What would make you consider tiedowns over renting a hangar?

Can’t plug in the kegerator at a tie down. And even if I could, it would be pilfered by dirty thievin’ pilots before it got cold. Hangar for me.
 
DMD3. said:
What aircraft is this? It’s looks a bit like an RV8 and Navion hybrid.
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B model Navion with Osborne tip tanks on it. It's got the Druitt bottom cowl and a three blade prop (there's an IO-550 inside).
The flaps are down and the thing under the left wing is my VThrust towbar.
 
flyingron said:
B model Navion with Osborne tip tanks on it. It's got the Druitt bottom cowl and a three blade prop (there's an IO-550 inside).
The flaps are down and the thing under the left wing is my VThrust towbar.
Click to expand...
Awesome. It looks like a 2-seat tandem from this angle and not a 4-seater.
 
DMD3. said:
Awesome. It looks like a 2-seat tandem from this angle and not a 4-seater.
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Yeah, I think the canopy isn't open all the way in that shot. Most people think it's a six seater because the bolster for the rear seat is on the hat shelf that slides back with the canopy.
 
Id really consider a shade hangar if was available and significantly cheaper especially if they have power and storage lockers. That being said im currently sitting in my hangar while its pouring outside drinking something nice and cold
 
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Clip4 said:
All one has to do is visit enough airports and see the rotting aircraft to tied down to realize most people who opt tie down can’t afford the plane or don’t care what they own looks like crap.
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The Club I used to belong to, tied down all eight of its airplanes down outside. Reason: availability and expense of hangars. KHPN, White Plains, NY.
 
What is the cost of painting the plane? How many years of rent before you reach that number?

Granted the paint will last longer in the hangar, but if you pay for a paint job every X years and even outside if the paint will last longer than that, you might just want to repaint the plane ever so often.
 
Corrosion is the bigger factor. You'd have to soak the plane in CorrosionX every couple years if you keep it outside.
And if you have a Bo with magnesium stabilators.... good luck.
 
Skip Miller said:
The Club I used to belong to, tied down all eight of its airplanes down outside. Reason: availability and expense of hangars. KHPN, White Plains, NY.
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Do they still tiedown there??? A friend moved out of HPN a while ago because of the major jump in tiedown fees. And they moved him from a nice spot on the edge of the ramp into some middle spot that was a pain.
 
Skip Miller said:
The Club I used to belong to, tied down all eight of its airplanes down outside. Reason: availability and expense of hangars. KHPN, White Plains, NY.
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Sure, if you don’t own the plane, share risk and costs with 60 other people and can just walk away without much loss if the plan goes to crap, why not.
 
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Clip4 said:
All one has to do is visit enough airports and see the rotting aircraft to tied down to realize most people who opt tie down can’t afford the plane or don’t care what they own looks like crap.
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All one has to do is be able to afford to or care about living in an actually popular area of the country where the hangar wait list is long enough that if the owner waited long enough to get a hangar before he or she got a plane then they'd probably no longer be eligible for a medical.
 
Alpha Charlie said:
All one has to do is be able to afford to or care about living in an actually popular area of the country where the hangar wait list is long enough that if the owner waited long enough to get a hangar before he or she got a plane then they'd probably no longer be eligible for a medical.
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There are plenty of people who own cars that sit outside because the can’t afford or can’t get housing with a garage. But most people with cars valued at >$100k have them in a garage.
 
Corin said:
Is there a specific price of aircraft? Or age of an aircraft?
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In my experience, it has more to do with the owner's take on maintaining their aircraft. There are currently aircraft that "rot" in a hangar because owners do not properly maintain them. There was a time when 100 aircraft would be parked on the ramp or in grass and only a dozen or so parked in hangars. Then the market collapsed and the aircraft in the grass found spots on the ramp and others simply abandoned their aircraft. Regardless, any aircraft can be parked on the ramp to include fabric ones, however, the key to that is the owner and what they choose to do to make that work. For a current example, just look to Alaska and what aircraft are parked outside year-round with some looking good and some not so good. The best part 99% of the work to maintain an aircraft outside falls under prevent mx and a pilot certificate.
 
