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What size hangar is enough?

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Vince Koehn

Well Known Member
I am looking at building a hangar for my RV-6A. What size of hangar have most found to be adequate? What would you do different? I am looking at having Morton build me one, or possibly going with steel package. I would be interested in what is working well for you and what you would like different. I am thinking a hangar large enough to house two RV's, maybe a 6 and a 10.

Thanks,
Vince Koehn
 
N819VK said:
I am looking at building a hangar for my RV-6A. What size of hangar have most found to be adequate? What would you do different? I am looking at having Morton build me one, or possibly going with steel package. I would be interested in what is working well for you and what you would like different. I am thinking a hangar large enough to house two RV's, maybe a 6 and a 10.

Thanks,
Vince Koehn
Click to expand...


Our 45X48' hangar houses both my RV-6A and Cessna 150, and my hangarmate's Cessna 172. All fit reasonably well. The key to the usefulness of this square footage is high wing and low wing aircraft sharing the same area. Three high wing or three low wing aircraft would most likely not fit into this space easily or if they somehow did, the constant danger of hangar rash would be an ever-present nightmare. Regardless of what hangar you eventually build, I would suggest that if possible, situate your (bi-fold?) door on the east side of the hangar. Much warmer in the winter and much, much cooler during the heat of the summer. ;)

Rick Galati RV-6A "Darla"
 
The Morton buildings are nice. A 40 X 50-60 is nice. Can never be too big. I highly recommend a Wilson Bi-Fold door. We have one on our hangar home. It has worked reliably for almost 12 years now and going strong.

Roberta
 
Hangar Size?

robertahegy said:
<snip>...Can never be too big...Roberta
Click to expand...

I have never met a hangar owner who's said, "I should have built a smaller hangar...."

I would suggest you build the biggest hangar you can afford ;) 80'x45' Rosie
 
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Vince, I built a 67 x 50 hangar on my property a few years ago. At that time, it was cheaper to buy a hangar from the manufacturer, and be my own contractor. A local company did the erection, it was a big task taking 3 guys 10 days, with several 1 ton beams to move.

A note on the depth, most hangars come in 25 ft max. deep sections. So a 50 ft hangar needs 3 major cross beams, and a 60 ft hangar would take 4 major cross beams. So, if you want to go deeper than 50 ft., it's more economical to go all of the way to 75 ft deep with the same 4 cross beams. your are essentially buying the steel by the ton, and those beams weigh a lot. My hangar was about 12 tons total.

I personally like the non-electric Horton doors, easy for one person to slide, and the snow shield option at the base of the doors keeps out the pack rats in AZ.

For resale value, you probably shouldn't size it for RVs. My 44 ft wide door by 12 ft high will take most medium twins, which should probably be the size to aim for.... And yes... I would have made it bigger...:^)

gil in Tucson 57AZ
 
The ultimate hanger (my opinion)

Here is what I am planning when the time is right.

http://the-rac.hypermart.net/

The turn table will eliminate hanger rash, provide rental income and still give you room for the next projects in the corners.

Wayne
S.Alberta
-7a wiring
 
I've built 2 hangars on my strip. The first was a Tyler Building (40 X 60 X 12). I built my own bi-fold door for $1000 (1990 $$). I built the second hangar (a RED-DOT building) in 2002. It is 45 X 50 X 14. This time I used a hi-fold door.
This bi-fold door cost me $3200 including the automatic latch system. I put up both hangars myself with the help of friends. The first hangar cost me $11,000 including the door. the second one (12 years later) cost me $15,700 including the door. I am very happy with both. Both are all steel, insulated, with roof vents.
Mel...DAR
 
hanger

I built a 60 x 72 x 14 Morton with a Horton stack door 9 years ago. I think the Morton building is one of the best deals. I had a small leak around one of the skylites & there was no finger pointing at whose responsibility it was to fix it, they just said "we'll be right out to take care of it". Morton isn't the cheapest, but you can't beat the quality & the warranty. One of the things I like about them is it'a all Morton, form the salesman clear down to the erection/finish crew.
I've since built a Morton building for my business.

Marshall Alexander
RV-10, wings
 
Hangar Size

Though the plane is in the early stages, my wife and I are looking to move into an airpark in the next year. We're working with an architect now on plans and I need to come up with final dimensions for the hanger to house the 10. I want to be able to fit and work comfortably in the hanger, but at the same time every cubic foot will add costs.

