Obstacles to ownership and GA growth

I have been reading several articles lately in both AOPA and EAA forums and magazines concerning the question of how to get GA and sport aviation kick started. I am a fairly new sport pilot and aircraft owner (1.5 years) and I have found that one of the most frustrating elements of breaking into the field, hobby, sport etc is finding hanger space at a decent airstrip or airport. I have not heard this concern voiced in any articles, emails or communications. I have my name on several waiting lists in the area. The shortest is 7 people and the highest is 49. There are no new hangers being built at the 4 airports that I am on lists at and as far as I can find out no current plans for any. This seems to be a very large obstacle that must be overcome to truly grow the sport. I am curious if others have hit this roadblock.

Scott

BTW, if anyone in the Jeff City MO area has hanger space available (at a decent price) please let me know.

I couldn't agree more. Hangar space in this area is definitely at a premium. Where available, the rent is higher than the rent I paid on my first house. When approached, the owner of one airport indicated that he had considered building more hangars, but when figuring in the cost per hangar, the increase in taxes and insurance, the hassle of getting township, EPA, state, etc approval to build - it just wasn't worth it......

It's very very location specific, though I hear more often than not that hangar space is nearly impossible to get in a lot of places. An example of an airport that is currently opposite of what seems to be the norm, is the airport I just left, Central Illinois Regional Airport, KBMI. It's a fairly busy regional hub for commuter airlines, but GA has almost dropped off the map there, other than a very active Chapter (129). When I left, there were at least 6 hangars open that I knew of, and the waiting list was down below 10...and no one on the list even wants a hangar right now! It didn't use to be that way. The wait was over two years not long ago, but the impact the economy has had on GA is easily seen here.

Things will get back on track, and it'll pick up, but hangar space will always be a premium item...we do need more hangars!

What are you needing to store? Reason I ask what you're needing to store, is in the 3 years I've had my airplane at the airport, I have had no problems meeting people who want to / are willing to SHARE a hangar.

So, I think your post is onto the right idea - start asking around. The first guy I shared with saw my Sonex in the 40-foot T alone, and he didn't know me or how to contact me so he taped a note on the door with his number. If you took the taped-note approach and blanketed your most desired airport, you might find a spot in a couple of days.

I think the hanger problem has been around a long time and location does make a difference. Having lived near a large metro area I know how expensive hanger rents can be and the demand is always high. Rents are cheaper in the countryside, and if you don't mind driving a bit you can still find a few vacancies. One of the big barriers to building a hanger is a function of govt. financed airports. I have done some investigations for aircraft clubs who were considering building a club hanger. The stopping point is you can build the hanger and use it for 10 years, then the hanger becomes the property of the airport "authority" and you get to be first in line to rent it from them. So, even if you can come up with the $ to build, and insure, you only "own" the facility for 10 years and then the building belongs to the airport. You can't actually buy the land like you can buy a lot to build a house. I don't think this is true for all airports but it seems that county and municipal airports have this condition, if you build there you are making a large contribution to the local aviation community, but not very appealing economics.

Joe

As far as the original question- I recall there is a small sod strip about 5-10 miles south of Jeff City- Balcer field. Used to go in there a lot with our Hueys.

Thanks David, I will look into it.

Scott

I'm right there with you, Scott. I'm #14 on the hangar list at my home field; been there four years, no movement. There are twelve (12) rental T-hangars, so not much to share. Looks like I should have a hangar [maybe?] around the time I overhaul my engine, which hits TBO in another 1500 hours . . .

Scott, I have been a pilot and airplane owner for 30 years. I have never owned a hangar, mostly have not had access to one.
It would be great to have one, but not required to fly.
Would you quit driving if you did not have a garage?

Those of us who fly tube and fabric airplanes would not be flying long without a hangar...;D

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Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood

Scott, I have been a pilot and airplane owner for 30 years. I have never owned a hangar, mostly have not had access to one.
It would be great to have one, but not required to fly.
Would you quit driving if you did not have a garage?

