Hangar vs Tie Down

brenec said:
I just moved "indoors" to a T-hangar at Albany International Airport - I was formerly a tie-down tenant in the same area. We just parked the plane in our new hangar for the first time, and it was a lot more difficult than I expected to push it backwards into the hanger (as a single person). I have a Piper Dakota, and "as parked" probably weighs about 2,300 lbs right now. I used to pull up in front of my tie-down spot and then push it directly backwards into position without a whole lot of problem. I think there is a slight drainage grade in front of the T-hangar, and that seems to have made a big difference! I got it into the hangar eventually, but I used pretty much my whole strength to push it backwards. Here's the question - I've never owned a "tug" before (since I didn't need one or have a place to put one), but I think it might be necessary in this case. Any suggestions? The first thing I did was to pump up my tires to their pressure specifications, and I think that might help a bit. What do others do in this situation?
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There is one Dakota/Pathfinder in our hangar block. At almost 80yrs old he will normally use a small engine tug. But I have seen him move it on totally level surface by himself when its a simple move and not too far like pushing it out of the way after fueling up.

Our 182 weighs about the same and I can push and pull it with full fuel (78gals) as long as its level. My wife has troubles so I watched Craigslist for about a 6 months and found a small gas engine tug. I wanted a gas engine because I know that a battery will freeze up or fail on me over the -30F part of the winter. As long as we are flying normally the tug gets started at least twice a month so the carb doesn't get all gummed up.

One note on lawn tractors....they are great for pulling...but you better get your inner farmer on to be able to successfully push a plane back in. Its basically the hay wagon problem. So we use our old JD for pulling it out if its too icy for the hand tug and to pull it over to the pumps to fuel it up and save on the airplane starter. It also has a blade on it so its used to blade away the snowplow leftover pile from the front of the hangar. I found the JD LX288aws with the blade and tire chains for $300 so its probably less than a airplane starter and has been great for the winters.

I see the small battery powered tugs that almost look like a weedeater....if they were just cheaper. And if you can recharge the battery at home it won't freeze. Plus you could probably put it into the plane and have it with you when you land someplace else.

Good tugs aren't cheap.

I've seen some pretty cool DIY ones made from old walk behind snowblowers if you're into making your own.
 
I’m in the hangar camp, but moving to FL and number 11 on the wait list. At the current pace, should be about 6 months outside. Have a hard time understanding the shortage everywhere.
 
Hangar.....and tie down. Well, that’s my plan anyway. Company is paying for a hangar in a large metro area but if I go it alone, I need a hangar for a plane...and a tie down for that plane if I need to wrench on my latest car refurb in the hangar. The wife turned garage into a storage box.
 
tspear said:
Actually, that was the question I was asking. Is it just money? If yes, where is the breakeven? Is it emotional? What drives the decision?
Right now, I do not do my own maintenance. Mostly due to a lack of time, compounded by higher priorities (e.g. kids). I am not likely to do it until I retire and do not live in an expensive metro area, where I can make the time and the kids are gone. The big city airports which I have been based in, do not have a community environment around the hangars; it all seems to happen at the FBO. Could be related to needing the SIDA badges to even get to the hangar. With SIDA, do I really need to discuss security? The tie down areas are next to the terminal building with a police presence 24x7.

Again, this question is more of a big metro area (or Alaska) conundrum. The rest of the country has found a way to make hangars cheap enough, that the choice is fairly simple.

Tim
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Maybe you should just rent. We may simply not see eye to eye, but it doesn’t seem like you have an owner attitude.

I admit I’ve never rented a hangar on an airport, but the convenience of having your tools nearby and being able to do annuals and even an engine overhaul in comfort and security is priceless.

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Hangars here go at a premium, $350 for a community hangar, and $300 for a T. All are full, and a looong list. We do have a taxiway, with room for hangars on each side, but the rules are too crazy, and no-one will build there. I'd thought about it, but I can't see $200k to build a hangar, pay $8/sqft for land lease, then turn it over to the airport, and pay them rent on it as well.
 
I have two VThrust Tuggers (no longer made I think). My hangar at CJR was sloped such that it took me pushing with all my might and my wife steering the manual towbar to get it in there. The point of the lightweight tug like the tugger was my wife could move it around easily unlike some heavier ones like the aerotugs.
 
It was a must here at the beach. For such a tourist area the hangars are excellent, affordable, and with electricity included, for $270.
 
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I’m just curious. Are through the fence arrangements still available? If so, how common are they, and how do you go about finding where they are available and are they hard to set up?
 
Stewartb said:
Buy a hangar home. Add a tie down in the yard. Choices!
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Yep, I have a hangar home and there is set of tie downs in the ramp in front of the hangar plus three more tie down spaces out on the lawn (for guests). We just had the landscaper sink the anchors for the latter (the ramp ones were embedded in the concrete when it was poured ten years ago).
 
$350/mo for T-hangar rental in my neck of the woods...er, chaparral. Certainly the most expensive part of plane ownership, but I make it a point not to add up the "total cost" numbers.

There's a lot of extra space in my hangar where I store miscellaneous junk, so if you look at what it might cost for a storage unit somewhere, it suddenly seems more affordable. And there's the man-cave factor, where I can spend an afternoon of perfectly blissful and satisfying maintenance, and forget about life for a while (is Billy Joel a pilot? :)). So nice to have what I call the Habitable Space in the corner with the fridge, sofa, rug, coffee table and lamp with the hand-painted Mallard ducks flying over a lake. Also very fun to decorate the space with aviation art, etc.
 
flyingron said:
Yep, I have a hangar home and there is set of tie downs in the ramp in front of the hangar plus three more tie down spaces out on the lawn (for guests). We just had the landscaper sink the anchors for the latter (the ramp ones were embedded in the concrete when it was poured ten years ago).
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I drove Duckbill anchors at the corners of my hangar driveway. Who do you think was the guy to hit one with the mower? Yep, me. Doh!
 
Ours are set below grade in 6” pvc sewer pipe “sockets”
 
Retiring in June 2020. Looking for an inexpensive place to hangar my C175. Interested in any location.
 
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