I would not leave my airplane sitting outside unprotected………too much of value to me to do that!
 
I was going to post Pink Floyd Money video, but I was slow off the take.
Everything else is noise and/or justification to explain spending the money.

Tim
 
Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

I'm in the high-fidelity first-class traveling set
And I think I need a Learjet
 
Paint job: :$18k to more.
Hangar: $600-700 a month.
Tiedowns: $100-200 a month.
So an approximate delta of $600 a month for your average T Hangar, your delta funds a paint job every 2 and a half years.

Out East, salty air loves filiform and intergranular corrosion.
Out west where we are, airports like Torrance, Long Beach, Santa Mónica, Hawthorne and many other still see plenty of corrosion and rust on surfaces. We treat and paint plenty of it.

We are working on a Cessna airframe with 22,000 hours whose wings inside were not looking good that was parked near San Diego. Rivets coming loose in many places.

Corrosion is real, but the cost of hangars, particularly when airports see better revenue from vehicles and businesses, doesn’t make it easier
 
I love when people forget that the whole purpose of the airport is having aircraft.

just absolutely love it.

(that's sarcasm)
 
Thinking about the title, “

What would make you consider tiedowns over renting a hangar?”​


I’d choose tiedowns in my own hangar over a hangar I rented. In my area, I would not consider outdoor storage of an airplane.
 
theplanesalon said:
Paint job: :$18k to more.
Hangar: $600-700 a month.
Tiedowns: $100-200 a month.
So an approximate delta of $600 a month for your average T Hangar, your delta funds a paint job every 2 and a half years.

Out East, salty air loves filiform and intergranular corrosion.
Out west where we are, airports like Torrance, Long Beach, Santa Mónica, Hawthorne and many other still see plenty of corrosion and rust on surfaces. We treat and paint plenty of it.

We are working on a Cessna airframe with 22,000 hours whose wings inside were not looking good that was parked near San Diego. Rivets coming loose in many places.

Corrosion is real, but the cost of hangars, particularly when airports see better revenue from vehicles and businesses, doesn’t make it easier
Click to expand...

I think quality paint jobs are more expensive these days, closer to $25k.
 
$75 a month, has newer bifold door. One of the many advantages of living in the middle of nowhere……..
 
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Garee said:
$75 a month, has newer bifold door.
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to paraphrase a line from a movie: "I hate you..."

(I've never paid less than $85/month for a tie-down since I got my plane in '94)
 
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I live on the Gulf Coast and base at (KIYA) and pay $400/month for space in a shared hangar, and I'm glad to have it. Lots of storms, high heat, and harsh conditions. I also get an insurance break for being in a hangar.

Would love to have a T-hangar, but they are basically unobtainium at my base airport. At the same time, my FBO provides great service, moves my plane in and out on request, and my A&P is about 400 feet from my hangar, so that's good. There were a few folks on tiedowns, but that has mostly gone away over the last year or so.

Some friends just got into a brand new unit at Acadiana Regional that the Parish just built for a great rate, but no A&P there. Another owner just moved about 50 miles north and built a new hangar at Opelousas, just to get a little further from the Gulf.

On a tie-down, I also don't think I would want to fly it out 2-3 times a year when a hurricane is in the Gulf; that would be a huge PITA.
 
Garee said:
$75 a month, has newer bifold door. One of the many advantages of living in the middle of nowhere……..
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$175 for the place I've been the past two years, electric bifold and in good shape. It's not exactly a metropolis, but it's a Delta near a small city and currently has hangars available. I don't believe anyone ties down long term here. I moved here from a busy untowered field underneath a Bravo that either had openings or a short wait-list with a lot of turnover for the 3 years I was there. It was a long drive to the field and it was ~double what I pay now but it was a nice hangar and I don't recall more than one or two airplanes tied down long term.

