How long are hangar waiting lists?

One thing you'll find, on a list that's in the years, is that the names drop off in increments of 5 or 10ish. Lot's of people see the size of the list and think I better get on it because I might buy a plane. When their name comes up, and they have no plane nor a path to get one quickly, they say never mind. I was on a list with 60 in front of me when I got on. 2.5 years to clear. I had a plane and was ready to move in the minute it came up. That was in 2019. The airport has since built about 36 more hangars and now the list is over 100. They did a great job of cleaning out the just storing crap folks which freed up 10 or 15 just before I got in.
 
I got on the list in Fort Myers (KFMY) last April. At the time, I couldn't even get a tie-down on the field. I got a hangar last month. The list at the time was 180 people deep but we had lost hangars from Hurricane Ian and they were rebuilding. I did not expect to get a hangar for years.

I got on the list for other nearby airport; at one I was 145 and I was 22 a months ago. I was supposed to get a hangar there much faster than FMY.

The lists around here were not moving and lots of people were putting their names on. KFMY charges a fee of $400 to be added to the list so you would expect people to be serious about wanting a hangar. I have been told that for every person they call, on average 4 decline. To sign a lease, I believe you have to have an airplane or one within 6 months of signing.

My advice is get on the list and buy an airplane if your name comes up early! I wish I had bought mine years prior.
 
In the process of moving from the Seattle area to Portland (OR). The field I'm departing from has a five-year wait list. Checked in the Portland area, the nearest airport quit taking names for their waiting list.

But....one private field southwest of the city had two available. I scarfed one up about two months before i was able to fly the plane down.

A lot of people at my old field are REALLY interested in my hangar. I've been offered to buy a Cessna 3.1 (1/100th of a 310) as long as I park it in MY hangar....

Ron Wanttaja
 
I got my hangar before I got the plane, but FBO knew I was actively looking. Actually, I had a sublet for a few months before someone moved out of the hangar that is my permanent one.

They filled up and started a waiting list, with a deposit to get on the list. When the list hit 10 people, they built a new row of T-hangars. That hangar is now full, but they have room for 3 more rows.
 
At the airport in central NJ where my plane is hangared the wait list is essentially zero. In some cases a plane might be put in one of the older, less desirable, hangars for a month or two until an opening shows up in the newer types.

The key is that the owner keeps the rents in balance with the demand (i.e., high). And has slowly but surely added new blocks of hangars as he gets township approval. Not pleasant to have to pay as much as we do, but it's good business on the part of the airport.
 
bkspero said:
At the airport in central NJ where my plane is hangared the wait list is essentially zero. In some cases a plane might be put in one of the older, less desirable, hangars for a month or two until an opening shows up in the newer types.

The key is that the owner keeps the rents in balance with the demand (i.e., high). And has slowly but surely added new blocks of hangars as he gets township approval. Not pleasant to have to pay as much as we do, but it's good business on the part of the airport.
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What are the rental rates?
 
KSGJ in NE Florida might hold the record… Ive been on the waitlist for 5 years and expect another 5-7 years until I get the call for a hangar.
 
bkspero said:
The key is that the owner keeps the rents in balance with the demand (i.e., high). And has slowly but surely added new blocks of hangars as he gets township approval. Not pleasant to have to pay as much as we do, but it's good business on the part of the airport.
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There's a guy on the south side of DC who advertises that hangar rent will be bid upon when one comes available, going of course to the highest bidder. Interesting system to see who wants it the most, I guess. Much as I don't want to pay a huge amount of money for a hangar, I can see how it would benefit an airport to have higher fees beyond just the additional income. I think the critical thing would be to make it sufficiently expensive that parking an RV or storing goods would be cheaper at an actual storage facility. Hangars full of active aircraft presumably translate to a more vibrant airport community.
 
I have had a hangar at ksgj for about 12 years. I was on the list for about three years. They are currently building some new hangars so that may help to move things along. On the other hand the area has become much more densely populated so who knows. I would regularly check in with the office to reiterate your interest.
 
dans2992 said:
Highly depends on the location. Several years to “unattainable” is not uncommon.