I know from Vans that the span will be 31'9", length 24'5", and height 8'8".

Does anyone have thoughts on how much movement and working room I need around that to make for a comfortable fit while still keeping the dimensions down?
 
IBC sizes

Steve... you might want to keep the size down to below 2000 sq. ft.

Most jurisdictions are (or have) adopting the IBC building code, which defines residential hangars as less than 2000 sq ft.
If you go over that, you may (depends on your local code enforcers) be classified as a commercial building, which can open a big can of worms.... :(

Since you can never have a hangar too large... :).. and the costs per sq. ft. should be reasonable low (it's just a big, empty box... :) ...) I would go for a bit under 50 wide and 40 deep. You don't want too small a hangar and lower you resale values in the future.
Note that a 50 wide hangar won't give you a 50 ft wide door, and you don't want too little clearance as planes are pushed back in.... IIRC, Cessna's are just under 40 ft. span.

gil in Tucson... glad I built before the IBC... the last few residents took over a year to get hangars approved locally...
 
43 X 32

My friend stores his RV10 in this size and it fits with lots of room to spare.
My hangar is the same size and I store a C172 and a RV9A, but it is tight.

Kent
 
standard sized

I agree about the IBC codes. and whatever your local codes may require. I would also suggest speaking to your builder as trusses come in standard lengths and speak to your hanger door manufacturer as they have standard sizes as well. For example some steel sqare stock comes in 10 foot lengths so if you have a door made to 40 feet then most bang for your buck with miniaml scrap. but if you want a 42 foot door then you end up purchasing enough material to build a 50 foot door but left 8 feet as scrap. Anything can be built to suit but standard sizes are readily available and more cost effective.
 
Gary Bricker

Talk to the door people. A neighbor just got a Wilson and 44' is where the price took a large jump. Build as big as you can.
 
I would decide on the kind of hangar door you want fairly soon. You'll lose some opening width with stacked, accordian type doors, but not lose any with bifold, horizontally hinged types. I have the stacked doors, which take away two feet when opened fully. Total hangar area is 1600 sq. ft, attached, continuous framing into my airpark home. It also serves as a two car garage space with garage door (with high-lift opener) around the corner. My RV8 fit in fine, but cars had to be moved out first. My C-180 now fits even better, although much larger in floor shadow, but the high wing really opens up the space for foot traffic under the wings. The -10, or any low winged, four place airplane will really gobble up the real estate. So...

Go big, if you can fund it. You'll not ever lament having too much space! High ceiling is a good idea, mine is about 13 feet. You can install shelving around the perimeter and get all the usual junk off the floor and out of your way.
 
Brian Denk said:
<snip>...Go big, if you can fund it. You'll not ever lament having too much space! High ceiling is a good idea, mine is about 13 feet. You can install shelving around the perimeter and get all the usual junk off the floor and out of your way.
Click to expand...
I agree with Brian; bigger is better! I promise you'll NEVER hear a pilot say, "I wish I'd of built a smaller hangar..." Ours is 80'x45' with a 55' bifold door and 12' wide RV access door :)

I don't know what hangar manufacturers you are looking at but R&M Steel engineered in a clearspan (storage) mezzanine, 7'x45', on one side of our hangar, and we are VERY happy with it.

Good luck and on your house and hangar! :D Rosie

Rosales_Hangar01.jpg


Rosales_Hangar02.jpg


Lots 'o stuff on the mezzanine behind the gray tarps...

Rosales_Hangar03.jpg


Rosales_Hangar04.jpg
 
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Bigger is better. I live in an airpark in Florida and the airpark had a letter on file to allow 3600 sq ft hangars in our airpark. So I have a 60x60 Dean steel building and house all kinds of junk. I also have a 50x13 Hydroswing door that I love.
Also, as far as resale goes, some people have larger planes and need a large door or they may pass on your home.
 
Steel tip...

If you are building a conventional steel hangar, and it's not giant size like Paul's above.... :)

Make sure you specify "flush girts" for the sides, instead of the "bypass girts" that seem to be standard.

This will give you about one foot more room between the main side columns.
The girts are usually 6 inches wide.

A picture describing the difference is here...

Standard Bypass
bypass.jpg


Ask for Flush Girt
flush.jpg


This simple change will give a lot of room in a small hangar, but for some reason it is usually not supplied as standard, even though it is a small cost delta.

