Getting a lease on a Hangar

I need some advice on how to secure a lease on a hangar. Here's my dilemma:
I'm building a -10 and just got my finishing kit and ordered my panel from Stein. I'm building it in my garage. That being said I can't attach the wings until I get a hangar. Two airports have turned me down because the airplane is not FAA certified and hasn't been issued a N#. According to both airports the FAA is very strict about hangar rentals. Can anyone offer up a solution.

Thanks

Tom Clark

The only thing I've heard is that the FAA had gotten strict on hangars being used for non-aviation purposes. If it was indeed true that you had to have a certified plane to get a hangar, no-one would be flying experimental aircraft at all.

Sounds to me like they don't want anyone there who isn't immediately buying fuel or they have a problem with experimental aviation.

Sounds like this is fallout from the kerfuffle a few years ago where the FAA cracked down on non-aviation use of hangars on airports with federal grants.

The FAA does agree that the initial stages of building can be done somewhere else and are not aviation use. However, the FAA also issued a clarification that final assembly of a plane is aviation use, so no airport should be worried about that if you are at that stage.

http://aviationweek.com/awin-only/faa-sets-policy-straight-use-hangars

The EAA has been working to expand this:

http://generalaviationnews.com/2014/08/10/new-faa-hangar-policy-causing-confusion/

Here's the actual slide deck from the FAA as well as the relevant slide:

https://www.faa.gov/airports/northw...iance-updates-mama-meeting-september-2014.pdf

Reserving an N number is fairly cheap and easy to do. Once I showed the local airport that reservation and they were able to see it on FAA database, that is all they needed.

I heard airport were strict myself, but after moving in and looking at some of my neighbors, I am wondering how many decades it has been since an airplane has been parked in some of them.

ty1295 said:

Reserving an N number is fairly cheap and easy to do. Once I showed the local airport that reservation and they were able to see it on FAA database, that is all they needed.

I heard airport were strict myself, but after moving in and looking at some of my neighbors, I am wondering how many decades it has been since an airplane has been parked in some of them.

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I second this, once I gave the airport the N number I had reserved and explained a bit about where I was in the build process, they said I met the intent of the law. It was nice to be able to move the wings out and have room to store the other kits while I work on the fuse and tailcone.

AOPA offers help in this arena, if you can't get it worked out. I do hope you're a member!

sounds like they want property tax out of every hangar occupant too

buy something cheap that has an N number, put it in there

local hangars or mini-storage?

ty1295 said:

Reserving an N number is fairly cheap and easy to do. Once I showed the local airport that reservation and they were able to see it on FAA database, that is all they needed.

I heard airport were strict myself, but after moving in and looking at some of my neighbors, I am wondering how many decades it has been since an airplane has been parked in some of them.

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....ditto.....some guys have $200,000 hangars here, and they are full to the roof with somebodys business file boxes. I mean....hundreds!

if the friction from fornicating mice ever causes a spark, who will pay for the adjoining hangars that are part of the inferno!?!?

nobody wants 'the man' inspecting the hangar contents every month, but c'mon......old cars and boats are the more the norm, not the exception.

flyboy1963 said:

..........old cars and boats are the more the norm, not the exception.

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Which is exactly why the FAA policy change. Of course, it only applies to airports that have taken FAA money. Perhaps your local fields don't fall under that?
Personally I think any, even early stage building, of an aircraft should qualify. But there are too many people who want to bend the rules, e.g., one hangar at our airport was occupied by a dog grooming business. They bought a wrecked airplane, cut off its tail (and data plate) and hung that on the wall. When the city came by they pointed at it, and said "airplane".

Buy a cheap drone, submit a few pieces of paperwork to FAA for an N number, slap it on, store in hangar. Done.

http://southernhelicam.com/registering-a-dji-uav-with-the-faa/

I really need to read the FAA rules, and find out what airports apply.

I am guilty of storing my 63 Nova in there also, but read the lease agreement very carefully and it is only due to the hangar is more than big enough for my RV.

The lease actually said specifically spare vehicles are allowed, and even working on them at the airport.

One of the larger hangars has an airplane but the rest is full of what appears to be a full on wood shop, and the plane I saw wasn't wood.

Another had a large 32' boat and jeep. No way anything but a paper airplane could fit also.

I don't mind other storing other things with airplane, but to fill them up with junk and not have any available for real airplane use is not the idea. If someone wants copy of my lease I can surely send it, not sure it would apply to any other airport.

Thanks to all that replied. I now at least have some ammunition to deal with these folks

A great deal of the FAA rules interpretation is going to rest on the airport manager. I have a 'yuuuge" hanger. It has a 30' X 22" empty cube on one side of the tee. The airport manager even commented when I rented it that "it even has room for your boats". So in addition to the RV-10, gas tug, two 8' workbenches, two wall's of shelving, large air compressor, floor drill press, small refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot, 4 sections of scaffolding, 2 ladders, 4 garbage cans strategically located and a couple chairs, there is still plenty of room to move about and I can still fit in my pontoon boat, hot rod speed boat, and wave runner in the cube area. If I move the plane off center a couple feet, I can fit my 1 ton crew cab Sierra next to it also. The hanger behind me is rented by a company that tests cars. Nothing but cars and testing equipment in it. They spend a couple days a week running up and down the taxiway and runway at high speeds with yellow roof lights flashing testing whatever. They yield right of way to any aircraft taking off or landing. This is a public airport owned by the City. With the downturn in aviation activity over the last 10 years or so, the Airport Manager is doing what ever it takes to keep it open a viable. Adjacent property to the runway and taxiway is leased for agriculture. I don't like this as it attracts deer and other wildlife,,,,but he's keeping the airport viable.