Temporary Hangars

[Hangar 1271]

So, how do travelers protect their precious RVs from the weather and theft? I can lock the canopy but anyone could just go through it and make everything worse. My preference is a hangar but that seems very hard to come by. Is there a convenient way to find hangars at various airports or is it just call the FBO and beg?

 

[Carl Froehlich]

Beg is the standard process.

For my travels I have often been fortunate to meet some RV people that have put me up for a few nights in their hangars. I also used local RV guys to get me in with the FBO to get a corner of one of their hangars (paying for it, but at a much lower cost than the crazy prices places like Signature charge).

Use VAF to find them.

For that matter, if my schedule permits I can put up an RV flying into my area for a few nights. This is what RV people do.

Carl
Dogwood Airpark, VA42

 

[Ironflight]

I frequently get offered hangars by kind folks here on the forums when I travel, and those instances are very much appreciated, and I take advantage of them. But I am also fine tying the airplane down with a good cover on it for an overnight - or in the case of Oshkosh, a week or more! The airplanes won’t melt, and the odds of something bad happening on any particular night are pretty slim.

If you think about it, someone is more likely to want to steal avionics if they are hidden inside a hangar than out in the wide open on a ramp where folks can see them…. Remember that breaking in to most hangars involves removing some sheet metal screws on a back wall where no one can see you!

We’ve got Bruce’s covers for all our RV’s, and they are well used.

Paul

 

[lr172]

Hangers are no protection from theft. We had a scare here recently. Four different airports were hit over a two week period in the Chicago area and we have been on alert for some time, but haven't been hit yet. It was interesting that there was a significantly greater percentage of planes in hangers that were affected than those on the ramp. Theives generally aren't as stupid as we think they are and realize that the hangered planes are likely to have more valuable stuff installed.

Larry

 

[spatsch]

A lot of FBOs have shared hangars they can put your RV in. Often you have to call ahead, they are not cheap (this year paid 20-100$ a night) and you have to arrive/leave during their business hours.

Larger airports ( most with class D airspace ) are fenced in and have some kind of security.

Having all that said over the years I have parked at many small airports and never had an issue. At some airports the key of the courtesy car is in the car and that doesn’t get stolen either. In particular outside large metro areas I wouldn’t worry to much.

Oliver

 

[Robin8er]

I'm curious how often people have this kind of trouble. I just secure the flight controls, put a canopy cover on and make sure it's tied down. Never had an issue parking out side. I supposed if you tied down with chains out could use a pad lock, which would at least offer some protection from the plane being stolen. What have you heard/seen happen to planes tied down on a ramp?


Someone at my local airport had a magneto stolen off their plane, but that plane hadn't moved in 10 years. Unfortunately, it took the owner a what appeared to be a couple years to figure out that had happened. He had a bunch of junk/corrosion in the engine from the internals being exposed for so long.

 

[Mike S]

Remember that breaking in to most hangars involves removing some sheet metal screws on a back wall where no one can see you!


Paul

Stainless steel Allen head screws, fender washers, and lock nuts.

Replace every other seam stitching sheet metal screw up to 5' high or so.

Thieves are lazy for the most part, and will move on if they have to work too hard to get in.

 

[Tankerpilot75]

Had my hanger broken into two years ago and the thieves stole all my tools. They used bolt cutters and were in and out in less than five minutes. Thankfully my airplane was left untouched.

Hangers won’t keep someone from from stealing or any other illegal activity if the thief knows what they’re doing. I agree with Paul, a good Bruce custom cover and securing your aircraft on the ramp when traveling is your priority. Hanger storage is only a plus!

 

[rv6n6r]

Leave it out

In 23 years flying my RV to places where I park it days or weeks at a time, I've taken the trouble to get a hangar exactly once. My philosophy is, I wouldn't want to limit my travels because I can't find a place to store the bird. Also I'm lazy and it's just easier to not have to figure it out

That said, if you ever come to 56S send me a PM and I'll see if I can fix you up!

 

[Rallylancer122]

I will search out a hanger when overnighting in winter in the north. Biggest reason is obviously preheating. Even if I can plug my plane in outside it can be hard to keep the cowling covers on outside and the wind sucks away the heat.

Other reason is snow and ice. More than once I've woken up to find unforecast snow on the ground and even a little bit can take hours to remove if it freezes to the plane.

$100 a night might seem expensive but it's better than the alternative. My experience has been that if you call and ask nicely and generally come across as a regular person just trying to take care of your plane that often reasonably priced space will open up. Most fbo's aren't real busy in winter and are happy to help.

 

[gasman]

In the 80's I parked my PA28-151 in the forest in northern California on an Indian Reservation and went fishing for a week.......
No problem, back then.