Should I not own if I can’t find hangar space?

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DMD3.

Pre-takeoff checklist
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DMD3.
If I were in the market to own an aircraft, but either couldn’t find or afford hangaring (usually both these problems exist), should I not even consider aircraft ownership?

I’m well aware of exposure to the elements such as sunlight, heat, moisture, bad (potentially damaging) weather, and birds. I’m also aware that performing maintenance (on an EAB) would be much more difficult. But on the other hand, there are many aircraft that have spent years, even decades out on the ramp and are still flying today. It’s also worth mentioning that the legendary Vlad on vansairforce has stated that he does not hangar his airplane, though he flies almost everyday.

So does anyone on here own but keep their airplane out on the ramp? I should also mention that the aircraft I get would not be a retractable-gear (something else to be exposed to the elements), nor would it be a wooden or fabric aircraft like a Super Viking. I would also plan to keep it covered, and most importantly, fly the thing regularly.

https://aircraftcovers.com/RV7#30

I couldn’t post the photo directly, but the link above is an aircraft that is entirely covered; basically every square inch of the aircraft except for the prop and wheel fairings. This is how I’d cover an airplane if I get to own.
 
In general, hangars cost more than the damage being in the sun and weather do. From a purely economic standpoint, it usually makes more sense to accumulate the money saved by not hangaring and do more frequent paint jobs and interior updates. But if you have a cheap hangar and an expensive plane, that might not be true.
 
IMO, not having a hangar shouldn't by itself deter anyone from ownership. Hangars and ramps each have their pros and cons and as long as you understand them, it comes down to your own personal situation.
 
I bought before the hangar was available. There are good options like Bruce’s Covers

I was fortunate that most of my hangar-wait time has been under a shadeport.
 
Depends on your locale. Here in the artic tundra of the upper midwest, I would recommend a hangar absolutely. Winter weather can cause a lot of damage to an aircraft unless you are absolutely diligent in keeping it cleaned off.

Your profile shows Georgia, I'd be a little more ok with a tie-down in Georgia, at least until you could find a hangar. Your largest threat, other than UV, is hail.
 
Location and services/space available would be a deciding factor for me. Not all airports have permanent outdoor parking areas, so if there is no outdoor parking and hangar space is not available there might not be a good alternative option.
 
DMD3. said:
This is how I’d cover an airplane if I get to own.
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FWIW: I'm not a fan of full covers unless they fit well and do not move in the wind. If they move have seen damage to windows, etc. However, keeping your paint in tip-top shape with regular preventive care and internal sun shields for every window goes a long way in maintaining an aircraft parked on the ramp with no covers. However, in my experience, no hangar availability should not be the sole detractor to ownership just a consideration based on what aircraft you buy and the location where you want to park it.
 
For a metal airplane, the biggest hazard to the airframe is hail and corrosion. A cover is not going help against serious hail. And a cover can trap moisture making corrosion worse.

I would though do a canopy cover or heat shields to protect the interior. UV for the materials and heat for the avionics.
 
172andyou said:
In general, hangars cost more than the damage being in the sun and weather do. From a purely economic standpoint, it usually makes more sense to accumulate the money saved by not hangaring and do more frequent paint jobs and interior updates. But if you have a cheap hangar and an expensive plane, that might not be true.
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I would hope to have an already-built Vans RV, or perhaps a Skyhawk or Cherokee. I’m not instrument rated, and have no intention of ever getting IFR rated, so I don’t need a super-expensive instrument panel (no glass, autopilot, etc), although I would want radios (I DO like night flying), and would strongly prefer ADSB compliance.

Forgot to mention I reside in South GA, so that means pretty much no snowfall and no dust storms like in the desert. We definitely get rain & gusty-wind thunderstorms, but where in the world doesn’t get them? We occasionally have hurricanes blow through, but it’s usually died down by the time it reaches us, so an airplane sitting on the ramp probably wouldn’t get damaged, though it better have been tied down VERY thoroughly. Once in a blue moon it may hail, but it’s pretty minute. I’ve never heard of golf ball-sized hail in GA.
 
Rgbeard said:
I guess it's implied, that this advice doesn't apply to fabric-covered or wooden aircraft.
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Not necessarily but a few more qualifiers come into play during the decision process. There are a number of fabric aircraft that spend their life outside in various locations. Will the fabric last as long as a hangared aircraft, no. But starting with a good initial fabric install and following all required preventive care no reason you can't get 15-20+ years out of the fabric parked outside. Know several that have.
 