If you’re in a rural area, it may be much easier.
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This. I have a friend who just got a t-hangar at PDK (Atlanta MSA). He was on the waitlist for 10+ years.

I work in Aviation Real Estate and can attest that this is a major problem, and for a variety of reasons, not an easy one to solve at most airports.
 
Saratogalaw said:
I have had a hangar at ksgj for about 12 years. I was on the list for about three years. They are currently building some new hangars so that may help to move things along. On the other hand the area has become much more densely populated so who knows. I would regularly check in with the office to reiterate your interest.
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Yeah… I’ve lived in St Augustine for over 12 years now should have gotten on earlier but airplane ownership wasn’t on my radar then. Anyways I’ve addressed my issues with the office.. they sympathize but to them there’s not really a problem with the high demand they see. The issue is their reluctance to enforce their policies.. I know several guys who have sold their airplanes and sit with empty hangars but they’re going to buy another plane “any month now” when the time is right. The other is a grey area where someone gets off the list without an airplane but wants the hangar regardless so they reach out someone on the list with an airplane and they in turn become a member of their LLC and voila. I know this is true because I’ve been approached several times and know several people who have moved into the area recently from out of town and magically have their airplane in a hangar there…. I turned down these offers because I would become part of the problem and if something happened to the agreement my plane would be homeless sitting in the elements on a monthly tie down in 28J or FIN and not SGJ since they also do not offer monthly tie-downs. It is what it is but I think being on a wait list for over 10 years is ridiculous… time will tell. To answer your question about the new hangars… the construction of those won’t help me.. as I’ve only moved up the three spots over the past year and they’re building just 19. On the bright side my plane is at a well managed GA friendly airport, the fuel is cheap, there’s a great restaurant on field, and I have a great hangar neighbors, I just hate the drive as I live 10 mins away from SGJ and drive past it daily.
 
Waiting list at Henderson ,NV (KHND) for a shade hangar is 7-9 years. Airport has no rental T hangars.
 
ChucktheTruck said:
Yeah… I’ve lived in St Augustine for over 12 years now should have gotten on earlier but airplane ownership wasn’t on my radar then. Anyways I’ve addressed my issues with the office.. they sympathize but to them there’s not really a problem with the high demand they see. The issue is their reluctance to enforce their policies.. I know several guys who have sold their airplanes and sit with empty hangars but they’re going to buy another plane “any month now” when the time is right. The other is a grey area where someone gets off the list without an airplane but wants the hangar regardless so they reach out someone on the list with an airplane and they in turn become a member of their LLC and voila. I know this is true because I’ve been approached several times and know several people who have moved into the area recently from out of town and magically have their airplane in a hangar there…. I turned down these offers because I would become part of the problem and if something happened to the agreement my plane would be homeless sitting in the elements on a monthly tie down in 28J or FIN and not SGJ since they also do not offer monthly tie-downs. It is what it is but I think being on a wait list for over 10 years is ridiculous… time will tell. To answer your question about the new hangars… the construction of those won’t help me.. as I’ve only moved up the three spots over the past year and they’re building just 19. On the bright side my plane is at a well managed GA friendly airport, the fuel is cheap, there’s a great restaurant on field, and I have a great hangar neighbors, I just hate the drive as I live 10 mins away from SGJ and drive past it daily.
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For what it’s worth, anecdotally based upon what I have seen in the last couple of years, you are probably looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of three years from the time you get on the list. From what you have said my guess is that you are currently hangared at FIN. I have not tried that restaurant but I’ve heard that it is good.I know it was closed for a while and reopened under new management.
 
