Is a hangar really necessary?

I am a little leery of the hangar expense of an aircraft once it is built. I have been considering several folding wing kitplanes for this reason. I just really like the rv better though. I was wondering if anyone keeps their rv outside and if there are any issues with that.

Also, if I build one and plan on keeping it outside I would like to heavily treat the airplane with zinc chromate durning the build. Does anyone know how much extra weight a heavy dose of corrosion preventer adds to the overall weight of the aircraft?

Thanks.

Sure!

Lots of people keep their aircraft outside. Casually inspect the ones sitting around your local airport then rent a hangar

One issue with keeping it outside is the availability of tools and parts and consumables when you want to work on it. Another is whether you'd leave the cowl off overnight. For that matter, where would you leave the cowl?

Lighting after dark is yet another issue.

If you can possibly afford it and can find one, a hangar, even a junky one, is worth having.

Dave

One of our local Venice RV group ties his RV-6 down outside ( and occasionally uses a snowbirds hangar). Florida sun is a killer but Dave manages to deal with it using a quality Bruce cover and keeps his tools and consumables handy in a friends hangar. Works for him and he saves a lot of hangar rent money for things like, well, fuel.

You're going to spend tens of thousands of dollars and years building something only to let it sit out in the elements and get torn up?

Heat is bad for the avionics, bad for the interior, rain corrodes, moisture seeps into nooks and crannies and causes corrosion, airplanes have lots of holes for birds and various woodland creatures to get into and turn into homes.

A hangar doesn't prevent all of this, but it certainly deters it. If I ever own an aircraft or build one, it will live in a hangar.

There are places where hangars are very expensive. I don't live there. I will have a hangar. (And my 10 year old truck will stay in a garage).

As soon as I can get out of Los Angeles, I'll have a hangar, because I've had it with the big city and all that goes with it.

Until then, it's a tie-down at Santa Monica Airport, for as long as AOPA, EAA, and the feds can force the city to keep it open.

I definitely agree with the downsides, I just don't have a choice that's financially sound.

I was always in the "why spend for a hangar" club. Then after seven years on the waiting list, I got one the same time I got my RV. After six months, I am now solidly in the "can't live without one" club, and rapidly moving to the "airpark home is a must" club: even with a duplicate set of essential tools at the hangar, I still make far too many round trips back home to the shop for unique tools and supplies (a duplicate lathe and mill are not in the budget).

i have what is referred to in an earlier post [and no offense taken, i am proud of my setup] a junky hangar. if i hadn't found this one i never would have built a plane. plenty of overhead light day or night, always dry, no wind, and best of all a 10' x 10' shop i built in the corner. everything from a drill press to a brake to a microwave and 60 amps of quick heat for wisconsin winters. i can't imagine maintaining my plane and keeping it from weathering without my set up. i will gladly take it over a new car. and now i think i will use my cell switch so there is fresh coffee when i get there this morning.

25' wingspan! The first thing that attracted me to the RV7! So easy to tuck into a corner. A 15k Cessna 150 outside is one thing, my 80k baby will always have a home!

I asked the exact same question when I was building (do I really need to hangar the plane?). After 4 years of operation, I now firmly believe that YES, a hangar is really needed. There will be all kinds of times (probably more than you expect) that you'll have the cowl off, fairings, etc, and tools everywhere. And you'll want to be able to leave it this way overnight or sometimes for a week or more. Also, you don't want to have to lug all your tools, compressor and everything else that yoou *might* need every time you go to do some work on the plane. Having everything there when you need it (even when you don't expect you'll need it), is priceless.
Also, I can't imagine doing serious maintenance without a smooth concrete floor (I drop a lot of stuff).

Besides the obvious benefits to the airplane structure and systems, hangars are just a great place to "hang" out. Maybe that is why they are called "hang"ars?

Bruinpilot said:

I am a little leery of the hangar expense of an aircraft once it is built. I have been considering several folding wing kitplanes for this reason. I just really like the rv better though. I was wondering if anyone keeps their rv outside and if there are any issues with that.

Also, if I build one and plan on keeping it outside I would like to heavily treat the airplane with zinc chromate durning the build. Does anyone know how much extra weight a heavy dose of corrosion preventer adds to the overall weight of the aircraft?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

I'm at Ellington. A couple of times the City has moved us out of our hangars for a few weeks at a time for various reasons. Each time, I can see the effect on my plane. Slight corrosion on fasteners here and there, etc. Sure, there are little planes tied down all over town 365 days a year. But it will have an effect. Especially in this climate.

