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Thread: Obstacles to ownership and GA growth

  1. #21
    Banned
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    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.
    Last edited by John Owens; 09-29-2011 at 04:08 PM.

  2. #22
    Dana's Avatar
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    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.

  3. #23
    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.

  4. #24

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    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.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood View Post
    David, if an airport floods, being in a hangar, is not going to help is it?
    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......

  6. #26
    rosiejerryrosie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood View Post
    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.
    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?
    Cheers,
    Jerry

    NC22375
    65LA out of 07N Pennsylvania

  7. #27

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    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.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

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