Hangar,hanger

[skyranger]

A long time ago I saw an old picture of airplanes stacked nose down in a hangar and the tails were tied with a rope from the ceiling . It was done so that more aircraft could be stacked in the hangar . Has anybody seen that picture ? I wasn't dreaming ! I have searched the net and cannot find it .

[rwanttaja]

A Goggle search for "Piper Cub Hangar" found this:
9089
No ropes, though...

Ron Wanttaja

[rwanttaja]

Take the engines off, you can store planes even tighter.
9090
Ron Wanttaja

[rwanttaja]

Mind you, there are MUCH sloppier ways of doing it...
9091
Ron Wanttaja

[skyranger]

Thanks, the top one is the one I was looking for .

[Eric Page]

In hindsight, that last one is a criminal act!

[rwanttaja]

In hindsight, that last one is a criminal act!

I'm trying to figure out what the OTHER airplanes are, other than the Focke Wulf. They look like trainers.

Ron Wanttaja

[FlyingRon]

Then there's this one (Dulles Jet Center during a snow storm a decade or so back):

https://www.aopa.org/-/media/Images/Legacy/AOPA/Home/News/All/2010/Winter-blast-hits-Dulles-Airport/slide03.jpg?w=480&h=319&as=1&hash=42CA2225F62586BAF290718DF11990EC

[Dana]

That was one expensive snow storm...

I knew a guy (anybody remember Quades Flight School at MGJ?) who stored his Cub that way to save space in his hangar. Looks like they have some sort of support so it's not sitting on the cowl or crankshaft.

[rwanttaja]

That was one expensive snow storm...

I knew a guy (anybody remember Quades Flight School at MGJ?) who stored his Cub that way to save space in his hangar. Looks like they have some sort of support so it's not sitting on the cowl or crankshaft.

Probably locks it down, too. Could be an ugly domino effect, otherwise.

Ron Wanttaja

[rwanttaja]

In hindsight, that last one is a criminal act!

I think we're looking at a Wulf in an Arado-pile. Arado 96s, I think.

Ron "Thank you, I'll be here all week" Wanttaja

[Mike Switzer]

I remember seeing one like that of a military hangar in Ottumwa, IA. A quick search didn't find it.

[jnealon]

If you enlarge that photo you can see each cub has a separate rack that chocks the wheels and has a cradle to support the prop. I don't see anything that would secure the prop to the cradle but that seems like it would be a good idea. The cubs might balance in that attitude because they had a forward CG, they were flown solo from the back seat. That balancing act probably would not work for all taildraggers. Also I'm guessing you wouldn't want oil in the engine when stored in that attitude.

[rwanttaja]

If you enlarge that photo you can see each cub has a separate rack that chocks the wheels and has a cradle to support the prop. I don't see anything that would secure the prop to the cradle but that seems like it would be a good idea. The cubs might balance in that attitude because they had a forward CG, they were flown solo from the back seat. That balancing act probably would not work for all taildraggers. Also I'm guessing you wouldn't want oil in the engine when stored in that attitude.

I know my Fly Baby, with the tail high, has very little weight on the tailwheel. Pretty sure it'd go all the way over onto the nose, if I let it, and a J-3 is probably about the same. Not sure how stable it might be, so without something to secure the prop (as you suggest), there might be an appalling domino effect if one gets jarred loose.

As far as the oil is concerned, the A65's kidney-shaped oil tank should be able to retain the oil even in that nose-down attitude.
9092
This is a C85, not an A65, but they should be about the same.

Ron Wanttaja

[rwanttaja]

Speaking of domino effect consider how you REMOVE one of those J-3s from the stack. You can't just lower its tail, or the nose will hit the Cub in front of it. Whatever method you use to secure the planes has to allow rolling the first one back far enough so that it can get the tail lowered. However, note that the tailwheel is WELL off the ground...too high to reach up and grab. How do you control the destacking process?
9093
My guess is that you have to have a pole with a hook on it to snag the tailwheel, and have assistants reach up and recover the airplane as the tail drops. Otherwise, it might go overcenter and slam down to the floor.

I think I'm realizing why this never caught on... :-)

Ron "It's good to have clipart" Wanttaja

[Dana]

As I recall my T-Craft would balance if I held the tail handle over my head without stretching too much. Most taildraggers with properly placed wheels would rest on their nose, if the main gear was too far forward for that then they'd have terrible ground handling (like early Stardusters).

Those Cub cradles may have had tiny wheels or casters to move them into position, the main wheels may be resting on a cradle and not just chocked.

[DaleB]

Those Cub cradles may have had tiny wheels or casters to move them into position, the main wheels may be resting on a cradle and not just chocked.
If you blow the picture up, it looks like a T-shaped cradle on casters.

[Joda]

A Goggle search for "Piper Cub Hangar" found this:
9089
No ropes, though...

Ron Wanttaja

I have a photo somewhere of the hangar at Wisconsin Rapids full of airplanes stacked in like this. It was a mixture of Cubs and T-Craft, and there might have been an Aeronca or two as well. This was pretty common practice as I understand it.

I know a guy who tried to do this himself one time. He'd pick up the tail of the Cub and lift it until it was balanced (he thought) and then try to run around and grab the prop so he could set it on a stand he had made. The first couple of times the tail came banging back down on the floor before he got to the prop. The last time the airplane ended up on it's nose. He gave up at that point!

[Mayhemxpc]

In hindsight, that last one is a criminal act!


Arado AR-96. Luftwaffe's advanced trainer aircraft.

[high time cub]

If you blow the picture up, it looks like a T-shaped cradle on casters.

Good eye…. La Ray Tip-Park dolly.

Best,

HT

[high time cub]

I have a photo somewhere of the hangar at Wisconsin Rapids full of airplanes stacked in like this.

They were probably Walker Park-A-Plane dollies made in Racine.

Best,

HT

[rwanttaja]

Good eye…. La Ray Tip-Park dolly.

Wow, was that a find! Thanks for posting it!

Ron Wanttaja

[skyranger]

So, where did the word " hangar " come from ?

[Airmutt]

It’s a derivative of the French word hanghart which means enclosure near a house. Other definitions include enclosure or out building.

[rwanttaja]

It’s a derivative of the French word hanghart which means enclosure near a house. Other definitions include enclosure or out building.

Lotsa aviation terms come from the French language. Aileron, empennage, fuselage, etc. Also, your passengers will be MUCH more impressed if you say, "merde" after a botched landing.....

Ron Wanttaja

[raytoews]

9108

My buddy Bill has a shop with a 20 ft door, how to put a 30 ft wingspan into a 20 ft door. Sideways.

[raytoews]

I taxied my 1946 BC12D thru a ditch once, it stood on its nose just fine. And stayed there. We had to pull it down.