In an ideal world, of course hangaring is better. I know of an RV4 that lives outside, on the ramp in ALASKA! And the plane is beautiful. The biggest effect I've seen is that her tailwheel hardware is corroded.

I did a deployment to the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war ("The Great Tanker War" between Iran and the US that no one has ever heard of). Because of mission requirements, our helo never saw a hangar, even during phase inspections (100hrs). When we came home, we went the long way around via the Suez, the Med, across the Atlantic to Norfolk, then south, through the Panama Canal and north to SanDog.

Once we got home, we had a "Post-Deployment" inspection. The inspection team said in their remarks that the helo was "clean enough to eat off of".

Our secret: no bare metal, and daily use of corrosion preventative compound (CPC). We used Mil-C-16173, grade-4 on all steel fasteners (Cadmium wears off fast as once rust gets started, you may as well just replace it). We use Amalguard (MIL-DTL-85054) on all bare spots as a temporary fix until we have time to do touch-up painting. We washed the aircraft with fresh water any time it was available and we weren't flying. And, we constantly wiped everything down with polishing cloth and waterless cleaner.

If I had to park a plane with a "nice" paint job outside, I'd investigate the possibility of using a good quality automotive detailing spray to wipe the skin down after each flight. I'd (carefully) use a good quality canopy cover. And, I'd definitely use military grade CPC on all exposed hardware.

Homeless

I am homeless. I have to live in my hanger.
Having a hanger is way more important to me, than having to maintain a home.
My living space is very small, but the airplanes have lots of room!
Priorities ,,, to each his own.
My F150 is a 2002 the CJ7 airport car is 1984

hangar, or access to one!

prkaye said:

I asked the exact same question when I was building (do I really need to hangar the plane?). After 4 years of operation, I now firmly believe that YES, a hangar is really needed. There will be all kinds of times (probably more than you expect) that you'll have the cowl off, fairings, etc, and tools everywhere. And you'll want to be able to leave it this way overnight or sometimes for a week or more. Also, you don't want to have to lug all your tools, compressor and everything else that yoou *might* need every time you go to do some work on the plane. Having everything there when you need it (even when you don't expect you'll need it), is priceless.
Also, I can't imagine doing serious maintenance without a smooth concrete floor (I drop a lot of stuff).

Click to expand...

Phil is bang on....but.....
perhaps you are one of the builders who completes his plane, and then goes and flies it, outside may be tolerable, just barely.
IF you like many of us, and after flying, say ' gee, I just want to put a cup-holder right HERE!......'
then it will quickly drive you nuts that you have no power, workbench, tools ( the right one is always at home) etc. etc.
IF you have access to a nearby hangar with all the amenities ( somehow washroom has risen to the top of this list!!!)
then you'll probably be a much happier camper, and won't be tempted to defer important maintenance .... ' to the next annual, when I have it inside...'

YES!

prkaye said:

I asked the exact same question when I was building (do I really need to hangar the plane?). After 4 years of operation, I now firmly believe that YES, a hangar is really needed. There will be all kinds of times (probably more than you expect) that you'll have the cowl off, fairings, etc, and tools everywhere. And you'll want to be able to leave it this way overnight or sometimes for a week or more. Also, you don't want to have to lug all your tools, compressor and everything else that yoou *might* need every time you go to do some work on the plane. Having everything there when you need it (even when you don't expect you'll need it), is priceless.
Also, I can't imagine doing serious maintenance without a smooth concrete floor (I drop a lot of stuff).

Click to expand...

Phil nailed it.

After watching ping pong and tennis ball sized hail pummel my neighborhood (and my beater Acura) a couple weeks ago I was really glad the plane was in a hangar up at the airport 5 miles away. My Acura bears scars. My RV does not.

Just MHO, if you are planning on building a brand new plane and want to keep it or keep it's value then hanger is a must. If you buy an old (and I mean old and not taken care) plane and don't care about the looks, condition or value, then put it outside.... mother nature will take care of it.

Sometimes the choice is more basic. Do I have a hanger or do I have a plane? Of course I'd like both, but in reality, probably not.

I do plan on a full set of Bruce covers (all weather) and the plane gets brought home during monsoon/hail season or at least I'll spring for a community hanger during that month. Of course with a 12 carting the plane home for maintenance or inclement seasons is much easier.

Bob

I'm sure that I would feel different after putting a couple years of blood, sweat, and tears into the airplane also. I used to use a product called acf50 on my Cessna and it kept it pretty clean despite living outside in a marine environment, although it is not the preferred choice...