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Bill, I agree, but without a means to lock my experimental Zodiac 601 and fairly expensive (in my terms anyway) radio and instruments tying down outside in today's world is a very dicey prospect. I'm not being snobby, just cautious.

BTW, all of my cars have had very effective locks on them.

Scott

It is a local problem, IMHO, and comes down to how local airports are run as well as location.

For example, we have a couple County airports within driving distance, and availability runs from "Ha Ha Ha, yeah, right," to "Hmmm, probably about six months."

The short wait airport is a bit more rural than the others, but they have a pretty strict policy on what's in the hangar. If it's not airworthy the owner gets a warning - sixty days to respond or it's out, pushed onto the line, and the hangar is put on the available list. If the owner responds and states he is going to make the plane airworthy, he gets six months. If it doesn't get signed off by then, it's out.

Sounds kind of harsh, but I completely agree with it. I know there are airplanes that haven't had their props turned for years sucking up otherwise useful space because the owners figure it's a best way to store it and the FBO doesn't care so long as the annual check clears.

It also allows them to keep a "reserve" hangar for those who have their airplane in the area for only part of the year or for short terms.

It's an hour drive from my house, but that's were I'll put my plane. I like the fact that the guys running the place are actively involved with what's going on there and on it.

Jerry, my J3 Cub is a tube and fabric airplane,and I don't have a hangar.
Do you really think all the Cubs, Champs, etc. that taught so many people to fly spent their days in a hangar?
My other airplane is not tube, but has fabic covered elevator and rudder.
Yes. being outside is hard on paint, but it doesn't prevent or preclude flying.

I know people that say they couldn't buy a house if it did not have ganite countertops in the kitchen.
Maybe they wouldn't own or fly a plane if it didn't have a hangar.

Scott, where do you live? Is there really that much breaking into and stealing things out of planes there?
I live in a small town with a very low crime rate, so I may not see the same environment as you do.
How many instruments does a Zodiac have ?

Well, I can't speak for Scott as far as the crime situation in Jeff City, I would recommend another reason for a hanger- the environment here in Missouri can be wildly variable- not at all unusual to hear of golf ball sized hail, or thunderstorms (or worse, tornados) with gusts up to 75-80 mph. Not to mention, the airport in JC is located on the flood plain, less than 1/4 mile from the Missouri river.

Scott, I would talk it over with some of the folks at EAA 429, imagine they are as "up" as anyone can be about the local airports.

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Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood

Jerry, my J3 Cub is a tube and fabric airplane,and I don't have a hangar.
Do you really think all the Cubs, Champs, etc. that taught so many people to fly spent their days in a hangar?
My other airplane is not tube, but has fabic covered elevator and rudder.
Yes. being outside is hard on paint, but it doesn't prevent or preclude flying.

I know people that say they couldn't buy a house if it did not have ganite countertops in the kitchen.
Maybe they wouldn't own or fly a plane if it didn't have a hangar.

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Bill, That is most interesting! How long do you get to go between recoverings with the airplane outside all the time? Do you cover it to protect the fabric from UV damage or do you use a special wax or protectant? You might just save me some money....

Jerry, I don't do anything special to protest the CUB except have a canvas cover for the wood prop which has clear varnish. Some people say to me that all that snow, I live in Colo, must be hard on the plane. But except for the weight, snow is just clean water. The big impact from weather comes from the U V rays which are harsh at 8000 in mostly clear air. Bad for paint or skin.

Sure, having a hangar would be great, but it shouldn't keep one from flying. I recovered the Cub once, but that was from ground damage when the wind blew a dumpster into it.

Remember, the original CUB was covered in cotton, which can last 25 years if hangared, but much less outside. Many modern planes use some form of dacron, Ceconite, etc. which last longer.
Some type of wax might help a little, I don't know.

David, if an airport floods, being in a hangar, is not going to help is it?
If you live in an area that is prone to hail, I'd try to have good insurance , and make sure to say your prayers every Sunday morning. Maybe that is why they are called , "Hail Mary", etc.

