Hangar or not to hangar Cessna 150

Huckster79

Huckster79

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Huckster79
I have a c-140 which is my baby and a very nice hangar for it. Picked up a nice 1959 c150 last fall for a sing in this market… was thinking of flipping it frankly… BUT we’ve been considering me jumping in and working to get my CFI. I know it’ll take a minute but idk if I’d ever find such a decent affordable trainer once there…

My 140 is in a nice hangar, the 150 is in a pretty janky hangar but still a hangar… but being all metal and a nice plane but not my beloved bird… thinking of getting a cover and tying her down. Tie down is free at my airport.

What extra wear n tear is it going to be tied out? What extra maintenance does it cause? The hangar is pretty cheap but still an expense. I still have my nice one to change oil in or whatnot… I just don’t want to walk over dollars to pick up dimes…
 
How good is the paint and interior? Avionics? Depending on where you are, what you would pay in hangar rent over a period of time would replace a lot of that stuff.

if it were me, I would get a good cockpit cover and forget the hangar.
 
Mine's outside and I fly it year round. Get a cover, plug up the inlets so birds don't nest, make up some control locks, and you're done.
 
I take it your intent is to use the 150 as a training bird. You might find it convenient to have it in a hangar where you can set up a small classroom space with a whiteboard and some training aids and a computer.
 
I’m not sure what part of the country you live in, but here in the southeast, a plane gets pretty hot sitting out on the tarmac. It is so nice having a hangar to shade the plane. It makes it so much more comfortable when I go out to fly. It is also nice having the shade when cleaning or working on the plane. Another huge benefit is protection from bad weather and high winds. Yesterday the winds were 25 gusting to 35. Two 172’s in Charleston were damaged when the wind flipped one over on the other. Makes me grateful for my hangar. It’s worth every penny.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
How good is the paint and interior? Avionics? Depending on where you are, what you would pay in hangar rent over a period of time would replace a lot of that stuff.

if it were me, I would get a good cockpit cover and forget the hangar.
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I agree with this.

The two caveats being if you want to go fly after snow it's a much bigger PITA to clear the plane.

Also hail can ruin your plane.
 
mancave is in my nice hangar already. So that’s not an issue…

but yea I think I’ll keep it for now- snow would be a big pain in the butt in winter. Hangar space is tight enough I don’t dare try to give it up just for summer and switch back…
 
EdFred said:
I kept mine outside for 2 weeks, an in the spring the birds WILL find their way inside.
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Oh, boy, they don't even need that long. We had starlings build nests overnight after we'd removed them from inside the cowling and inside the horizontal stab. They're pernicious. And bird droppings are corrosive, as are mouse pee and poop. Once had to replace the leading edge on a 150's wing, as birds had nested near the landing light installation where there was some light. That skin was rotted clean through.

Mice eat the airplane.

Someone mentioned heat. Yeah, the sun gets the interior so hot that the lighter elements of plastic are driven off, leaving it brittle. Think what it's doing to the plastic chips in your radios and ELT. And upholstery. And carpet. And seat belts. It all suffers.

Edit: That heat also cooks the oil in your gyros' bearings.

Hail is an obvious hazard. Rain can pound down so hard it splashes into the vent openings in fuel caps and ends up in the tanks, especially if the vent check valve is old and sagging. If the cap seals are shot it gets past those, too. Snowmelt does the same. There are some places you really don't want moisture accumulating; it not only promotes corrosion, it can freeze and expand and damage structure.

Wind rocks the airplane. Even with the control surfaces locked with external locks, the airplane rocks, sloshing the fuel in the tanks and wearing the fuel gauge senders. If those surfaces aren't locked solid, the wind wears out the hinges, and the cables get worn where they pass over fairleads or smaller pulleys. Dust gets into all of it and grinds away at it. Calendar time can completely negate the value of a low-time airplane in cases like this.

The sun damages tires, too.

Really nice to have a hangar.
 
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Yea I think if I keep the bird I should keep the hangar… sounds like giving it up would be penny wise but pound foolish
 
Hull Insurance is likely more costly for tie-downs. I’ve seen a lot of aircraft damaged by hangars collapsing. Keep hull insurance as in some states you cannot go after the Land lord if the hangar damages the aircraft.


If outside you want DOUBLE gust locks on all Controls. Easy to make but gets old on- off.
 
172 tie down:

Wings, tail & one behind nose gear

pin at yoke

wooden bands - Stab/elevator. and Fin / Rudder

Small locks - flap/ aileron, aileron /tip and stab elevator - 6 total

Clamp pliers on Rudder Pedals

Overkill? Not if you have had or seen wind damage
 
ok so I just got back from dropping my plane off for the IFR certs. parked on the pretty full ramp in front of the maintenance hangar. I was tying the plane down when the plane behind/next to mine fired up and sat idle, blasting away at like 1500 rpm. luckily I remembered to strap the yoke down with the seatbelt (something easily forgotten when you're used to parking in a hangar), but still my plane was being tossed around pretty good, and I still waited at the left aileron and held onto it until that mofo taxied off. a lot of people talk about the weather and how it impacts planes parked outside, but think about how many student pilots (and in my case helo's) are around your plane blasting you, spitting up rocks and whatnot...... so my answer for anyone ever torn between the ramp and a hangar, no doubt get the hangar if u can. zero question about it. I don't think you'll ever regret that decision, but not so much the other way around.
 
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