Finally! 16U has a home!

[ragedracer1977]

Yeah, I say finally... I only had to wait 3 months for a hangar.  Not too bad a wait from what I hear.  Now I just need to set up a workbench, move some tools and stuff over there, maybe a couch or some chairs, and a fridge!

Question for you guy with hangars... Do you still usually put the pitot cover and cowl plugs on? Do you close the storm window or leave it open for ventilation?  This is my first hangar (and first plane!) so I'm not really sure what's the 'right' way?

 

 

[RLCarter]

Congrats on the hangar, I close and cover in the hangar I even chock the nose wheel

[ragedracer1977]

8 minutes ago, RLCarter said:

Congrats on the hangar, I close and cover in the hangar I even chock the nose wheel

I definitely need chocks.  I have the brake set right now.   I don't know that I''ll cover the plane, I fly too much.  3-4 times a week.

[Firebird2xc]

I have the opposite scenario- I have a plane and no hangar.  That said, I plan on plugging and covering the airplane I do finally put in it every time.

T-hangars are known to leak, and birds, rodents, and insects always find a way in when they really want it.  I figure a bird's nest in my engine cowling or a mud dauber hive blocking my pitot tube would scrub a flight pretty quick.

I've also been told radio thieves have at times broken in to hangars looking for eBay fodder.  A covered bird offers up a little less to see for a would be avionics dealer...

[Jim Peace]

I would use all covers......especially being you do not know if it leaks or not......

Also a security camera and signs that you have one......Swann makes one where all you need is electric.  It will record the video onto an SD card that you can download at a later time if needed.

 

[Hector]

I do not cover or plug my plane in my hangar. My hangar does not leak and I have not seen any bugs or critters in it. The airport keeps them well maintained. I have a nice cover that it's always in the plane and use it when I travel and the plane sits outside overnight.


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[RLCarter]

5 hours ago, ragedracer1977 said:

I definitely need chocks.  I have the brake set right now.   I don't know that I''ll cover the plane, I fly too much.  3-4 times a week.

I use 2 short (10") 2x4's on the nose wheels. My hangar is 50'x35' and houses an M20E and  C-172 so it's kinda tight and I don't need anything rolling in the wrong direction. S.Texas can be be really dusty so I throw a bed sheet over the cabin to keep the dust off the windows, it's cheap & quick. 

[Andy95W]

After about 25 years of airplane ownership in a variety of hangars:

Pitot cover- yes

All doors and windows closed- yes

Chocks- yes

Cover and cowl plugs- no

[rbridges]

I asked this forum about keeping the plane open for ventilation i.e. old leather smell, and the consensus was no.  I definitely use the pitot cover.  May be unnecessary, but my original CFI told me a bug could make it into a home pretty quick.

[rbridges]

Keep a good coat of wax on it.  Your plane is directly under the light, and you'll probably notice insect poo on the roof and cowl of your plane.  That stuff can get pretty nasty.

[steingar]

I have cowl plugs in mine, but only because I use an engine heater in the cold.  I should cover it, everything in the hangar winds up with a covering of dust after awhile.  But I am far, far too lazy.  Besides, one of the reasons I'm paying all this money for a hangar is so I don't have to cover or otherwise mess with the airplane.

[Skates97]

1 hour ago, Andy95W said:

After about 25 years of airplane ownership in a variety of hangars:

Pitot cover- yes

All doors and windows closed- yes

Chocks- yes

Cover and cowl plugs- no

This is the same thing I do. Pitot cover for the bugs, and keep it closed up because the fuzzy stuff from nearby cottonwood trees finds its way inside the hangar and I don't want it finding its way inside the plane. 

One other thing to consider is using some colored duct tape and putting lines for all three wheels as well as a box at the end of each one where the wheels will end up when the plane is parked. Makes it easy to get the plane in the right position each time and not accidentally hit something in the hangar with it when pushing it in. 

[EricJ]

Awesome!   Where did you wind up?   North side, south side?   Just wondering how far you are from mine.

