netsurfr
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This will be my first winter as a plane owner and I have an option in hangars and thought I'd get some opinions from those of you who live in the cold climates of the Midwest.
The airport closest to me, which is run by the county, has unheated T hangars for $190/mo. These are pretty old and beat up hangers w/ sliding doors that have a large gap between the ground and the bottom of the doors to prevent snow/ice buildup from freezing the doors shut. Due to the gap I've heard you can get a fair amount of snow blowing in during winter & dirt/dust during summer when the wind blows. Snow plows can't get very close to the doors due to design so owners have to shovel promptly after big snow falls otherwise the doors can get frozen and stuck. Additionally these hangars are smaller so I get about 1 foot of clearance on each side of the stabilator so I would have to be very careful pushing the plane back into them.
Alternatively they have newer/nicer and larger unheated T hangars for $290/mo. They have electric doors and the doors come all the way down so you don't end up w/ snow or dirt blowing in the hangar and snow plows can get closer to the door to get rid of snow BUT you may still have to do some shoveling to ensure there's no snow/ice when pulling/pushing the plane in and out.
Now I just found out today that another airport that's about 10 minutes further away from the one above has shared HEATED hangars for $300/mo. The hangars are very nice and heated and shared w/ other plane owners & the FBOs corporate planes so about 10 planes. Very clean and the hangar has heated waiting/seating area (for passengers to wait) and bathrooms as well. The $300/mo includes the hangar and the FBO will pull and store the plane in and out for you when you want and they will also take care of updating your navdata cards (not a big deal but included). In this scenario I would not have to worry about pre-heat for engine or cabin and it would be similar to rental in that the plane is pulled and stored for you. Owners get keys to the hangar and they accommodate impromptu flights and owners also get a special phone number to call to arrange for the plane to be moved outside or to the front of the hangar for flights.
Now not knowing how much of a pain it can be to deal with snow, pulling & pushing the plane in/out of the hangar when it's cold out, pre-heating engine and plane I'm asking you all to see if I should take the shared heated hangar vs. either the small crappy ones or the unheated larger one (which would be the same price as the shared heated one). Like I said the difference is maybe an extra 5 - 10 minutes of driving time between the 2 so one takes me 10 minutes the other 15-20 depending on traffic and they are both month-to-month.
Right now I'm the unheated one but I'm beginning to have to think about winter operation as temps are starting to drop around here and I either order one of those remote pre-heater start switches for the tanis heater & interior ceramic heater OR just go w/ the heated hangar option and drive a bit more. BTW - The airport that's further away is WAY nicer all around too and that's where I've been doing my IFR training.
So it comes down to would it be better to have a private/unheated hangar closer to me or a SHARED/heated one w/ some extra conviniences a bit further away and avoid the winter/snow issues?
Thoughts???
The airport closest to me, which is run by the county, has unheated T hangars for $190/mo. These are pretty old and beat up hangers w/ sliding doors that have a large gap between the ground and the bottom of the doors to prevent snow/ice buildup from freezing the doors shut. Due to the gap I've heard you can get a fair amount of snow blowing in during winter & dirt/dust during summer when the wind blows. Snow plows can't get very close to the doors due to design so owners have to shovel promptly after big snow falls otherwise the doors can get frozen and stuck. Additionally these hangars are smaller so I get about 1 foot of clearance on each side of the stabilator so I would have to be very careful pushing the plane back into them.
Alternatively they have newer/nicer and larger unheated T hangars for $290/mo. They have electric doors and the doors come all the way down so you don't end up w/ snow or dirt blowing in the hangar and snow plows can get closer to the door to get rid of snow BUT you may still have to do some shoveling to ensure there's no snow/ice when pulling/pushing the plane in and out.
Now I just found out today that another airport that's about 10 minutes further away from the one above has shared HEATED hangars for $300/mo. The hangars are very nice and heated and shared w/ other plane owners & the FBOs corporate planes so about 10 planes. Very clean and the hangar has heated waiting/seating area (for passengers to wait) and bathrooms as well. The $300/mo includes the hangar and the FBO will pull and store the plane in and out for you when you want and they will also take care of updating your navdata cards (not a big deal but included). In this scenario I would not have to worry about pre-heat for engine or cabin and it would be similar to rental in that the plane is pulled and stored for you. Owners get keys to the hangar and they accommodate impromptu flights and owners also get a special phone number to call to arrange for the plane to be moved outside or to the front of the hangar for flights.
Now not knowing how much of a pain it can be to deal with snow, pulling & pushing the plane in/out of the hangar when it's cold out, pre-heating engine and plane I'm asking you all to see if I should take the shared heated hangar vs. either the small crappy ones or the unheated larger one (which would be the same price as the shared heated one). Like I said the difference is maybe an extra 5 - 10 minutes of driving time between the 2 so one takes me 10 minutes the other 15-20 depending on traffic and they are both month-to-month.
Right now I'm the unheated one but I'm beginning to have to think about winter operation as temps are starting to drop around here and I either order one of those remote pre-heater start switches for the tanis heater & interior ceramic heater OR just go w/ the heated hangar option and drive a bit more. BTW - The airport that's further away is WAY nicer all around too and that's where I've been doing my IFR training.
So it comes down to would it be better to have a private/unheated hangar closer to me or a SHARED/heated one w/ some extra conviniences a bit further away and avoid the winter/snow issues?
Thoughts???
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