Hangar Etiquette

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Gone Flyin

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Gone Flyin
Recently moved my plane to a "community hanger" at my airport. There are four other planes in there along with mine. Have not met the other others as yet and there will be an airport meeting soon to go over the new rental contracts. Have some issues with the way it is written and will try and get that rectified at the meeting.

Would like to get ahead of any issues before they develop and wondering if any others out there that currently share hangar space can give me some advice.

My plane is up front. There are three other planes that would have to move mine out to get theirs out. One of those way in back apparently does not run so no worries there. One does go out on occasion... that owner must move two planes to go out... and the third directly behind me flies, as well.

No one owns a tug so it's all back breaking work.

I've got the best deal in that I'm easy in and out, but I probably do fly more. Airport manager says the others (need to) understand they must move me out and put me back before they fly. Will see how that works out : /

How to you folks work the whole plane moving thing where you are?

Thanks much.
 
exact reason why I turned down a community hangar. I'd actually rather be on the ramp than in that situation, believe it or not. I'm sure it 'could' be fine, but I'd still worry about it all the time.
 
Is the contract written in such a way that your plane is always supposed to be first out last in? I would assume not. Your plane will incur some hangar rash at one point or another, it’s just inevitable and that’s from experience with a situation just like this.
 
There's a trade off, sure. Need to trust the other plane owners to do the right thing.

However, as I type this, we're having 60mph wind gusts and non-stop heavy down pour. Any other day I'd be off to the airport to check on my plane. Not today!
 
RyanB said:
Is the contract written in such a way that your plane is always supposed to be first out last in? I would assume not...
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Like I said, one of the issues we will address at the meeting. I fully expect to meet the other owners and talk with them at some point in the near future. No reason we cannot work something out for the betterment of all.
 
I was in a community hangar for 6 months. During that time one of the other occupants damaged the end of the wing on my cherokee, fixed and repainted it, but bothered to tell me. Kinda obvious - the paint didn't match, so I inquired of the hangar owner what happened. Fortunately, the A&P checked it out and decided no structural damage. But I moved to a single hangar as soon as one became available. Lost the heated hangar and bathroom but that's ok.
 
any way to get the airport to agree that they'd be the only one to move planes in/out of the hangar? I 'think' at my airport you aren't even allowed to do it, u have to call the fbo to do it.
 
I'll break new ground here and say that I enjoyed being in a community hangar. I liked that it was attached to a building with plumbing, HVAC, meeting rooms and the FBO. I liked that I met some new people through it. I loved that it was half as expensive as a private hangar.

I'm not denying any of the issues the people above have pointed out. They can exist. My experience though, was good.
 
I've shared hangars and my experience hasn't been terribly bad. Where I am now I fly the most and have been there the longest so my plane is usually in front. The others fly very little and they've never complained about the parking arrangement.

Only concern lately is one guy that works on his plane and obviously hasn't been through the FAA F.O.D. program. One time I walked through and found stuff that was left on the floor including scraps of safety & electrical wire, washers, and pieces of drilled out rivets. I collected them all and set them on his front seat. He was OK with me doing that and laughed about it but I think he got the hint.
 
I’ve been in a large “community hangar” since I bought my plane in December of last year.I don’t like it, but it is better than being outside. The local flight school uses most of the hangar, so there is usually somebody around that’s willing to help me pull my plane out and put it back. Usually.
 
I'm in a community hangar with two other planes and [theoretically] space for one other. Right now it's great, my Hatz and another guy's clipwing Cub are in front and the Minimax in the back never flies, once or twice a year he pulls it out and taxis it around for awhile, I think he's scared to fly it. Neither of us in the front has to move the other guy's plane. When I moved in there were two other planes in the back, a Citabria with a cracked spar and another Minimax, neither of them flew either.

