Choosing a hangar

Beachcomber

Beachcomber

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Beachcomber
Enclosed hangars where I live are hard to come by. I've narrowed my search to two airfields. One is an individual hangar at a controlled airfield 45 minutes away with a 7000x100 runway, while the other is a shared hangar at a non-controlled field just 10 minutes away with a 3000x60 foot runway.

I've trained out of a controlled field. Prefer it too. Even though it's just a 172, looking for a 182, I do like the safety of a controlled field and larger runways. But I gotta say....being 10 mins from home is a real bonus.

Pro's of the controlled field are 1) controlled, 2) nice runway, 3) have my own hangar space. Con's, 1) 45 mins away

Pro's of the uncontrolled field are 1) 10 mins away. Con's are 1) uncontrolled and 2) runway size

Keep going back and forth. I need to make a decision today before I lose both options.

Thoughts?
 
I would go with the closer field if you're OK with the shared hangar. Private hangar is great, but 45 minutes away would be aggravating. I fly out of an uncontrolled field, but like you, I'm close to a controlled field. To me it's the best of both world--easy field to enter/leave and a controlled field if I need an alternate airport for whatever reason.
 
Cost, Convenience, Safety. I would go by the close runway during times you would normally fly and see how busy it is, see if you like the people. Saving that much time to fly and or return home would be very nice.
 
3000 is pretty long. Are you in a high DA area? I'd go 10 min unless the performance charts say otherwise.
 
You dont need 7000ft for a 172.

I wouldn't have a problem putting a 172 into a shared hangar. Just make sure everyone is insured.
 
My airport is 40 min away. My vote would be 10 min away.

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George Mohr said:
3000 is pretty long. Are you in a high DA area? I'd go 10 min unless the performance charts say otherwise.
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Nope, field elevation is 650'. I'm leaning towards the 10 min route. Thx.


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weilke said:
You dont need 7000ft for a 172.

I wouldn't have a problem putting a 172 into a shared hangar. Just make sure everyone is insured.
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Thx for the tip on making sure insurance is had by all. Didn't think of that!


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the shared hangar is my thing. My friend was in a corporate hangar for a while, and he always had to have his planed pulled from the back. He had to call ahead, and they didn't have it ready half the time. Hangar rash is another concern. Just check out the situation. I'd go the 45 if it meant my plane was safer, but 10 minutes is much nicer.
 
I've had the 45 min drive to the hangar.....it ain't fun. It turns into an all day event each time.

My choice was either drive and have a hangar or sit out on the ramp (while waiting for a hangar), so I drove for a few years. Now I'm 15 min from home in a hangar and the plane is much easier to access and tinker.
 
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Uncontrolled and smaller runways a better for IMO, faster time from prop start to the sky, and more laid back, only draw back is if the weather is bad enough that you need to pull your IFR on the ground.

The shared hangar though, did that once, never again.

Between pulling the plane out and the risk of hangar rash and everything, it's just not worth it, as for insurance, I view that as a failing way to look at it, I'd rather just have my plane dented up in the first place, preflight also took way longer in the shared due to it not being 100% secure to me.
 
10 minute drive is the way to go, if you are just going to fun fly and poke holes n the sky.

Nobody wants to drive 45 minutes to preflight a plane and then fly 30 minutes to a $100 hamburger. You aren't going to convince many passengers that is a fun way to waste a day.

Stay close.
 
rbridges said:
and he always had to have his planed pulled from the back. He had to call ahead, and they didn't have it ready half the time. Hangar rash is another concern.
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Seen this many times, especially the hangar rash. 45 minutes isn't too bad to have a hangar by yourself, but 10 minutes away is very appealing too. Hard decision. Good luck.
 
not enough info for me to make suggestion.

cost of each?
how often do you fly?
is the shared hangar well kept? Or is full of bird droppings, trash, etc. Are your personal items safe (headset) in the shared?
In shared, does your plane need to be maneuvered to get out, or can you directly pull out?
Cost of fuel at each?
I'd prefer the 10 minute drive, but the shared hangar must be respectable. I've seen some that are very nice, others that are junky.
 
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I don't consider 3K ft. or non-towered field as negatives. The 3K ft. might be considered to be a positive since it filters out many larger higher speed planes from the traffic mix.
 