I store outside when a hangar is not available in New England,purchase a good set of covers and keep the plane clean and waxed. I have had several airplanes stored outside when I first started owning. Good luck.
 
Find someone with a hangar and see if they'd be ok with putting a lift in. Built ours as I'm in that trade.

Just checked someone's price....20k....may be a non starter. I didn't have 1/4 that in ours.
 
Is keeping a retract outside a real concern? I’m looking at some but don’t think I’ll be able to get a hangar at least initially. In New England so that makes it worse
 
I've owned 3 airplanes over a decade+ involvement in the ownership side of things. Kept them in 5 stages of storage: open tie down, roofed tie down, doorless 3-sided covered, community hangared, single occupancy hangared. None of the airplanes were ever in such cosmetic condition, nor high enough hull value, that I would deem hangar a prerequisite of ownership. That colors my preferences, which are admittedly not representative of the $$$-bag hull value crowd, who are prob more likely to suggest to you hangaring is a de facto requirement of "legitimate" ownership.

Long story short, no, I would not regard hangar a prerequisite for ownership. In my case, the options were driven by a combination of hull value, hangar price, and hangar [lack of] availability dictating where the thing ultimately sat.

The only option out of all them I will never patronize ever again is #4. I'll happily tie down on the open ramp all day and twice on sunday, before ever dealing with that bag of externalities. Worst $ and non-monetary ROI ever.
 
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tsts4 said:
IMO, not having a hangar shouldn't by itself deter anyone from ownership.
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But don't get a super viking ;) No hangar was my big takeaway from that thread. Something like a short body mooney or PA-28, I don't mind having on a ramp and I understand that having an airplane at the airport elevates you on the hangar list.

Definitely, a cover is important. Does anyone have experience with ones that are hail resistant? You can always get hail big enough to get through it, but every little bit helps.
 
What type of plane? Sorry if I missed it in the thread. I tied down for 20 years in Juneau, AK. Not my first choice, been in a hangar for the last 4 years or so. Same plane, Beech Sport. Used engine, wing, tail and canopy covers in the fall thru winter. Again not my first choice but it worked. Corrosion and deterioration of exterior paint certainly are accelerated parking outside. Don't let parking outside spoil you fun....
 
I owned a '66 C182 for 10 years and kept it outside in New Mexico. I had the windshield shade on and that's it. Nothing happened in those 10 years that I could see.
 
I wouldn’t buy a brand new airplane and put it outside, but an older plane sure why not. Having a hangar is more of a convenience for putting your extra items, tools, etc.
 
MountainDude said:
I owned a '66 C182 for 10 years and kept it outside in New Mexico. I had the windshield shade on and that's it. Nothing happened in those 10 years that I could see.
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That’s the thing, changes to paint/windows are very gradual and corrosion is hidden.
In addition to investing in covers, including wing covers to protect against hail if that’s a concern I would apply corrosion preventive treatment every annual and carefully check tail/underside of wing for animal activity.
 
The wait list for a hangar is insane by me. I had been waiting forever when the right plane came up. I jumped.

What I don't miss is waiting. Don't let a hangar stop you. Eventually you'll get one.
 
Also, especially if tied down outside, get it corrosion treated at annual or the pre-buy. ACF-50 or Corrosion X fogged into all spaces.
 
I am not going to consider aircraft ownership again without at least a roof to cover my investment.

Helicopters be expensive, yo...
 
I wouldn't let not having a hangar stop me from owning certain aircraft, but what scares me a little is your comment about not being able to afford a hangar. looks like you're in GA so hangars, if u can find one, aren't outrageously expensive. if a coupl'a hundid bucks a month puts you over the edge of ownership, you may want to reconsider. what happens if you actually get an unexpected maintenance surprise? the monthly hangar fee can be nothing compared to some issues that may arise.*


*hey, it's PoA, I had to throw a wrench in the thread
 
This topic has been covered many times and everyone has different opinions. IMO, hangars are great if you can find one at your preferred home base and it is not so expensive that it curtails your flying activities. My twin brother and I learned to fly in Alaska when we were 16. We soon found and purchased a Citabria together and were partners on about a dozen airplanes over the next 40 years, until I moved to the lower 48 a few years ago. The aircraft included Citabrias, Cubs, Scouts, a Maule, a Cessna 185, a 310, and even a Super Viking for a few years. Never had a hangar in all those years. Snow removal was a hassle, preflights were not as convenient, if the weather got wonky, we would go out to the airport to adjust tiedowns, etc. And I'm sure that the airplanes aged a bit more quickly living outside. I have a hangar now for my RV, $300/month, and I love it. My brother is still in Alaska and is still parked outdoors. A nice Cessna 185 and a Scout.

