Difficult question, expensive hangar near home or cheap hanger 1 hour away

[McMooney]

so,  got lucky county airport 1hour away has an opening, cost is slightly less than half what i pay now.

same time, airport 5 miles from me also now has an opening,  cost is  about 1.45 times what i pay now.

what to do:

x * 1.45 @ 10mins

x @ 45 mins

or  x/2 @ 60min

 

 

[larryb]

Close

[carusoam]

If you fly a fast plane…

But drive a slow car…

Go Hangar Home… skip the drive altogether….

Nothing worse then driving to the airport to realize what you left back at the house…

Your friend calls you from the airport… says let’s get lunch… you say too far to drive….

You want to zip over to the hangar to check a model number of something…

You started the oil change yesterday… just need to finish up… before driving the kids to their soccer game… there is always tomorrow…

 

Close by may be worth it…

10miles away is a pain…

an hour away… you may realize how expensive this sport really is… while your finance administrator is looking at you right in the eye…

How do you feel about the options?

Best regards,

-a-

 

[DonMuncy]

Do what we all do. Take the close expensive one. Put the hangar rent on autopay, and pretend you don't remember the cost. You will be happy every time you go to the hangar. 

[BobbyH]

40 minutes ago, DonMuncy said:

Take the close expensive one.

If you count your time into the cost, the closer one will probably be a wise decision.  You will find yourself deciding to drop by to work on things more often and an easier decision to take advantage of a couple hours of good flying weather.  Either way it is great to have a hanger.

[Hank]

When I moved the last time, the only hangar I could find was a half hour away. My flying time decreased. Then we bought a house, and suddenly the hangar was an hour away--I hardly ever flew. Moved the plane to be 5 minutes from work and 20 minutes from home, it was very nice.

Living at the airport with my plane parked at the house would be perfect! Except there are few options, none close, and so many seem to be full of million dollar homes . . . .

[4cornerflyer]

Assuming you can afford it, I come down on the side of the closer more expensive hangar. I am fortunate to live about 3 miles from my airport. When I have a trip planned that is more important than just flying around or a $100 hamburger, I generally go to the airport and preflight the plane the day before. This avoids surprises like low tires or a weak battery that would delay my departure. Or I can plug in the engine heater if it's really cold.

You didn't mention other factors which should go into the decision. You've only mentioned cost of the hangar and distance. You have not addressed quality of the hangars or their amenities. Nor have you discussed the various airports. Is there maintenance on the field? A good FBO? Secure? Runway condition, and is there more than one runway? All these things are important.

If all else is truly equal, it is worth paying more to be closer, unless you so rarely use your plane that it won't matter.

Jon

 

[hammdo]

I did the hour away hanger - it was all that was available. A year later and 85% increase force me to look closer.. still 40 minutes but $200 a month cheaper and I have a hanger with electric doors all to myself (previous one was a community hanger) and 24/7 access.
 

I’d go for closer if it’s a 20 minute or less drive…

-Don

Edited April 16, 2022 by hammdo

[StevenL757]

4 hours ago, McMooney said:

so,  got lucky county airport 1hour away has an opening, cost is slightly less than half what i pay now.

same time, airport 5 miles from me also now has an opening,  cost is  about 1.45 times what i pay now.

what to do:

x * 1.45 @ 10mins

x @ 45 mins

or  x/2 @ 60min

It's easy.

@aviatoreb will be along shortly to solve this equation.  :-)

[aviatoreb]

43 minutes ago, StevenL757 said:

It's easy.

@aviatoreb will be along shortly to solve this equation.  :-)

Before we proceed we must decide / should we work the problem in radians or degrees?

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by aviatoreb

[Hank]

18 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

Before we proceed we must decide / should we work the problem in radians or degrees?

Man up, Doctor! Do your math in grads! 

[MikeOH]

Close!  Pay the money and you will FLY your plane.  2 hours round-trip and you will find yourself flying less and less as the months go by.

My hangar is 15 minutes from work and 15 minutes from home.  After work, if the mood strikes me, I'll go for a short flight.  That just would not happen if I was looking at a 2 hour round-trip drive.

[Marauder]

Close!  Pay the money and you will FLY your plane.  2 hours round-trip and you will find yourself flying less and less as the months go by.
My hangar is 15 minutes from work and 15 minutes from home.  After work, if the mood strikes me, I'll go for a short flight.  That just would not happen if I was looking at a 2 hour round-trip drive.

Plus you’ll more likely be at the airport for hangar flying and barbecues! I made the mistake of living an hour from my plane.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[aviatoreb]

9 hours ago, Hank said:

Man up, Doctor! Do your math in grads! 

Grads are just silly.  And take that from a math prof.  I mean everyone likes degrees because by golly a circle should be divided into 360.  And radians everyone hates, except the chain rule makes calculus do so much nicer in radians. But grad.  No way.

[Hank]

52 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

Grads are just silly.  And take that from a math prof.  I mean everyone likes degrees because by golly a circle should be divided into 360.  And radians everyone hates, except the chain rule makes calculus do so much nicer in radians. But grad.  No way.

So why does my excellent calculator, and even the two replicas of it on my phone, have grads? Don't think I've ever used them, and yes, I also despise radians. And as an engineer, I qualified for a math minor by taking only the required math classes, except engineers don't have minors. Radians are awful!