Speaking from experience: the only place to keep your plane in a shared hangar is in the very back. If you keep it in the front, your plane will spend so much time outside while other people are getting out their planes, that it makes your plane a part-time-outside/part-time-inside plane. Then, the added downside is, it takes you 30 minutes to get your plane out while you are shuffling everyone else's planes, and that makes that short drive just as time consuming as the 45 minute drive to the other airport. And if that community hangar, at the uncontrolled field, is like my uncontrolled field, YOU will be the one getting your plane out, not the FBO.
The solo hangar trumps the shorter drive in my book.
 
tawood said:
Then, the added downside is, it takes you 30 minutes to get your plane out while you are shuffling everyone else's planes, and that makes that short drive just as time consuming as the 45 minute drive to the other airport. .
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Excellent point!
 
You can store tools in your own hanger, clean the plane, change oil, etc. what I would need though is an instrument approach. Even if they were the same distance, I'd choose the uncontrolled field wth my own hanger. I've done both.
 
If you have to push an airplane out to get the other one out, a shared hangar is not so good unless one of the airplanes never gets flown. If you mean a COMMUNITY hangar, those are fine. I actually prefer an uncontrolled airport, quicker and fewer hassles.
 
Another plus for your own hangar is you can hang boobie pics or posters up!

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Could you possibly build a hangar at the close airport? It wouldn't have to be one of the taj mahal hangars like some have, even just a pole building with a gravel floor and sliding barn doors..
 
All community hangers are different. There's one around here where the planes are lined up in a way where you just pull it to the center and out. No shuffling.

That would be fine. Find out what the setup is at the community hanger you are looking at and call some other people to see if there are waiting issues.
 
My rental was in a community hangar 45min away and it was fine. There was a line of planes on each side and the center was kept clear for movement (as Bonchie described). It had doors on both ends so there wasn't a "bad spot" (8 planes per side as I recall)

My clubs planes are in side-by-side T's about 25min away. Easy for pull-out, but somehow whatever I need in hangar 8 is in hangar 7, or vice versa.

My RV is 10min away in a shared hangar. Sort of. We rent half of a large box. The other tenant uses it for [NA] storage. My little plane is the sole occupant of a hangar that could easily hold 4 planes. (Time for me to shop?)

Summary: Keep it close. You'll be glad you did.
 
I currently have mine in a community/shared hangar or whatever you want to call it. The pros is it's full service, I call when I decide I want to fly and I show up and the plane is out and fueled. When I land after my flight I hop out lock the door and they put it away. The cons is the hours of the FBO, since my field has airline service and security is tight if they aren't there I have no way of getting the plane out myself due to security and such. As others have mentioned it would be nice to store stuff in my hangar other than the plane itself but this hasn't been detrimental to me. I think as long as I didn't live in a fly-in the convenience of a set up like what I have is fantastic.

As for the distance my airplane is 10 minutes away and it still bothers me it's 10 minutes away. Everyday that goes by the more I lean torward finding a way into a fly-in community so it's in my backyard so I can on a whim look out my window, see it's nice and 10 minutes later be in the air. 10 minutes away bothers me enough I couldn't imagine 45. My good friend keeps his at a field 30 minutes away and his useage is way down as a result, plus if you start taking trips in the plane the further the plane is the less time you wind up saving because of the plane

One other thing to consider is instrument approaches and how often you fly in that weather. You may be able to get into one field but not the other. I keep my bird at an airfield with two ILS's and several LPV's, this has gotten me home a few times where if I was at another nearby field would not have worked
 
Ten minutes away, get a couple of lockers for your stuff and tell people not to mess with your plane. If you keep saying "that's OK" when they bump it or wedge it in a corner where you have a hard time getting it out of leave it out while they go fly so it is easier to put theirs back then they'll keep doing it do the detriment of your plane. "Be polite, be professional but have a plan to kill everyone you meet."
 
Beachcomber said:
Enclosed hangars where I live are hard to come by. I've narrowed my search to two airfields. One is an individual hangar at a controlled airfield 45 minutes away with a 7000x100 runway, while the other is a shared hangar at a non-controlled field just 10 minutes away with a 3000x60 foot runway.

I've trained out of a controlled field. Prefer it too. Even though it's just a 172, looking for a 182, I do like the safety of a controlled field and larger runways. But I gotta say....being 10 mins from home is a real bonus.

Pro's of the controlled field are 1) controlled, 2) nice runway, 3) have my own hangar space. Con's, 1) 45 mins away

Pro's of the uncontrolled field are 1) 10 mins away. Con's are 1) uncontrolled and 2) runway size

Keep going back and forth. I need to make a decision today before I lose both options.

Thoughts?
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assuming cost is not an issue since you didn't share the rent price. next important factor for me would be private vs shared and I would rather have a private space. I, too, trained and prefer controlled fields but stuff happens there, too. travel time is a factor but 45-mins would not be a deal killer for me.

good luck.
 