I would never let the lack of hangar space prevent me from owning/operating an airplane.
 
eman1200 said:
I wouldn't let not having a hangar stop me from owning certain aircraft, but what scares me a little is your comment about not being able to afford a hangar. looks like you're in GA so hangars, if u can find one, aren't outrageously expensive. if a coupl'a hundid bucks a month puts you over the edge of ownership, you may want to reconsider. what happens if you actually get an unexpected maintenance surprise? the monthly hangar fee can be nothing compared to some issues that may arise.*
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A coupl’a hundid, no. Seven to ate hundid, very much so (my rent’s not even that much).
 
Flocker said:
What's your preferred airport?
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Currently residing in south GA, maybe move to AL someday (low cost of living). AL is in tornado alley, but a hangar won’t make one iota of difference if one of those come through (Eufaula’s. FBO was wiped out a couple of years ago).
 
172andyou said:
In general, hangars cost more than the damage being in the sun and weather do. From a purely economic standpoint, it usually makes more sense to accumulate the money saved by not hangaring and do more frequent paint jobs and interior updates. But if you have a cheap hangar and an expensive plane, that might not be true.
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Unless you own a rag wing. It's going to get ruined exposed to the elements.
Unless you own a rag wing without locking doors. Then you are going to be robbed, often.
Unless you own a rag wing without locking doors or a keyed ignition. Your plane will disappear and you will never get it back.
Lucky for me this isn't the story of my plane, I'm paying a $460.00 a month for a hanger. The kid with the PA-15 on a tie-down has had all three occur within one year.
Oh, and my insurance is less for full coverage because it's in a hanger.
 
The cost of hangars has continually been raised by:

- third parties “subleasing” hangar space to “manage” government assets to “help” government reduce their overhead (cough cough). Management companies exist only to help themselves

- non aviation people renting aviation properties to house car collections or regular businesses at the airport

This is why hangars cost a lot or have a higher cost.

If your airport welcomes these types of practices it is typically not pro-aviation or pro-pilot.

In California, places like Camarillo and oxnard thrive this way.

Conversely, places like Hawthorne had someone come into city government and manipulate themselves into a $478k a year annual lease, raising rents stratospherically while screwing the people that lobbied to keep the airport open.

Third party management artificially increases prices for their benefit.

I kept and airplane outdoors for many years - an aluminum bird. Yes, corrosion happens. Best avoided with anti corrosion products and paint. A paint job for a single engine runs usually over $15k-25k (though I know of places that use top paint for substantially less). Nothing wrong with keeping a plane outdoors if properly maintained.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
If you build it, they will come.




Get the plane, put it on the field, and opportunities will arrive.
 
Just because there are no hangars available doesn't mean there are no hangars available.

There is always somebody who temporarily doesn't have their plane in their hangar. Maybe it's at another airport for a month for maintenance, or paint, or something. So make friends. Make a lot of friends. They'll see your plane sitting on the ramp, looking all forlorn, and the next time they fly their plane to Alaska for a 3-month summer trip, they'll offer you to use that space. Maybe there's a sublease agreement, maybe there's not...

I actually had the airport manager looking out for me at an airport once upon a time. I recently moved there, and was on the ramp. There was no hangar space available. For a period of over a year, though, I was continually hangared, until my name came up on the wait list. Now, subleasing was prohibited like at many airports, but the airport manager would just say "Hey, you know, you should give Joe a call. He's in Hangar 12. Here's his number..." Sublease legalities or not, it was a win for all parties - the hangar renter, me, the airport itself (since I wasn't crowding their ramp).
 
tsts4 said:
IMO, not having a hangar shouldn't by itself deter anyone from ownership. Hangars and ramps each have their pros and cons and as long as you understand them, it comes down to your own personal situation.
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As someone currently on the ramp & on the hangar waitlist... what are the cons of a hangar? I can only think of pros..
 
db_pooper said:
As someone currently on the ramp & on the hangar waitlist... what are the cons of a hangar? I can only think of pros..
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Having a malfunction of the door so you can't open and/or close it, i.e. a retract spring cable breaking on a port-a-port swing up door (those are heavier than they look). It will close real fast, but getting it open again is…challenging.
 
db_pooper said:
As someone currently on the ramp & on the hangar waitlist... what are the cons of a hangar? I can only think of pros..
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hangar rash in a community one is the biggest one for me.
 
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