I live at the beach in Southern Delaware. I used to (12+ years ago) have a plane in a hangar at Ocean City Municipal (OXB), but when I bought my current plane in May of last year there was a 5-year wait there. My second-choice airport in Gorgetown, DE (Delaware Coastal GED) also had a five year wait - but I managed to score one of two remaining ramp tie-down spots for $60/month. My third-choice airport, in Salisbury, MD (SBY) had a "months-to-year" wait. I put my name on the list there in May and signed a lease in December. My wife liked GED much better because they have a great restaurant in the terminal and SBY only has vending machines LOL). Soooo, I now have both a hangar for inclement weather and a nice tie down for good flying weather.

I didn't want a tiedown at Ocean City because it is very close to the Atlantic Ocean and its very salty air.
 
Two experiences to add to your survey:
- I lived in Columbus, MS for a few years back in 2016 and got a covered carport-style tie down immediately at the airline-served regional airport. Got a shared hangar a year later. Don't recall the rate, but it was around $150-200.
- I'm currently in Montgomery, AL and got a T-hangar immediately at the regional airport and pay $250 a month for it. Unfortunately, they are tearing down all the hangars to put a hotel up. I'm selling my plane, so it won't affect me, but I weep for the GA community in the area.

Another facet to your question: In both of these locations a rural airport in the area advertised a build project to put up hangars when I moved there. I moved a few years later and neither had even broken ground. Those projects are reliably unreliable.
 
I am finally next for a hangar, signed up January 2021.
 
Data point for west/southwest Florida: I just finally got a shade hangar at KVNC after 2.5 years on the wait list for first available anything that has a roof. I am still around 20th down the list for a T-hangar. I started with around 40 in front of me. In fairness to KVNC, they got rocked by Ian and then got rocked again by the triple-punch of June 2024 flooding/Helene/Milton. Lots of repairs ongoing. I would not be surprised if a large number of T hangars suddenly become available as repairs are completed.

In general, I have not found it difficult to find a roof for my plane though. A lot of it involves who you know and pounding the pavement. I am glad to finally have a permanent home for my bird, but in the time I was waiting, I had access to all of the following:
-A community hangar at KSRQ.
-A T hangar at KSRQ via sublease, of which I did not choose to take advantage because the guy wanted $1,500/month. Nonetheless, it was available for someone who realllllllyyyyyyy wanted it.
-Several seasonally-available T hangars at KPGD.
All of these options became available to me via word-of-mouth via pilots in the area, and asking around from people I knew on those fields. At KPGD, just talk to the FBO's manager... she has a whole list of folks who have interest in subletting their hangars for 6-8 months/year.
 
Does anyone know who makes shade hangars? I may have an opportunity to build some.
 
I wish shade-hangars were more available. I'm speaking from ignorance, I admit, but it seems like they would be significantly easier and cheaper to build than full hangars, while providing 80% of the protection (rain, snow, hail) that most owners want. I know I'd certainly be happy to pay a premium for a shade hangar while waiting for a regular one to open up. Possibly the regulatory hurdles wouldn't be terribly different, so they're not that much cheaper/easier?
 
Took me 9.5 years at my airport. I still don't believe their waitlists are fair and above board.
 
At my home 'drome, as of yesterday, the sponsor (county) owned hangars (there are 50), the wait list is 44-deep. According to the Airport Director, when one comes open, it often takes 4-6 calls before there is a taker. Also, more underused hangars than they'd like (either an out-of-towner who comes a couple times a year for a week or two, an aircraft that is not flyable and for which flying status is not remotely imminent, or just empty). Ideas for reducing the issue include terminating leases for grossly underused hangars in favor of full-time users and possibly imposing a fee ($50.00? Something nominal...) for being added to the list. Also, consideration given to policy where, if you're offered a hangar twice and don't take it (don't have a plane yet), you drop off or to the bottom of the list.

All in the discussion phase as of now.

I've had my hangar for about 6 years, after having been on the list for a Long Time (4 years or so?); when the airport Manager called me to offer it, he was surprised when I said, "Yes."
 
