Hangar stacking/plane lifts etc

With hangar prices/land leases at airports going crazy, we are looking at some options to keep indoor storage reasonable.

Anyone out there have some creative ways to safely store RVs by stacking etc.

I know there are lifts like Vans have for the corners of big hangars, but didnt know if anyone has seen or tried something in the more traditional one plane hangars? In effect a lift that would raise one plane up close to the ceiling and allow another to park under it or allow some other creative solution. Marinas in busy areas use a rack system to store boats where slips are crazy expensive. I am not willing to try anything dangerous that will damage a plane but when you see some of the car and boat parking/storage ideas out there...seems someone may have modified a good plane solution??

Pics? Ideas welcome!

I saw a system where a Thorp T-18 was in a T-hangar with a Cessna.

One wheel of the T-18 was ramped up as the plane was pushed back into the hangar. This dropped one wing for clearance under the Cessna wing.

Consider tilting the planes with ramps under one wheel only to reduce spacing.

Rick-
I just saw a post a few days ago about someone who had a lift for sale that he had used in a typical t hangar. I think he wanted $7K for it. In any case, though maybe a bit expensive, they are available for t hangars as well.

Edit... Here it is....
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=121419&highlight=Lift+sale

i sold my aero-lift for $9500 last october....just a data point

Harbor Freight has vehicle lifts for around $2,000 rated at 6,000 lb. Of course you would want to be absolutely sure to install a proper block/lock system to prevent is coming down with loss of hydraulic pressure, but on could probably be adapted to lift a light plane.

I know I would have to think hard about whether to trust such a piece of equipment with my plane however.

A buddy of mine made one. He made a frame of 5" steel tube for the tiedown points and the tailwheel of his strut-braced airplane. He ran cables from those three frames to an electric winch in the back on the hangar. Worked well, he used it almost every day for years. Cost was not much.

He could leave the frames on the ground with the bottom airplane pushed back in the hangar, flying the airplane that he'd just lowered.

Dave

Not fancy...

Fuse of RV rests on blankets and insulation atop Mooney wing. Tight fit, but it works!
Patrick

Check with Wayne ; [email protected] about aircraft lifts. He's a great guy and an RV-7 builder and flyer. He stacks his RV-7 above his Navion. He has a few options available.
Danny

Rick
Go and see Wayne Hadath's set up at Kitchener, CYKF. He has two lifts in his hangar, one for the RV10 and another for a C150. On the ground is his Rocket and a Pitts.