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20% Left to Do and No Hangar?
Here is a question for those of you with completed aircraft that you started building in your home garage.
Did you run into major time delays in getting suitable hangar space to finish the project? Seemingly finding hangar space across the US is not exactly like finding a home storage unit to rent. Tales of years long waiting lists float about. What's the reality out there in 2019? Should everyone switch to building a OneX from Sonex? |
I have two hangars. One is filled with my RV-7. The second is filled with a Mooney (not mine). I'm nearing completion of an RV-14 and need to find hangar space for it. Gonna have to start putting some effort into acquiring a third hangar within the next three months.
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I would start about a year before ready to go to the airport looking/inquiring and getting on wait lists. Good to let people know you are interested because, at least around here, hanger space is best found by word of mouth. This way you can be a little choosy and not get crammed in the corner of a full hanger of junk. And the be prepared to go early if something good pops up.
FYI, from the looks of the bulletin board in our airport office, the last few years hangar space has been a little easier to find than 5-10 years ago. YMMV |
Out there
I finished without finding a hangar. I did find a temporary hangar for final assembly but then it was outside. I rented tie down space and found it to be not so bad after all. $50/ month is nice. I made a cover out of sunbrella fabric that extends far enough fore and aft so the cockpit never gets wet. There are only a few hinge joints exposed on the control surfaces that get wet. I apply Corrosion X to them about every 2 months and haven't noticed anything wrong.
The airport has been very nice about me working on the plane outside. I'd recommend asking about that up front. I got a honda type portable gen to run hand tools. |
There was a ten-year waiting list at Asheville. Since the FBO changed hands several times during that decade (Million Air...Landmark...Signature), when it came time to move my plane to the airport, I discovered that my name had dropped off the waiting list. I pleaded with the general manager and, somehow, he found me a hangar. My only suggestion is to get on the list early and keep bugging the general manager on a regular basis.
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A workable, but not ideal, solution is to do your final assembly on the ramp, but find a nearby hangar where you can keep a rolling toolbox and whatever the next pieces are you plan to install.
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A wait for a hanger boils down to where you want your hanger to be. Three years ago, my buddy was moving to Venice Florida from Michigan and they had a hanger available for him immediately. Today, there are over 100 people on "the list" waiting. I have my RV-9A up at our second home in Gladwin MI, KGDW. A very nice airport that is home-builder friendly, has 20 late model hangers, and has several empty ones available for immediate occupancy. Hangers rent for $90-125 per month depending on size. Builders who are building at home need to plan accordingly for their particular area.
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T Hanger just became available at my field, KOXC, Waterbury Oxford, CT. I can PM info if anybody interested.
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Find a hangar to share
Don?t overlook sharing a hangar. In many T hangars a two seat RV will be a nice hangar mate for a high wing Cessna. My first RV (8A) shared a T hangar with another RV-8. I had mine nose in and he had his tail in.
Here is where your local RV group will be useful - keeping an eye out looking for options as they walk the hangar rows on some sunny day. Carl |
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