P

prkaye

Well Known Member
I'm a long way from flying, but as always, thinking ahead...

For storing and operating my plane, I have a dilemna about which airport to choose. 10 min from my house is Ottawa Intl. They charge expensive landing fees, and forget about trying to rent a hangar there. But for less than $100/mo I can get tie-down there. Or I can drive 40 min away and rent hangar space at Carp airport, which is smaller and won't have the landing fees. Hangar space should be available there, and it will probably cost more than the tie-down at Ottawa Intl (CYOW).

The flight school and club at CYOW park all their planes outside. The only obvious sign of abuse is that the canopies on the aircraft are all scratched to **** (really obvious in bright sunlight). So I'm left debating a few questions:

1) assuming we don't get a tornado or hurricaine, is hangering really mostly a feel-good thing? Is there really any good reason why a plane shouldn't be left outside? In Ottawa, the winters get REALLY COLD, so I'd probably need an engine pre-heater and de-icing fluid handy.

2) Is a canopy cover really a misplaced feel-good measure? I strongly suspect that all the scratching on the canopies at the school actually results from the covers constantly moving over the plexiglass surface. If you just leave your canopy uncovered, is it likely to be damaged by the elements??

Basically, it would be a heck of a lot more convenient for me to operate out of CYOW, but if my plane really would be much better off in a hangar, perhaps I should sacrifice convenience and go to Carp.

Thoughts?
 
Hangar

Just look around at the ramp at your nearest airport. All of those cessna's and other craft that have never seen a hangar should tell the story. The sun and other environmental elements will tear a plane apart. Pay for the hangar. I pay 265 a month and have several years to go before I am finished. A hangar will improve the longevity and resale value of your craft in the long run. It will also provide for a place to work on the car or a variety of other projects that will come up in the future. The canopy covers are great for grinding in the dirt that gets trapped between them and the plexi. For me a hangar was the only way to go.

There are a lot of options for saving money such as a partner, someone who has a large hangar and just wants to rent out a corner of someone who is mostly out of town and only needs the hangar a few days a year.
 
Hello Phil,

It looks like you need to make your decision based on factor that I can't help you with. Here are a couple of thing to put into the collection of points to consider.
Cost of insurance will be less if the plane is hangared. I believe that the insurance companies do this because you are less likely to get damaged inside. I don't know if the risk of damage out-of-doors is just weather related or more risk from passing planes/cars/people. Not only is there the change of wind damage, but ice and snow buildup can cause damage.
Electronic will last longer if the inside of the cabin does not get to hot.

I would hate to drive the extra distance whenever I wanted to go flying, but I would also hate to pay every time that I landed my plane. Man, tough decision.

Kent
 
If I had to, I would consider outside storage. But only using extensive covers. Kind of like those used with some of the giant RC models - wing sleeves, empennage covers, etc. Would never consider long-term outside storage without a canopy cover.

As for canopy scratches, that comes more from being a rental/flight school plane and instructors cleaning the windows using all sorts of things like paper napkins and Coke, etc. If you roll on a cover and the plexi is half-clean to begin with, it won't hurt it too badly.

One thing to remember, not so much as in years past, but an RV draws more nose prints on the canopy than your average spam can. Maybe not so much parked in a row of them, but you may well get quite a few people yanking on the elevator talking about how "this is one of them homemade airplanes, isn't it?!"

And parked at a big air carrier airport, you may run into trouble trying to do your own maintenance. There may be requirements to use a certain shop or FBO, or have local ordinances requiring "certified" maintenance personnel do the maintenance.

From a practical standpoint, in a hangar you can set up shop. On the ramp, you're limited to no work or at best having to shuffle everything to and from home in your car.

Just a few thoughts...
 
Bryan bring up the point that I was going to. Rvs, or any homebuilt for that matter, attract a lot of attention. I would never consider tieing down outside if there is an alternate option.
 
Hi Phil. I've lived in Ottawa, and in my opinion you don't want to leave your pride and joy outside: Wind, hail, freezing rain, 6 feet of snow -25C and so on.

40 minutes to Carp is a long drive, but if I were you I'd put my airplane there and move my home to Kanata to be closer. You are more likely to find other RV pilots stationed there and enjoy the camaraderie with them. Also, your airplane needs a lot of TLC for the first 100 hours, and it's nice to have a hangar to work in.