Hangar wait lists are rarely accurate so don't let that discourage you. Get on the list(s). Many pilots are on multiple lists looking for the first available airport. When it comes time there is an opening, some have sold their plane, found something else, aircraft won't fit, etc. so they get bypassed and move to the next person. When people find a hanagar they never go back and tell the airports with their name on the list to take it off.
 
Highly variable. We have two open hangars right now. Depends on where you live and where you look. We often have 1-2 available at any time at my home airfield. When I was temporarily based in Rockville, MD, forget about it. I tied down outside, but had a nice tie down space that was reasonably priced.
 
Jogged my memory - my former home field had 200 or so T hangars. The wait list was well over 90 names long. There was a plan approved to add 40 or 50 hangars, and one day I asked the new manager when that would happen. He said it wouldn’t, because despite the length of the wait list, he felt that no one would take a hangar and they’d be stuck with a bunch of unoccupied buildings to pay for. This despite everyone on the list paying to keep their name active, an airport not far away basically kicking out GA, and another airport creeping closer to closure.

Ten years later, the list is just as long. I suspect that since they long ago ensure all hangars have an airworthy plane (or a build/restoration in progress), and shifting demographics (think influx of younger Silicon Valley folks), demand will stay high because the people on the list are now decades from aging out of aviation.
 
My time to brag: Found a hangar by accident. 10 miles from home on a private grass strip for $200 a month. Its like 80x80x15. Share it with a J3.

I know of another private field with a concrete runway that has space under shade ports but is farther away.

If you want space, look at private airports and network your way in.
 
I was based at CJR for years. The wait list was essentially infinite. Hangars never became available. When someone didn't have a need for one anymore, they just sublet it to someone else. I got into my hangar because I asked the wife of a deceased friend not to turn in her hangar and I'd rent it from her.

Well the airport authority finally said enough was enough. While they made some exceptions for some true special cases, they outright banned subletting. Since they already opened up the hangars the start of every year to find whose planes were hangared there (Virginia counties are big on personal property tax), they decided to send the lease to the owner of the plane in each hangar. If you ever move your plane out of the hangar, you've got 30 days to put another one in there (that is owned by you) or the hangar goes to the next one on the waiting list.

The hangar waiting list quickly went sform infinite to only a few months long. And this is with having the hangar rents some of the lowest in the area. They also built a lot of new hangars. One thing I can say about the CJR management and the county commission, is they have the right idea. While OKV treats the small guys like dirt because if you aren't burning kerosene, you ain't anything, CJR says "We need an airport to make our county look serious for business, and these small guys are keeping us vibrant,and getting the traffic counts up so we can get multiple instrument approaches up and the like. We'll keept he hangar and fuel costs low, make the building accessible 24/7, throw some burgers/dogs out during the summer at times, etc...
 
AvNavCom said:
I wish shade-hangars were more available. I'm speaking from ignorance, I admit, but it seems like they would be significantly easier and cheaper to build than full hangars, while providing 80% of the protection (rain, snow, hail) that most owners want. I know I'd certainly be happy to pay a premium for a shade hangar while waiting for a regular one to open up. Possibly the regulatory hurdles wouldn't be terribly different, so they're not that much cheaper/easier?
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I ran into the local airport manager the other day and we chatted about a variety of hangar-adjacent topics. tl;dr:
* Not so much regulatory hurdles, but shade hangars are not significantly cheaper to build than t hangars, if you can find someone to build them at all.
* For shade hangars, wind/snow loading must be engineered on a per-site basis. I don't know if the same is true of t hangars, or if there is a one size fits all standard that can be stamped out where you theoretically get some economy of scale.
* PV is only interesting at the solar field scale; one building at a time is small potatoes.
* Some airports are tax exempt, rendering the tax incentive of PV moot.
* Apparently one must genuflect to the FAA to install a solar field, something about the land being encumbered by a long lease.
 
Interesting! Thanks. I figured there had some be some kind of regulatory or economic reason why such a seemingly simple structure wasn't all over the place.