In summary, for the OP, hangar your plane as close to your home as possible. Attached is best; each step further than that reduces the desirability of a particular hangar. So that math is oh so easy! 

Edited April 16, 2022 by Hank

[1964-M20E]

I had similar experience.  I chose the farther airport.  In my case it was own my own hangar for a lot less per month than to tie down outside (2.3X the $) much closer to my house.  To be inside a group hangar it is even more 4.6X$.  I have since built a nice office inside my hangar and it makes hangar days and annual more enjoyable for the 45 minute drive.

Choose closer if all other things are close to equal.

[aviatoreb]

51 minutes ago, Hank said:

So why does my excellent calculator, and even the two replicas of it on my phone, have grads? Don't think I've ever used them, and yes, I also despise radians. And as an engineer, I qualified for a math minor by taking only the required math classes, except engineers don't have minors. Radians are awful!

In summary, for the OP, hangar your plane as close to your home as possible. Attached is best; each step further than that reduces the desirability of a particular hangar. So that math is oh so easy! 

Radians make lots of sense because it makes calculus less of a nuisance.  In radians, lim_theta->0 sin(theta)/theta =0 - which is a geometric statement that the vertical length of that right triangle is almost the same as the arc length of the circle it subtends, for small angles.  In radians.  because a unit circle is 2pi around is a length.  But in degrees then you need to convert in that 2pi, so y=radians = degrees * pi/180= x*pi/180=  f(x), y being your angle in radians, and x your angle in degrees.  So that limit formula underpins the nice calculus derivatives for trig functions, such as d(sin(y))/dy=cos(y).  But if you insist on working in degrees then d(sin(f(x))/dx=cos(x) *pi/180.  Which would make doing calculus in degrees a major nuisance since you would be dragging around that conversion constant all the time.  E.g. what about d^2(sin(y))/dy^2 but in degrees?  Well thats -sin(x) (pi^2/180^2).  Believe me - working really ugly calculus problems with trig functions - would be waaaaay more ugly in degrees and someone was very smart a number of years ago who decided to work in radians.  I have no idea who did that but it was brilliant.  

So embrace radians. They are our friends.

[Mooneymite]

Nothing beats living with your plane for convenience and aircraft utility.

Looks like there are multiple fly-in communities around Houston....

https://www.airparkmap.com/home/texas-airparks

The web site is slow to open the map feature...be patient.  

[GeeBee]

What are the facility differences? Approach types, weather reporting, fuel availability all figure in to the calculation. I have a field close, but VFR only

 

 

[aviatoreb]

All silliness of math aside - 

My time is invaluable.  I only have so much before I leave this earth.  And the idea of having my airplane an hour away instead of close if possible.  I would easily pay double for the near hangar.  Since time is valuable too.  Heck one can say that is part of why one buys a plane - to turn miles and dollars into time.  I will pop by my hangar this afternoon - 1.5 mi away - to putter around - measure some things about a winch idea I have, and heck maybe fly a bit.  I wouldn't be just popping by if it were an hour away.  It allows me to enjoy my airplane much more often, and I don't mean just flying.  I mean puttering around the hangar is fun.

[hubcap]

What is the price difference in dollars?
 

Percentages are meaningless without knowing the real cost.

[ArtVandelay]

The web site is slow to open the map feature...be patient.  

If I was patient I wouldn’t own a Mooney.

[McMooney]

200, 450, 587

[LANCECASPER]

On 4/15/2022 at 4:13 PM, McMooney said:

so,  got lucky county airport 1hour away has an opening, cost is slightly less than half what i pay now.

same time, airport 5 miles from me also now has an opening,  cost is  about 1.45 times what i pay now.

what to do:

x * 1.45 @ 10mins      587

x @ 45 mins               450

or  x/2 @ 60min         200

The fact that you have options is great. There are parts of the U. S. where there is a waiting list for years for a hangar an hour away.  The easiest answer is pony up 587 and take the one 10 minutes away. There are a lot of advantages in being close. But maybe the real answer may be none of the above. Since you're in an area that has options, and provided you're going to be flying awhile into the future, you may really start looking for a hangar to buy. Even if you have to finance it, 587 may pay off a decent hangar in a relatively short period of time. You'll never get any of the money back you spend toward rent. Someday the one you buy will be paid for and you'll probably see some appreciation. There are a lot of factors to look at, including ground lease, etc. I used to drive about 45 minutes to get to my hangar and about 5.5 years ago bought a home on an airpark with a hangar. One of the best flying decisions I've made.

[A64Pilot]

 I live in a fly in community, used to keep the airplane at work which was nice, but  later had to move it about an hour away. That did cut down on flying, the I’m bored may as well fly flights didn’t happen anymore, only the planned flights did.

If you can live in an airpark, do so. First the hangar will most likely be nicer, airplane is at the house which means of course flying is way easier and you’ll fly more often, but it’s also less expensive.

By the time you add in the fuel back and forth to the airport, the cost of driving, your time doing so, and the fact the money spent has no return, it’s more money than you think to rent, I’d bet that 587 is closer to 1,000. If you fly twice a week, that’s 16 hours driving a month and how many miles?

I’ve got a nice 50x60 concrete block airconditioned hangar and the increased cost on my house payment is less than many pay for a hangar, plus one day when I sell I will get some of that money back, hangar rent you don’t.

We even have fuel delivered once a month as we all have our own tanks and it’s cheaper than buying it at the airports locally.

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by A64Pilot