

I should check the Concord Jet Center then -- I only need space for my airplane and access to electricity... to keep that battery minder going.

Dimitar
 
dimitar said:
Hi pilots, first post here.

I have a fairly attractive offer to buy a hangar at the Oakland Airport to house my Socata TB-20 SEL airplane. I have had very little experience with that airport other than flying in and out a few times. I am doing my due diligence on the offer and would like to hear any opinions about the airport as far as GA is concerned.

1) I have heard that the airport has a high humidity levels that promote corrosion, much more than the other areas of the San Francisco Bay Area?

2) Others have told me that dealing with the Oakland Port Authority who manage the airport is a PITA… whatever that means specifically.

I hope to hear from some folks who have direct experience with OAK, or know of others who do so that I can hear what the common opinion is.

Blue skies,

Dimitar
Click to expand...

Hi Dimitar,

I'm the AOPA ASN volunteer at OAK... The privately owned hangar area is called Port A Ports... As someone noted, the new T's are also Port A Port brand hangars, but are owned by the Airport, and are called, oddly enough, the New T's.

The Port is a minor pain, and they go beyond the necessity of TSA to be "thorough" but it's doable. Most of the folks are nice... But not all. :)

Only a few of the Port A Ports have power, and they're solar/ battery... But adding solar for battery minding is pretty straightforward.

I don't think OAK is significantly more corrosive than other bayside airports... FL and the Gulf Coast are worse. But CorrosionX and frequent Flying seem to keep it at bay... I've been here 25 years, and aren't rusty yet!

Let me know if I can help... I'm at the Old T's.

Paul. Millner at. Me. Daht com
 
wsuffa said:
Most major airports the "owned" hangars revert to city/airport ownership after a period of time. And there is the land-lease situation.

At three different airports, I found the terms and resale ability to be unfavorable compared to a lease. YMMV.

If this were an private residential air park, the situation is much different. I considered one when I lived in San Antonio, but it would have made the commute to work untenable.
Click to expand...

Interesting general observations... But not applicable at OAK.

No reversion... Land rental is month to month.

Paul
 
Dusting off ancient thread. I contacted KaiserAir at Oakland this week to ask after hangars and even tiedowns while I secure a hangar.

Their quote was precious.

Monthly ramp (chocks only) $646/mo

Community hangar at $2152/mo

Landing fee $63.93

I was rather clear about my desire to be a longterm tenant. I have used Kaiser before as a transient and found them pleasant.

Before i shoot back a "dude wtf" -- are there still hangars on the north end? It appears there are. I assume like everywhere else there is a multi-generational long waitlist.

Are there tiedowns?

Any inside baseball appreciated :)
 
schmookeeg said:
Dusting off ancient thread. I contacted KaiserAir at Oakland this week to ask after hangars and even tiedowns while I secure a hangar.

Their quote was precious.

Monthly ramp (chocks only) $646/mo

Community hangar at $2152/mo

Landing fee $63.93

I was rather clear about my desire to be a longterm tenant. I have used Kaiser before as a transient and found them pleasant.

Before i shoot back a "dude wtf" -- are there still hangars on the north end? It appears there are. I assume like everywhere else there is a multi-generational long waitlist.

Are there tiedowns?

Any inside baseball appreciated :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for dragging this back up; also interested to hear if there are any tie-downs available and their rate. Thinking about getting a job in the area and commuting; paying the landing fee wouldn’t be ideal...
 
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N258aa said:
Thanks for dragging this back up; also interested to hear if there are any tie-downs available and their rate. Thinking about getting a job in the area and commuting; paying the landing fee wouldn’t be ideal...
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I've asked a neighbor what he's paying for his tie down... standby...

oK! Tie down is $85/month
 
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