Ironically, given this conversation, I was just offered a hangar. It's a two-hour drive from my house, but relatively close to my folks, so I'll probably take it until something closer pops up. At a minimum, it would be a place to store my plane in the event I got deployed or if really wild weather was forecast, I guess. Possibly a good spot for maintenance too.
 
I was on several lists. Was told to prepare for several years of waiting. A few days ago, a large, modern hangar opened up and I was the first one to raise my hand so I'm moving in sometime this week. Which also means, if anyone in the eastern DFW area is looking for hangar space, I will have one or two spots (depending on high/low wing configuration) available from July 1st. DM me for details and exact airport if you're interested. My waiting list is still 0.
 
N918KT said:
I know I am getting way ahead of myself, but was wondering how long did it take for you all to secure a hangar for your airplane?

I just plan on renting immediately after I get my sport license but what if I want to own or partner with someone for an LSA years later down the road?

Does it take some as long as 5 years or even more to secure a hangar for rent? Or is that an exaggeration?

Would like to hear a couple stories on how, if anyone, got a spot for a hangar.
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N918KT said:
So I guess more than 5 years is the norm in suburban and urban areas?
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I don't think there's necessarily any correlation with urban/suburban. It depends on airport management and overall availability.

I live and fly in the suburbs of the largest city in my state... But we have an above average number of airports per capita. Being home to EAA probably doesn't hurt.

So, here was my hangar experience:

1) I went to the FBO at the airport I wanted to be based at. They said it'd take them about a week to clear one of their own planes out of a hangar and clean it out for me.
2) I went to the FBO at another nearby airport. They rented me a hangar for a month for $150 and handed me a key on the spot.

I was at airport (2) for a week, then at Oshkosh for a week, then went to airport (1) and picked up my key (and returned (2)'s key). $275/mo plus tax for one of their nicer, newer Ts with electric bifold door and electricity included in the price.

Then, when my wife and I purchased a new house and I wanted to move to another airport that was equidistant from the new house but only 5 minutes from my office, one phone call got me my current deal:

3) A spot in a larger hangar that holds 2-3 airplanes (3 if one is a Pitts ;)) in a configuration where everyone has direct access to the door so nobody needs to move anybody else to get out. $225 including tax with electricity included still. And that's at the busiest non-airline airport in the state.

There's not an excess of hangars around here, but you can get one almost right away at a good rate if you just ask.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I don't think there's necessarily any correlation with urban/suburban. It depends on airport management and overall availability.

I live and fly in the suburbs of the largest city in my state... But we have an above average number of airports per capita. Being home to EAA probably doesn't hurt.

So, here was my hangar experience:

1) I went to the FBO at the airport I wanted to be based at. They said it'd take them about a week to clear one of their own planes out of a hangar and clean it out for me.
2) I went to the FBO at another nearby airport. They rented me a hangar for a month for $150 and handed me a key on the spot.

I was at airport (2) for a week, then at Oshkosh for a week, then went to airport (1) and picked up my key (and returned (2)'s key). $275/mo plus tax for one of their nicer, newer Ts with electric bifold door and electricity included in the price.

Then, when my wife and I purchased a new house and I wanted to move to another airport that was equidistant from the new house but only 5 minutes from my office, one phone call got me my current deal:

3) A spot in a larger hangar that holds 2-3 airplanes (3 if one is a Pitts ;)) in a configuration where everyone has direct access to the door so nobody needs to move anybody else to get out. $225 including tax with electricity included still. And that's at the busiest non-airline airport in the state.

There's not an excess of hangars around here, but you can get one almost right away at a good rate if you just ask.
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Yeah, but that's Wisconsin where the largest cities in the state is still the smallest market in the MLB and the NFL. Urban ain't really urban. I mean it's like going to Czechoslovakia.
 