Yeah, price would be the next deciding factor for me. Not just the hanger price, but fuel prices.

Uncontrolled fields often have cheaper fuel (but that's not always the case, I paid $3.50 a gallon at Alexandria Regional a few months back).
 
I'd go with closer. For me it'd make a huge difference to how much I fly.

My airplane is in a community hangar (I live in the same hangar, oddly enough), with 24 hr pull-out and push-back service that I've never had to wait on. It works great. It's the cheapest airplane in there by a factor of three, so I don't feel too nervous about hangar rash, not to mention that it's the FBO who's responsible for all airplane movement and they're obviously insured.
 
I have had mine in the FBO hangar for the past two years. Hangar rash is real! It's also true that every community hangar is different. I am getting my own hangar this month! I am so ready to get out of that FBO hangar. If I decide to fly on a whim and head to airport, the FBO guys may or may not be there and my plane may or may not be in the back. I am not pulling a King Air out of the way.

Now, you have to evaluate the community hangar you will be using. Mine is a nightmare for me but my son-in-laws is fine since they don't stack them there.

45 minutes would be a deal breaker for me though. I am not driving that far on a regular basis to go fly. One of reasons I got the plane was to save time, not to waste it driving to the airport.
 
Hangar rash could be less of an issue if your 172 is parked next to a low-wing plane. When I was looking for a hangar, I found a couple of shared setups at Chino, but I was still in the building mode and they'd always offer me a spot in the back (maybe they thought I'd be building another five years and wouldn't actually need to get the aircraft out of the hangar!). No dice...way too much hassle moving planes around. So I went to Cable, a nontowered airport that's about 10 minutes farther away, but there were two sole-occupancy hangars available for less money than 1/2 a hangar at Chino. So glad I did! I'd say if you can find a side-by-side hangar setup at the closer airport, go for it.

I learned at a towered airport, but now at Cable I can't imagine not being at a nontowered. It gets a little busy on weekends, so I try to fly weekdays. So nice to visually check the pattern (and monitor CTAF, of course), announce your departure and go. Our planes are all about freedom, and I found Chino a little constraining with wait times for takeoff, etc. Once (on a weekday no less!) it was so busy that on initial call-up to land, the controller said, "Just circle outside our airspace and call me back in five minutes."
 
It's already been posted, but I too would choose the field 10 minutes away. I've been based out of an uncontrolled field for as long as I've been flying and I prefer it over a controlled. Access is much easier and quicker. As long as the other folks are careful minded, the shared hangar wouldn't bother me.
 
I'd go 10 minutes away. We have a shared hanger and everyone watches out for everyone else. Nobody wants their plane messed with.
 
Id say 10 mins away. Just make sure you have a conversation with the people you share that space with. Just to see how careful they are, also did the space have previous tenants? what happened to them?. You don't want to inherent a problem you can avoid!
 
You know, I was beating myself up at trying to make a decision and thought...POA! Thanks for all the many helpful replies...made me think of things I never thought of.

The shared hangar is not a community hangar. It is a private large hangar that will have three planes in it, but room for 6-8. So seems to be a lot of room in there. The hangar is clean.

Rent cost is $250 for the shared hangar 10 minutes away versus $425 for the individual hangar 45 minutes away.

Great points on having a locker, discussions about hangar rash and how careful they'll be with moving my plane when needed, etc.

Also great points on the increase in preflight time given that I don't know who or what was near my plane while I was away. Gas prices are $4.35 at the uncontrolled versus $3.54 at the controlled....that's odd....you'd think it would be the opposite!

Imagine a 30 minute $100 hamburger flight:

Controlled:
Drive time round trip = 1.5 hours
Preflight = 20 minutes
Flight time there and back = 1 hr
Time spent on the ramp for take off clearance = 15 mins
Lunch = 1 hr
Total time = 4.15 hrs

Uncontrolled:
Drive time round trip = 20 minutes
Preflight = 30 minutes
Flight time = 1 hr
Lunch = 1 hr
Total time = ~2.9 hrs

Not too much time difference I suppose when I break it out that way.
 
Sounds great! Enjoy seeing your bird more often,
 
I can see it now...a non-fly day due to weather...but want to go check on the plane, perhaps do a little cleaning etc., may be spend 1.5 hours there. So, travel time 1.5, work on plane time 1.5 = 3 hours. Or, 20 minute drive time and 1.5 work on plane time...= 1 hr 50 mins....

Then again...sure would be nice to have my own hangar!!

ARGH
 
Why not buy another plane, and have a place for both. Problem solved.
 
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