Metallic Buildings made my hangar, and I am pleased with their work.

http://www.metallic.com/

gil in Tucson

PS ... I agree with the keep it low comment, unless your neighbors can't see it...
 
Gil has a good point on the "flush" girders. I did this on both my hangars and it really helps. One of my hangars is by Tyler Buildings (40 X 60) and the other is by Red Dot (45 X 50). Neither charged extra for the flush girders.
 
Hangar size

Just figure out how much space you would like to have, then build it about a third bigger. I have a 50 X 60 Bax-Steel Hangar with 16 ft sidewalls, a 42 ft bi-fold and a 10 X 12 roll up on the side. I wish I had gone to a 50 X 80, and at the time would not have been that much more. I also wish I had gone the hydro-lift route. Makes a better awning. In the 50 X 60, I keep a RV-7 and Cessna 170B when I don't have the RV-10 I'm building in there.... along with a 25 ft travel trailer. Also, don't forget insulation. It keeps the building more comfortble wheather you have HVAC or not. If you want to paint the floor, do it before move in or it won't get done... still want to do mine, but would be a real chore now.

Ed Booth, Trenton, SC (S17)
Builder/flyer RV-6, RV-7, RV-10 and 53 Cessna 170B
 
What's a good hangar size?

I've been kicking around the idea of eventually building a hangar and putting in a private strip on my place. Of course I've got to finish my airplane and get my certificate before it will be of much use, but let's just ignore that for the moment.

I've got about 2800' between fences at the highest line on my place. As luck would have it, that line is pretty much north/south. There's also an old concrete slab perfectly situated near one end of my "runway." (It's in the smaller fenced area to the left of the round cattle tank on this map.) The slab is going to take some cleanup but the concrete looks good. I measured it today and it's about 50' x 80'.

That would make a really nice sized hangar and storage area. It would also make for a fairly expensive building - I might have a little difficulty getting the wife to sign off on it. So the question is, considering 50' x 80' to be the upper limit, what is a reasonable size for a private hangar? I'm thinking one airplane for now, but you never know, there might be a second one sometime in the future.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
Biggest you can afford.

Never heard anybody say "Gee, I sure wish I did not have such a big hangar"

To get the wife on board, figure out what she would like to put in there, and make a space just for her.

Make it tall enough to fit the other kind of RV into, may come in handy later.
 
30x40

I am in a 30 x 40 foot with my RV-4. I share this with a Murphy Rebel (high wing). He has to pull mine out to get his out but otherwise we fit in there. Given you have 50' to work with I would use the full 50' on one dimension anyway.
 
Janet's already got a tiki bar in the back of my other shop. I'll have to try and come up with something to entice her for this one.

I was thinking about a 30' wide sliding door that splits down the middle. For the cost of one of those big folding aviation doors I could buy a bunch more hangar floor space. But the point about two airplanes is a good one. It's not just enough to have a place for them - it helps if you don't have to move them both to get one out.
 
door

RE: bifold hangar door. Buy a good mig welder and make your own door. 40' is a lot more managable for a bifold. maybe 20% of the cost of a commercial bifold.
 
30' wide door. Please reconsider. Minimum 40' to accommodate most of the GA fleet. Get up to 50' wide and you are talking two RVs without moving either.
 
jrs14855 said:
RE: bifold hangar door. Buy a good mig welder and make your own door. 40' is a lot more managable for a bifold. maybe 20% of the cost of a commercial bifold.
Click to expand...

20%? I could do that - and if 30' is too short then I'll go 40'.

Those are the kind of things that it's good to know.
 
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BTW,

I also designed and built my own door - 50 x 14. It's built much like a bi-fold, but has its own unique method of articulation - anyway, when all is said and done I'm not sure that I saved much money over a commercial product. Pretty simple to do a quick bill of materials and see how it compares to the commercial offering. Actual fabrication is not all that tough, but the overhung loads need some careful analysis to ensure you don't peel the front of the building off.
 
Check with your permit authority, usually the county.

Many counties limit the size of hangars depending on code, available fire service, type of property, attached to home or free standing, etc...

I am building a new 3000sqft bldg (largest allowed). They limited me to 2000sqft of airplane hangar requiring me to put in a fire wall to separate the 1000sqft shop.
This new hangar is in addition to the 2400sqft hangar I already filled up. So, like others say, go BIG as you can. Get involved with whomever is going to permit your project early so you know the rules.