Obviously it is great to have a hangar, if you can.

Here in the South it's not the UV that will kill a light plane, it's the thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, etc.

Frank, if I lived in tornado country, I'd go to church regularly, donate to charities, ( the good ones, not scams) volunteer to help the homeless and elderly, and never raise my voice to my kids.
And then I think I would also have a good basement and pay attention to sirens.

I don't see many hangars these days with basements in them, though.

When the hurricane flooded much of Galveston Island recently, having a hangar did not keep the water out.
When the tornado hit Breckenridge, the hangar fell in on the planes, just like in Florida.
There are lots of flgiht schools in Texas, Florida, etc. I don't think all of them have hangars.
What do you do if no hangar is available, Just decide not to fly or maybe just rent and let the FBO worry about the damage?

And guys, you have all brought up many good points about not having a hangar. You have really convinced me. So, out of the goodness of my heart, you can donate your airplanes to me and I'll keep them where there are less thieves and less tornados. And I won't even charge you a ferry fee when I pick them up.

We may have some thieves here, but not the kind that break into airplanes. Go to google and find Ken Lay or Scott Alan Fuller. As the old Hank Williams song goes, "some will rob you with a gun and some with a fountain pen."

I was the pilot for the county owned airplane, we had space in a small oil company hanger, 20,000 population city with a medium crime rate, thieves broke into the hanger and stole the radios out of our Cessna. Probably the somewhat larger hanger had a lot bigger bullseye on it compared to the planes in T hangers. There was at least one time when planes tied down in the free tie down apron were vandalized, so tying one down outside isn't something I'd like to do.

As I look for hanger space there's a long waiting list to get into the overpriced T hangers, which is very discouraging for me.

When I had my T-Craft it spent most of its time tied down outside. No, it's not optimal, and I had to deal with faded paint and rusty tubes in the tail... but the cost of a hangar was out of the question. Didn't have to worry about radios being stolen though, since I didn't have any... didn't even have working locks on the doors. That was in New Jersey and later Connecticut in the 1980s.

Modern cloth covering systems are supposed to handle out door exposure better than traditional so a tie down in place of an expensive and /or unavalable hanger may be a good choice. A metal or composite airplane? Sailplanes with 50' spans have removable wings and live in trailers.

The cost of learning to fly is a big barrier to new people who might be interested in flying. Using ground launched gliders (winch or auto tow) should be the least expensive way to do basic flight instruction. It is common in Europe where flying is much more expensive than here.

Bill, I think it comes down to the type of aircraft. I wouldn't be too worried about a C172.

But my little just-over-ultralight open cockpit tube and gusset plane is a bit fragile for the outdoors.

Getting hit directly by a tornado is easy - put it all on a trailer and sell the parts one finds for scrap. It's the near misses that are worrisome. :)

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Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood

David, if an airport floods, being in a hangar, is not going to help is it?

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LOL, as a matter of fact, the 20+ years I was based there with the National Guard, the hanger didn't help us a bit the 3 times it did flood. However, after a massive storm blew over 2 Hueys & a OH-58, someone got the bright idea that those sorts of incidents wouldn't happen if the A/C were stored in the hanger......

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood

Jerry, I don't do anything special to protest the CUB except have a canvas cover for the wood prop which has clear varnish.

Remember, the original CUB was covered in cotton, which can last 25 years if hangared, but much less outside. Many modern planes use some form of dacron, Ceconite, etc. which last longer.
Some type of wax might help a little, I don't know.

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I Donno, Bill. If a recover costs in the range of $5000.00, that's about three years rent in my $135.00 per month hangar. If I have to recover it every 5 years, that may save me money.... How much would it cost to recover and repaint an Aeronca 65LA, would you guess?

Of course the KC Dawn Patrol guys completely restored their Nieuport 11's after they had been submerged in a hangar back in big flood of '93.

Gotta love aluminum tube and gusset.