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Aircraft building step 1

mulde35d

Well Known Member
Friend
I just figured out the first step to building an aircraft.

Put your name on the wait list for a hangar. Just called around to a few airports with wait times ranging from 6 years to 12 years for a small T hangar. And they want a full months down payment simply to reserve a place on that 12 year wait list.

May be time to start building a house and hangar on a private airstrip.
 
I just figured out the first step to building an aircraft.

Put your name on the wait list for a hangar. Just called around to a few airports with wait times ranging from 6 years to 12 years for a small T hangar. And they want a full months down payment simply to reserve a place on that 12 year wait list.

May be time to start building a house and hangar on a private airstrip.

Dig into it...you may find that some of those hangars are being used for non-aviation purposes, which means that if you're ready to move an airplane into one, they should get 30 days and then out they go so you can move in.

From what I've observed, hangar owners will often go to great lengths to prevent new (airplane-owning) tenants to move in: mysterious, never-seen-in-public "waiting lists" that always seem to be years long (and yet, funny how that hangar was vacated and promptly filled with another non-aviation tenant); flat-out "no hangars available" statements with no other info; etc., etc.

Are you near ready to move an airplane into one? Or just beginning?
 
I just figured out the first step to building an aircraft.

Put your name on the wait list for a hangar. Just called around to a few airports with wait times ranging from 6 years to 12 years for a small T hangar. And they want a full months down payment simply to reserve a place on that 12 year wait list.

May be time to start building a house and hangar on a private airstrip.

There is some truth to this. Several builders in So Cal are ready to move to hangars and can’t find one. You do have to be proactive. Vans talks about a 250 percent increase in kit sales in the last couple of years. If all those planes get finished it’s going to get ugly.
 
Legwork and (holds nose) networking. Go to the EAA meetings, meet people, let them get to know you, go wander around the airport on your time off and keep your ears open. My hangar was not advertised, a friend called me up and asked if I was still looking. Next day I bought it before anyone knew. When a hangar in our row went up for sale we talked to/screened people that came by, if we didn't think someone would be a good fit we told them the hangar was under contract, it went to a RV builder who has turned into a good friend, he saved my tuckus when it came to my paint job.

Good luck!!
 
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Legwork and (holds nose) networking. Go to the EAA meetings, meet people, let them get to know you, go wander around the airport on your time off and keep your ears open. My hangar was not advertised, a friend called me up and asked if I was still looking. Next day I bought it before anyone knew. When a hangar in our row went up for sale we talked to/screened people that came by, if we didn't think someone would be a good fit we told them the hangar was under contract, it went to a RV builder who has turned into a good friend, he saved my tuckus when it came to my paint job.

Good luck!!

Unfortunately when you move every 2-3 years and don’t know where the next location will be then the good old boy system doesn’t work too well. End up having to move again by the time you become part of the “group”
 
It always surprises me how airports will have decades long waiting lists, extremely high hangar rents, and still have acres of prime, undeveloped land where they could build 100 more units. What's holding them back?
 
It always surprises me how airports will have decades long waiting lists, extremely high hangar rents, and still have acres of prime, undeveloped land where they could build 100 more units. What's holding them back?

Here at LVK, it’s opposition from residents of the town downwind of the runway. Used to be agriculture land, now it’s all housing. They equate more hangars with more noise.
 
Legwork and (holds nose) networking. Go to the EAA meetings, meet people, let them get to know you, go wander around the airport on your time off and keep your ears open. My hangar was not advertised, a friend called me up and asked if I was still looking. Next day I bought it before anyone knew. When a hangar in our row went up for sale we talked to/screened people that came by, if we didn't think someone would be a good fit we told them the hangar was under contract, it went to a RV builder who has turned into a good friend, he saved my tuckus when it came to my paint job.

Good luck!!


Exactly. Mine wasn’t advertised, or even for sale. As I was getting ready to move, I stopped by the airport and asked if there was any room anywhere, with a preference to buy a hangar… 6 weeks later, I owned one.
 
At our airport at KBWG, hangars are rented, not bought. You could be #12 on a waiting list of 50, but still get in reasonably quick. Many of the people at the top of the list sold their plane, already moved it elsewhere, aren't ready to move now or even died. When a hangar opens up, the management starts at the top and calls in order. At least get your name on the list.
 
It always surprises me how airports will have decades long waiting lists, extremely high hangar rents, and still have acres of prime, undeveloped land where they could build 100 more units. What's holding them back?

At my airport, there's plenty of land available to build, and the airport is supportive of it. The problem for most is, because the land can only be leased (as are basically all federally funded airports), many banks won't lend $, so financing becomes construction becomes a challenge. Everyone I know who has built a hangar here in the past 10 years had cash in hand to do so.

Our airport has had the challenge of building units themselves, because they don't make a positive return on investment, and getting a non-aviation minded city appointed board on track to do so is a challenge. We finally got a new row of condo hangars built this year, but it will be many decades before the construction costs are recouped in rents. I view it as a win however, since the airport will see a n increase in operations, local maintenance and avionics work, flight training, and fuel sales with the increased based aircraft - but I also already own a hangar. Many of the other hangar owners could care less about additional units; their needs are already met.

Of course this is all geographically and local politics dependent, so your mileage may vary.

(I have to admit, our family would love to relocate some day in the not too distant future - but finding a spot to house our planes at a conveniently located airport is a huge roadblock)
 
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