I have helped to build some "roll your own" hangar doors.
Be Careful! A friend of mine just installed a well known manufacturers door but did not have the exisiting building engineered. Fortunately, the building started to show signs of coming apart before it actually did. Very extensive modifications where required. He was lucky to catch it before it was a disaster.
When you buy a manufactured door, you are paying for the engineering already done by them. You might be able to build one cheaper, just be careful you understand what the loads on the door and building really are.

We tried to push my new hangar through plan review at the county based on specifications. They would not buy off on it without a completely engineered set of plans, including the engineering for the door.

Your county and rules may vary.
 
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If you can find the time to come visit, I can show you my 2 hangars and the advantages & disadvantages of various things. I built one of my hangar doors, 40 X 12, for less than $1000 (including electrics) in 1990.

972-784-7544
Short Stop Airfield (8TA5)
Farmersville, TX
 
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50x50 is a good size for a recreational hangar. We had my RV-7, a Rans S-19 & 2 Rans S-6(high wing) in a 50x48. No problem working around all of them. The front 2 could come and go without moving the others.

Position it on your slab so you have 10' out the back for a enclosed living quarters or screened in porch. this leaves about 20' out front as a place to park or work on the concrete. Things like doing a run up outside on solid surface is nicer then picked up grass and rocks with your new prop.
 
As others have said - the bigger the better! Ours is 40x50, and one airplane is always behind the other. It's manageable, of course, but when we build our next one, we'll have a wider front door and more space.

We also have a nice little 12x20 apartment/office in one corner, and that REALLY takes up space that would be useful for airplanes. If it wasn't there, then we'd easily have the floorspace we need for the new -3.....as it is, we'll have to get creative. So if you want "office space", you might bump that out separately.

Paul
 
I have two hangers. One is 40x40 and is where I keep the RV7 or whatever I am flying at the time. It is not insulated well so gets a little cold in the winter. My shop/hanger is 40x32. It has an 11' ceiling and is fully insulated. It is just the right size for building and maintenance and doesn't cost an arm and a leg to heat all winter. Also have a window A/C for the hot summer months. In the future I am going to build 16' out the back for a bathroom and room for a shear, brake and other tools. Also will put a Hydroswing door on when I can afford it. Don
 
Anyone out there use, or see a structural concrete floor?

I got invited to see a guy's hangar build a year or so ago. It is a little hard to describe.

When we pulled up the the house in progress all you could see was the foundation and hangar floor (there were no walls yet) next to the house. We entered the house and took a tour (it was still just studded out) he never mentioned anything. As we went through the basement we ended up in a short, dark concrete hallway. This opened up into a 3000' room. It took us a while to realize we were under the hangar floor!

He built a detached from the house (although it was attached through the basement) 50x60 hangar with a basement. He used structural concrete (he called it "bridge concrete") for the hangar floor with stairs down into the basement. He also had a "hole in the floor" where the garage portion was. He was going to put a lift in the basement so he could drop cars, or projects into the basement. In the basement there was some steel because the concrete seams ran down the middle, and around the "hole". The basement floor was not poured yet, he was still working on the radian heat.

I walked away amazed, and quite jelous! I have absolutely no idea about costs involved, and have not seen it finished. Anyone else out there seen anything like this?

Mark
 
One other thing I would have in a new hanger is a heated floor. If you live in the cold country it is not that expensive to install when you pour the floor and a water heater works great for the heat source. Another friend put a 6" PVC pipe 8' deep all the way around the perimeter of his shop. Has a small fan on one end that draws the air through the pipe and provides 55 degree air to the shop. Costs him a couple bucks a month to keep the shop 55degrees winter and summer. He has it hooked to a thermostat so it doesn't get too cold in the summer. Don
 
RV Wannabe said:
I walked away amazed, and quite jelous! I have absolutely no idea about costs involved, and have not seen it finished. Anyone else out there seen anything like this?

Mark
Click to expand...

Glad I bookmarked this a while back when I was dreaming about such a thing myself. Someone has a build thread for doing such under his garage, and I believe he posted the cost as well:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12234

I remember reading somewhere the cost was around the $30k USD mark for a standard sized two car garage. Engineered drawings for a room under a concrete slab (ex: hangar or garage) are more than likely a guaranteed requirement in most municipalities.
 
