Hangar rent with wings folded

[t j]

Does anyone rent hangar space for your kitfox with the wings folded? What does it cost compared to the same hangar cost for a plane with the wings spread?

[rogerh12]

I was just a Sunday flyer and I shared a hanger and paid ½ the rent, though I did use less space than the other guy with the wings folded, I thought ½ was still a fair deal.

Note: With some practice, I could unflold and setup the plane in about 5 minutes, by myself. But at first it took me more like 20 minutes, so just keep practicing.

[jiott]

I just found a hanger that was being used by a business (quite a few businesses do this; its inexpensive warehouse space) and he had room for me with the wings folded. We split the cost half & half.

[t j]

A little more information. This plan to purchase a hangar originaly included, a breezie. a RV9 and two Kitfoxes. The cost would be slpit evenly among us. That would have worked.

The other kitfox decided it wasn't worth the monkey motion so dropped out. Now the proposal is for a Stinson to come in in place of the other kitfox. I went down today and measured the Stinson and made a model. You can see by the picture this won't work.

There aren't any other folding wing airplanes in the area so it is probably a moot point now for four airplane owners buying the hangar. There are a couple guys without airplanes considering buying a share and renting their space out. I can fit in wings spread if there are just three planes total. Just have to wait and see how it plays out and if there is space for a folded kitfox what the rent would be.

Any other opinions keep them coming. I need someone to bounce this plan off of.

[cap01]

I've been around moving airplanes for an entire career , cubs to 747s . One thing for sure , you move an airplane around other planes enough times there will be damage . The tighter you pack them in the higher the risk also the bigger the plane the more expensive to repair the damage . Whatever you decide, keep in mind you can get the planes packed in too tight .

[896tr]

If your going to share a hangar with the wings folded why not get a trailer and take home? At least you will know who is responsible for any hangar rash.

[Av8r3400]

I'd agree with this observation. Even if you have to drop $8k for a custom enclosed trailer, this is much less than half a hangar. If you are folding anyway, why not?

[tucsonchris]

I recently switched from a full size T-hangar to a "storage room". T-hangers often have "half hangars" at the ends of the building because of layout constraints. Most airfields rent these as storage rooms because most people can't fold their wings like we can. I have a tri-gear, so in order for me to maneuver the plane into the narrow space, I have to have an extra tail wheel when the weight comes down on the tail when wings folded. Rather than pony up the $200+ for an actual tail wheel, I use a rubber caster from northern tool. Just $12. One person can do all the folding with practice and care. Oh, and I drain the tanks.

[t j]

Okay, lots of good responses here, thanks. I currently keep my kitfox in my shop at home and trailer to the airport 10 miles for each flight. I can fold or spread the wings in about five minutes. Loading and securing on the trailer takes about 30 minutes. I can unload and be ready to preflight...if no one comes up and talks to me...in 20 minutes.:) I don't mind that though, I enjoy showing my kitfox to people.

I do miss a lot of good flying days because of wind or rain in the forecast that doesn't happen. I don't want to haul the plane down to the airport, unload, then have to load it back up because the wind picked up. We have a "Gap wind" here that can gust 30+ mph in just a few minutes.

Thinking about your imput I may be better off and money ahead spending some effort modifying my trailer to make it easier to use.

[Paul Z]

There is a Kitfoxer her in Dallas that was trailering his plane to Mesquite to fly out of. However, they decided to put in Gated Access, only people that have a hanger or tie dows can get access to the tie down and hanger areas now. I am not sure where he is flying out of now.

[t j]

Paul, I was told the exact same line by our airport manager. I wrote a letter to the airport advisory board explaining, unafordable hangar costs, storing fabric covered airplanes outside, and most important, quoted the federal regs reguarding public access to airports accepting federal money. Their resopnce then was, " We will be glad to issue you an airport gate key."

If you know this guy denied access and want to I will email you a copy of my letter.