Let's face it, Nav Canada is one step away from effectively banning all GA aircraft from large airports in Canada. When that happens, you won't be able to find a hangar anywhere because the scramble will be on.

I moved from Boundary Bay (12 minute drive) to Langley (26 minute drive) because I wanted a nice hangar and be close to my formation flying buddies. I've never regretted it, despite the longer drive.

Vern
 
kentb said:
...
Cost of insurance will be less if the plane is hangared. I believe that the insurance companies do this because you are less likely to get damaged inside. I don't know if the risk of damage out-of-doors is just weather related or more risk from passing planes/cars/people. Not only is there the change of wind damage, but ice and snow buildup can cause damage.
Electronic will last longer if the inside of the cabin does not get to hot.

..

Kent
Click to expand...
Kent,
Have you received an insurance quote for hangared and non-hangared showing a difference or is this just Truthiness? When I move to a hanger and informed my insurance company, USAIG through AOPA, the said it would not affect the premium. When I moved from the hangar back to a tie-down, again it made no difference. It may depend on the company. Planes get damaged inside hangars also.

A hangar is always preferable and very nice but not mandatory like most people would have you believe. I know too many owners that insist on a hangar but skimp on maintenance and other owners that keep their planes outside and put the money they would have spent on the hangar into maintenance.
 
Phil:
Some good logic posted here as to why you'd want to hangar. Couple of other things to check out: What is the cost of a full de-ice at your nearby airport and what is the price of a pre-heat at both. With your winters, I don't know of any quick preheat that will adequately warm both oil and cylinders. Here's a though: Check with the FBO you'll be doing business with and ask if they'll assist by plugging in your AC sump heater when you telephone in. Call in at least 4 hours before each flight and your AC will be ready to go. You can also use a pigtail and power a small space heater in the cockpit at the same time. One of the fuel providers at PTK provides this service and has garnered some loyal customers as a result. He has a master key to all hangars. Couldn't do this if the AC was parked outside. Alternatively, Reiff sells a switch box that is activated via a pager. Would serve the same function and would probably add $10-15 per month to fixed costs.
 
I couldn't stand it

if I had to see the plane I spent YEARS building and LOTS of money on sit outside for the birds to s@#t on, the sun to fade the paint, and for every passer by a toy to play with, possibly even get up on the wing or whatever else.

Of course, I'm the kind of guy that keeps my cars in the garage and owns an indoor dog, so maybe I'm a bit biased in my views.

I know it would be very inconvenient given your situation, but there is a lot of peace of mind knowing your airplane has remained untouched and is protected from the elements since the last time you flew it. Have you considered a hangar partnership to split costs?
 
You will need a hangar for the first year to do maintenance and perform the normal "tweaks" to your airplane.

Past that it will depend on how you view the airplane and how much the "pride" portion of your "pride and joy" is worth (hint: it's less than your pride would admit:)

Here in California I have seen one RV4 successfully tied down for the past 12 years with no obvious problems in a harsh sunlight environment. The paint is a little faded but the canopy has held up well in the absence of a cover. In the long run the tie-down is certainly cheaper. If that were not true then every FBO in the country would hangar their airplane.

Having said all that, my airplane is hangared. I happened to find a pretty good situation financially where I'm sharing space. A few months ago when it looked like I might lose my hangar space, one of the options I looked at was the aero-lift. They quoted me $8k for the smaller unit (up to 2k lbs). My thinking was that if I could find someone with an existing hangar that wouldn't mind a small footprint in return for a couple of hundred a month I might be able to make the numbers work.

John Allen
 
According to Avemco...

w1curtis said:
Kent,
Have you received an insurance quote for hangared and non-hangared showing a difference or is this just Truthiness? When I move to a hanger and informed my insurance company, USAIG through AOPA, the said it would not affect the premium. When I moved from the hangar back to a tie-down, again it made no difference. It may depend on the company. Planes get damaged inside hangars also.

A hangar is always preferable and very nice but not mandatory like most people would have you believe. I know too many owners that insist on a hangar but skimp on maintenance and other owners that keep their planes outside and put the money they would have spent on the hangar into maintenance.
Click to expand...

I got about 10% off for keeping it in a hangar.
My RV is insured with AIG and I can't remember if they rate is better because I have it hangared.

Kent
 
only once

I have had my 7 out overnight one time..........OSH, and I'll never do that again. Couldn't sleep while it was storming and thinking about my airplane. I wouldn't even consider not having a hanger. :eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.