Here are some "standard" wingspans for you to keep in mind:

C172: 36'-1"
J-3, T-Craft, Champ: 36'
T6: 42'
C210: 36'-9"
C310: 35'-9" (Depending on year)
Mooney M20: 35' (Depending on year/model)
F36 Bonanza: 36'-6"
RV-3: 19'-11"
RV-4: 23'-0"
RV-6: 23'-0"
RV-7: 25'-0"
RV-8: 24'-0"
RV-9: 28'-0"
RV-10: 31'-9"
RV-12: 26'-9"
 
Glad I bookmarked this a while back when I was dreaming about such a thing myself. Someone has a build thread for doing such under his garage, and I believe he posted the cost as well:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=12234
Click to expand...
Extremely similar in concept. However the build I saw used truck delivered structural concrete flooring, 6, or 8 sections if memory serves. Only steel required was one long support down the middle with posts, and along two sides of the "hole" for the car lift. All the other sides were supported by the concrete foundation walls.

I have photos, but no ability to post.

Mark
 
RV Wannabe said:
Extremely similar in concept. However the build I saw used truck delivered structural concrete flooring, 6, or 8 sections if memory serves. Only steel required was one long support down the middle with posts, and along two sides of the "hole" for the car lift. All the other sides were supported by the concrete foundation walls.

I have photos, but no ability to post.

Mark
Click to expand...

Sounds like pre-stressed concrete (I think that's the term).

As for posting images, Doug wrote a fairly nice and detailed guide on how to do such here: http://www.vansairforce.net/articles/ImagesInForums/images.htm

I'm curious as to how such would look under a hangar, although I'm going to venture a guess the costs for a 50x60 (or potentially larger) would be fairly extravagant.
 
A hangar home

I know this is not what most will build but I now live on a farm that had no structures on it when i started. Between needing a farmhouse, shop, and hangar, I built a 60x80 Butler building. The hangar is one end - http://thesalmonfarm.org/blog/p/1271
The hangar door is 42x16 to accommodate a Stearman (I can dream).
 
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N941WR said:
Here are some "standard" wingspans for you to keep in mind:

C172: 36'-1"
J-3, T-Craft, Champ: 36'
T6: 42'
C210: 36'-9"
C310: 35'-9" (Depending on year)
Mooney M20: 35' (Depending on year/model)
F36 Bonanza: 36'-6"
RV-3: 19'-11"
RV-4: 23'-0"
RV-6: 23'-0"
RV-7: 25'-0"
RV-8: 24'-0"
RV-9: 28'-0"
RV-10: 31'-9"
RV-12: 26'-9"
Click to expand...

Thanks for that list! I'm currently getting ready to build my own hangar for my weight-shift trike, and although my wing span is only 34 feet I'm planning on having a 40' door for resale value. I also want to have some finished walled-off living space inside the back-left corner of the hangar, kind of like a "T" hangar but with only one of the "corners" used up, like this:


==================
|XXXXXX..........|
|XXXXXX..........|
|XXXXXX..........|
|................|
|................|
|................|
==--------------==
(My attempt at a satellite view of the hangar where the XXXX is the living space, the .... is the open space, and the ---- on the bottom is the hangar door)

So basically my question is what is a good "T" hangar size? It sounds like a 12' tall by 40' wide door, with 44' wide inside the hangar (from wall-to-wall) and a 30' depth of the hangar (from hangar door to back wall) would fit most of these aircraft, but how big of a room can I put in the back corner of the "T"? What are the typical tail wingspans for these aircraft, and how far is it from the tip of the nose to the trailing edge of the main wings?

Thanks a lot for any replies - you'll be welcome to come land near the beach at 03NC and park in my hangar any time you want :)
 
How much hanger is enough?

I'm starting to design the hanger to go on our lot, The qeustion I have is how big does it need to be? I would like to start building a -10 after I finish the house and Barn/Hanger. I intend to build a wood frame barn with an open side to get the plane in and out. I will end up with a T-hanger effectively in the end. The door opening for the plane will be 36' wide and 12' tall. The wide portion of the T will be 16' deep, and the smaller portion of the T will be 16' by 16' as currently designed. Does this seem reasonable?

Thanks,
-Eric
 
I'm looking for enough room to fit the complete plane, If I end up with more than one plane I have acess to the Airparks shared hanger in my HOA dues. The first floor of the barn/hanger structure will have a footprint of 48' x 48' The reduced spacing is due to column placement.
 
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