EdFred said:
Yeah, but that's Wisconsin where the largest cities in the state is still the smallest market in the MLB and the NFL. Urban ain't really urban. I mean it's like going to Czechoslovakia.
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Um... Normally I like Michigan, but if you shoot I'll return fire. :p Nobody here considers Green Bay a "large city". It's on par with Kenosha, which we call "Kenowhere." Milwaukee is our largest city, and it's the 31st largest in the US. Detroit is only 26th... So get off yer high horse! :p

And since you brought up sports, going back to when they first joined the league, the Brewers have outwon the Tigers, even if you count the first year where they were the Seattle Pilots and were the worst team in baseball (1969). And same thing with the Packers and the Lions going all the way back to 1930 when the Lions were formed. In fact, you can choose any number of years to go back in either case and the Wisconsin team comes out ahead every time except the last three years where the Lions apparently finally realized they were a football team.

With respect to airports, though, which is what is relevant, the point is that there will be some airports in very well populated areas with plenty of hangar availability, while there may be rural hangars with long waiting lists. All that really matters is how airport management works, and the relative availability of hangars at other nearby airports.
 
EdFred said:
Yeah, but that's Wisconsin where the largest cities in the state is still the smallest market in the MLB and the NFL. Urban ain't really urban. I mean it's like going to Czechoslovakia.
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I got the s--t kicked out of me in Czechoslovakia once.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Um... Normally I like Michigan, but if you shoot I'll return fire. :p Nobody here considers Green Bay a "large city". It's on par with Kenosha, which we call "Kenowhere." Milwaukee is our largest city, and it's the 31st largest in the US. Detroit is only 26th... So get off yer high horse! :p

And since you brought up sports, going back to when they first joined the league, the Brewers have outwon the Tigers, even if you count the first year where they were the Seattle Pilots and were the worst team in baseball (1969). And same thing with the Packers and the Lions going all the way back to 1930 when the Lions were formed. In fact, you can choose any number of years to go back in either case and the Wisconsin team comes out ahead every time except the last three years where the Lions apparently finally realized they were a football team.

With respect to airports, though, which is what is relevant, the point is that there will be some airports in very well populated areas with plenty of hangar availability, while there may be rural hangars with long waiting lists. All that really matters is how airport management works, and the relative availability of hangars at other nearby airports.
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I was talking market size, not sports success.

And for record the urban population of the Detroit area is 12th at 3.77 million, Milwaukee is 38th at 1.31. Detroit adds another almost 2 million when you take the CSA numbers, and Milwaukee another million. So not even close when you talk about an urban population center. Detroit's CSA is almost the entire population of Wisconsin.

Even Grand Rapids CSA is only half a mil smaller than Milwaukee's.
 
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It also can't hurt to be active. Flying, buying fuel, maintenance, etc. If you don't have a plane yet, rent locally. Get to be known around the airport. Lists can be fluid.

Not hangar, but when we bought our sailboat all we could get was a mooring (equal to outside tie down). Slip list was years.

We showed up for Thursday night races. Bought stuff from the store. Got know as nice people. Next season, suddenly we had a slip.
 
Boat slips in my area were twice as expensive as my boat at the time. I kept it on a trailer instead.
 
Pinecone said:
It also can't hurt to be active. Flying, buying fuel, maintenance, etc. If you don't have a plane yet, rent locally. Get to be known around the airport. Lists can be fluid.

Not hangar, but when we bought our sailboat all we could get was a mooring (equal to outside tie down). Slip list was years.

We showed up for Thursday night races. Bought stuff from the store. Got know as nice people. Next season, suddenly we had a slip.
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Years back, my father was on a waiting list at our marina for a spot to put a mobile home as a 'fish camp'. He was told that it might be a few years before being able to get a spot. My father was never one to make waves (figuratively and literally ;)) around the marina, always conscientious with refueling, payed his bill on time, etc.. A few months after getting on the list, the marina owner, Sims, contacted dad and said we will have our spot available in a couple of weeks and he had a truck lined up to pull our 'camp' the 65mi to the marina from the current location. My father was shocked and said he thought there was a long waiting list. Sims' reply was "there is....but remember, I make the list!. Being active in the area and show that you are going to be a good neighbor can be helpful in some locals.
 
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