I don't pretend this is normal, I've been lucky, but I've also networked a lot and flattened my ear making calls. Being willing to base far away and/or pay a premium has helped, as has being ready to relocate at a moment's notice, but none of that will make hangars magically appear.

Best advice I can give is never stop looking.

Nauga,
undercover
 
nauga said:
Being willing to base far away and/or pay a premium has helped, as has being ready to relocate at a moment's notice, but none of that will make hangars magically appear.
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Flexibility is crucial for success, that's for sure. I had a tie-down at HEF but got a very lucky break getting a T-hangar at HWY through a local connection. So the decision was: do I pay for a tie-down that is ten minutes from my house, or a hanger that is 30 minutes away? I took the hangar without hesitation.

A more interesting question will be what to do when I eventually get to the front of the HEF hangar list, since HEF is much closer but HWY has a vibrant community. The obvious answer seems to be "buy a second airplane".
 
theplanesalon said:
Paint job: :$18k to more.
Hangar: $600-700 a month.
Tiedowns: $100-200 a month.
So an approximate delta of $600 a month for your average T Hangar, your delta funds a paint job every 2 and a half years.

Out East, salty air loves filiform and intergranular corrosion.
Out west where we are, airports like Torrance, Long Beach, Santa Mónica, Hawthorne and many other still see plenty of corrosion and rust on surfaces. We treat and paint plenty of it.

We are working on a Cessna airframe with 22,000 hours whose wings inside were not looking good that was parked near San Diego. Rivets coming loose in many places.

Corrosion is real, but the cost of hangars, particularly when airports see better revenue from vehicles and businesses, doesn’t make it easier
Click to expand...
For some reason in 50 years of flying I don’t ever recall a single plane with a new paint job tied down at an airport for months. What I do see is planes needing paint being tied down for months.
 
Or…,, people who can afford a paint job can afford a hangar.
 
Got lucky when I bought my cherokee that I got first right of refusal on the hangar. I obviously said I wanted it. Nice, insulated hangar with a good floor and plenty of power recepticals for $250/mo for the last couple years and I think it is only going up to $300 here shortly. It's nice to have somewhere to put all my tools (IA so I do all my own work) as well as somewhere to hang out during lunch or after work (I work at the airport and live 10 mins from it). We have a long list of people wanting hangars and only two tie down spots here.
 
How many people leave brand news cars outside? Same back in the day with planes.
Usually ran them to tbo and sold them. Buy a newer3-5 year old plane rinse and repeat.

Nowadays you all hangering Museum Pieces.

IMG_0674.jpeg
 
Lama1125 said:
Got lucky when I bought my cherokee that I got first right of refusal on the hangar. I obviously said I wanted it. Nice, insulated hangar with a good floor and plenty of power recepticals for $250/mo for the last couple years and I think it is only going up to $300 here shortly. It's nice to have somewhere to put all my tools (IA so I do all my own work) as well as somewhere to hang out during lunch or after work (I work at the airport and live 10 mins from it). We have a long list of people wanting hangars and only two tie down spots here.
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A rented T hangar came with my plane also luckily.
When the prepaid hangar(by the previous owner) rent ran out, I switched the hangar lease into my name. At that time there was 2 others available and I moved into one of them under suggestion from the airport manager. Not the case today I don't think?
 
So I do have a hangar option at my airport. I just can’t see spending $13,800 a year to have a hangar vs $720 a year for a tie down.

Is $1,150 a month reasonable? The current T hangars owned by the county don’t have running water, but are about the same size and rent for $600 a month.

IMG_1425.png
 
It's a no brainer decision for me:

$390 per month with electric door and free electricity included
In addition to the plane, store lots of other stuff cheaper than a commercial storage facility
Plug in preheat in the winter
Following snow, able to fly soon after the necessary taxiways are plowed (I know some of the snowplow drivers to speed that up)
Yes, also a good place to work on the plane and hang out

IMG_1598 2.jpeg
 
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