Two for one
Did any one mention these guys?
http://www.armaerospace.com/index.html
Any opinions?
To address your hanger issue. I love having a hanger. It is like a little club house. Put a little frig, coffee maker, TV/radio, couch and you can hide out from the wife or girlfriend. The down side is $$$$. I love being able to work on the plane and leave it unbuttoned till I am finished.
As far as the airplane lift? I think it is marginal to not possible in many small T-hangers, but more over if your parked on the top, it will be a hassle having to move the hanger-mates plane out and yours down. I see it working more if you own both planes, and you can choose which plane is on the lift at any given time. IF you can even get a hanger you are lucky. In some parts of the country hangers are not even available at $400. So the hanger lift may pay for itself but it is a the better part of $10,000 (I recall around $7,000-$8,000). So saving $200 it pays for itself in 3-4 years.
OUTSIDE: The first plane I owned, a Piper in partnership, was tied down. I don't recall a big problem but I lived in the Northwest Seattle area at the time, which is fairly mild and snow is not usually serious, although I did sweep the wings once or twice. What was underneath the snow was a 1/4"-3/4" of crusty melted snow & ice. Flying was out of the question, but I had no plan or need to fly at that time anyway. The paint was poor and did not have the "giving birth" connection. It was a time builder. I don't recall it being an issue. My second plane was a light twin and it was in covered parking, like t-hangers but no real wall, just some partial partitions. It was a big step up ad enjoyed having a locker box tied down to the back of the "stall" for stuff.
My RV outside, I could not imagine. I think RV's are the best but I don't think they are as heavy duty as some planes. I mean they are heavy duty where they need to be, but they are built like a Ferrari not a Truck. However it has been done and there is no reason you can't.
COVERS
Where you live is so important, either too cold, too hot or severe weather. Have you ever seen a plane with hail damage? Not pretty. If I had to go outside. I would invest in some really good covers. I would try to cover the whole plane, AT LEAST I would cover cowl and canopy at min. The tail and wings would be next. RV's tend to leak water and in hot sunny conditions the cockpit would COOK and cause heat damage. A cover for the canopy is a must.
Any suggestions for outside covers for RV's? I know the hanger covers (pajamas) are not meant for ramp use. I know car covers have come a long way.
INSURANCE: One of the biggest claim items is theft of avionics and vandalism. You (may) will pay higher premiums to park outside. If I had a simple VFR RV with out extensive radios I would not worry as much, but some folks are putting in the fancy expensive avionics stuff where one box (that slides out with one quick turn lock) cost almost as much as small new car.
Cheers George
I'll pay that much for a tie-down by the time my plane is finished. A T-hangar at Trenton-Mercer County is currently $525/month (if you can GET one). Add insurance and I'll pay over $8K/year before I start the engine.