[pinerunner]

I certainly put the pitot cover on. I don't want to try landing without airspeed.  We have the occasional mud-dauber wasp. I haven't bothered with cowl plugs and have the cover tucked away. Paper wasps are around. I see their nests plenty so I do my best to remember to close the little window. I think different areas of the country are different. The previous owner didn't bother with cowl plugs so I just followed that. Half the people in my hangar do. Haven't heard of any problems with bird nests and with my big guppy mouth you'd think i would have seen it if it were likely. None of the locals have told me I'm crazy not to.  

[carusoam]

Expect to see Mud daubers and mice in hangars...

-a-

[HRM]

11 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Expect to see Mud daubers and mice in hangars...

Depends.

Years ago Don Maxwell warned me about mud daubers (very prevalent here in SET) getting in the pitot. I have as yet to see a dauber or evidence of them at my hangar. I am right around the corner from the Jeff Cty mosquito control flight station, so maybe all that pesticide is keeping them at bay. Yeah, 100LL and pesticide, I must be pretty pickled by now.

Haven't see mice either. Of course, they have more sense about where they spend their time.

The OP ought to have hangar chats with his neighbors to gauge the specific hazards that may want to compromise his Mooney 

[RLCarter]

Haven't seen mice, have seen rats and for the past 6 months I have evidence of rabbits....lots & lots of evidence  

[Godfather]

I pull it in, put the headset and keys on the dash, close the door, and turn off the lights. The joys of having a hanger. 

[1964-M20E]

The hanger I have mine here in Idaho Falls is real nice.  I got some mouse bait stations and you should see the mouse traffic there it looks like a convention was held.

 

 

[Oldguy]

It ends up in the hangar with pitot cover and cowl plugs, but I live so close to the airport, I pull it in, open up the oil filler cover on the cowl and loosen the dipstick to let the steam out. Before I leave, I put the pitot cover on and drive to the house. About 2-3 hours later I come back, close everything up and put in the cowl plugs. I always close the door, pilot window and baggage door but do not necessarily latch them tightly if I know I won't be flying for a week or so. Ah, the joys of living 5 minutes from the home drome.

[Danb]

I have a clean insulated hanger, I crack both doors, turn fan on low kiss him good night.

[Raptor05121]

I fly about 4-6 times a week (when MX doesn't ground me) and I'm 7 miles from my airport, and here is what I do:

Two wooden wheel chocks placed where I like (off center so I have more walking room on the right side of the plane). Velcro on the bottom of the chocks to hold to the floor. I push the plane back to the chocks and then wedge the towbar under the front of the nosewheel.

No pitot or cowl plugs

I'll leave the baggage door unlatched and just lay it closed 99% of the time. I take my towbar with me always so no point is wearing out the latch 2x after and before a flight. The entry door and storm window are mostly closed but I've started to leave them cracked open since my fuel selector is weeping so I have fuel odor when I open it up.

I pressure wash my hangar completely top of bottom every 6 months so I don't have any spider web problems or anything. No bird problems, either.

[ArtVandelay]

Pitot and fuel vent covers, protects against insects, no cowl plugs because I haven't seen birds come inside a hangar. Close doors but don't secure them, to relieve stress on the rubber seals.

[ragedracer1977]

9 hours ago, EricJ said:

Awesome!   Where did you wind up?   North side, south side?   Just wondering how far you are from mine.

For now South East.  First set of hangars closest to transpac.. Id like to be over by you, but I have to stay for one month before I can request a 'transfer'

[EricJ]

43 minutes ago, ragedracer1977 said:

For now South East.  First set of hangars closest to transpac.. Id like to be over by you, but I have to stay for one month before I can request a 'transfer'

Wow, I didn't even know you could request a transfer!   I kinda feel like I won the hangar lottery, so I'm staying put.   BTW, just wired money for the airplane, should have it back here in a couple of weeks if not sooner.

Glad to see your beast in a home, though!