We did have another plane briefly... came up to the airport one day and there was another Cub parked in front of my plane and the clipwing had been pushed to the back. The owner of the clipwing arrived and hit the roof. We moved planes around and pushed the new Cub to the back, after all we were there first. New guy wasn't happy, accused us of dinging his plane (there was a small dent in the fabric in a place we couldn't have possibly done it) and ended up getting temporary space in the FBO's hanger, he was gone soon afterward. I'd prefer a private hangar but there's a long waiting list. Outside tiedown isn't an option with a fabric plane with wooden wings. So now we're just hoping anybody offered space in our hangar will balk at the need to move two other planes every time and look for other options, or that another long term hangar queen will take the back space. Another nearby airport has T-hangars available, but at a considerably higher price.
 
Seems 50/50 judging by the replies. As far as the tug, I considered getting one for me as I have a herniated disc that I'd rather not aggravate if at all possible. Will see how that idea goes over with the others.

There is a 3/4" lip where the asphalt meets the hangar floor. Very hard to get the wheels over that lip. The older hangars have the entrance graded out 30" so no such issue. Anyway, after dealing with that the first time, I made a set of three "steps" out of 1/4" plywood. So, it goes up 1/4" to another 1/4" then to the last 1/4" of the floor in 6" deep increments. Now the rolling is easy. The others are certainly welcome to use my steps if they need to.

Did hear back from my insurance agent. He suggested I make sure all tenants have plane insurance, even the one(s) that may not fly. I will take his advice and ask the airport manager to show me their certificates before I sign the contract.

Have you community hangar folks done the same?
 
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One more tidbit I'd recommend that has gotten me a few stares from others ... when you park your aircraft in the hangar put chocks under the tires. I do this so that my plane will not accidentally get pushed into something else. But it's also because I watched a pilot that was trying to remove some old stuck on wing walk material from his plane pull it backwards until the rudder hit a steel crossbeam in the hangar. He didn't realize it was moving until he heard the clunk.

I want to keep mine from moving during the preflight as I open the cowling, lean on it, or climb up on the wing, ect.
 
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We have three planes in the hangar. Big twin in front with two in the back. I’m one of the ones in the back.
Major rules have more to do with making sure you replace some sticks in the humidor or dropping off a bottle if you polished one off. Our hangar is part plane storage part social club.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
I'd get everyone to invest in a good tug, for everyone's benefit.
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I finally broke down and bought this:
AC TrackTech T1V2 - AC Air Technology

Since I had my back fused i couldn't start or turn my PowerTow. They make one with a lazy susan which eliminates the concern about tow limits. Both my tail draggers have full swivel tailwheels so not an issue for me.
 
ebetancourt said:
Both my tail draggers have full swivel tailwheels so not an issue for me.
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I do not have a full castering tail wheel and the tail of my plane is pretty light. So to move the tail around I use a bungee to hold the tail wheel down to a can dolly (good for up to 350 lbs)
iu

That tug you referenced is pretty nifty - (there's the word of the day - LOL)
 
I use a modified Cessna towbar that attaches to my tailwheel, and I leave it attached when in the hangar in case somebody has to move it.

Tape or paint marks on the floor showing exactly where each plane goes is also a big help if space is tight.
 
I can get to a heated hangar in half the price at a nearby airport than what I am paying now and trust me when I say it’s gets a wee bit cold here. I choose not to, there is no way I am allowing someone else to move my plane when I am not there. Not gonna happen. Nope
 
Dana said:
Tape or paint marks on the floor showing exactly where each plane goes is also a big help if space is tight.
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We have used this trick in our hangar. Makes putting planes back in a little quicker also.
 
I've gone from having my own plane in a private T hangar (see below) to selling the plane and dry leasing someone else's plane in a community hangar managed by Atlantic with 24/7 pull in/pull out service.
IMG_0162.jpeg
I have to say, I do like the full service experience although on the whole, when I buy again, I'll prefer a private hangar if I can find one big enough.
 
Daleandee said:
One more tidbit I'd recommend that has gotten me a few stares from others ... when you park your aircraft in the hangar put chocks under the tires...
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Chocks are required as part of the contract. Also, as someone else mentioned, I have taped the floor where my main wheels should be.

What's likely to happen is either the planes in back will rarely go out and moving mine will be a rare event or they'll get fed up and move out.
 
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