Hangar Wishlist (what's in your hangar?)

[ElisiumNate]

Hey Mooneyspace!

I'll be picking up my new (to me) 1964 M20E next month and flying it back to my new hangar.  As a first time Mooney (and airplane) owner, I'm looking for ideas on what kinds of stuff I'll need in my hangar.  Please share some ideas with me here so that I can put together a good list.  I've never had a hangar before.  It has a powered door, and electricity. 

Thanks!

[N201MKTurbo]

I would like a lot of cleanliness and organization. I keep trying to find some, but it seems hard to come by.

[hammdo]

Heater for your cabin - I heat mine using the switcheon to manage it remotely over the phone - when it’s below 40°. Air compressor for tires. Folding tables… cleaning supplies, case of oil and filter — I change my own oil…

-Don

[Schllc]

26 minutes ago, ElisiumNate said:

Please share some ideas with me here so that I can put together a good list.  

Oil, funnel, rags, window cleaner, oil filters, vacuum, small compressor, tools, rat traps, fan, work lights, ladder, mechanics creeper, flashlight, a refrigerator, radio, an old sofa or chairs, a workbench, gas blower, broom chocks, drain pan, mop and mop bucket, degreaser, 5 gallon can of water, zip ties, multi meter, airplane waterless wash. Or everything but a good start. 

[Hank]

20 minutes ago, Schllc said:

Oil, funnel, rags, window cleaner, oil filters, vacuum, small compressor, tools, rat traps, fan, work lights, ladder, mechanics creeper, flashlight, a refrigerator, radio, an old sofa or chairs, a workbench, gas blower, broom chocks, drain pan, mop and mop bucket, degreaser, 5 gallon can of water, zip ties, multi meter, airplane waterless wash. Or everything but a good start. 

And a set of gorilla shelves to hold everything but the furniture neatly. 

And a creeper. And a roll around chair. Some flashlights. A borescope. And a . . .

All in, it shouldn't cost much more than 25% the purchase price of your Mooney! 

[hubcap]

Don’t forget a battery minder and if you live where it’s cold get a half dozen heavy shipping blankets to cover your cowling when pre-heating.

[Hank]

P.S.-- @ElisiumNate, in IL you'll need a snow shovel for the hangar, but don't put chemicals outside the door, your propeller will throw it all over your plane, and you don't want calcium chloride on your landing gear, belly and tail. They may be safe for your (coated) (steel) cars, but your Mooney is aluminum with many riveted seams where chemicals will leach in and sit, running past the edge and wrapping onto the non-painted, unprotected rear faces of the body panels.

Your high wing neighbors put couches under the wing in their T-hangars, but that doesn't work well with low wing planes.

Oh, an air compressor to pump up your tires. A push broom to sweep out the hangar. Some sort of rolling toolbox and some tools, standard not metric. Buy them as you need them--wrenches up to 1" for oil filters, regular and Phillips screwdrivers in multiple sizes, a hex wrench set, wire cutters, several varieties of pliers and wire cutters are the beginning. 

[MikeOH]

Refrigerator and microwave

[Justin Schmidt]

Pin up girls

[PeteMc]

In addition to what the others have said...  a Leaf Blower (battery or plug in).  A lot of times I've been in hangars where the dirt on the floor is really fine and yes  you can eventually sweep it all up, but you make a giant dust cloud that just gets everywhere. 

So after getting the big stuff with the broom.  I've seen guys blow the remaining fine dirt AND the dust right across the floor and out the door.  I've also seen them hose down the floor and then use the blower to get rid of the excess water and expedite the drying before they bring the plane back in .  

[mike_elliott]

Beer

[A64Pilot]

Rented hangar?

Obviously just portable stuff, but a good Stereo, dorm fridge for beer and water and a cheap microwave to heat food. Good old fashioned 1970’s type of Stereo, not a box radio, unless of course you don’t like music, and a good recliner. Never had a couch, I want to be able to recline and rest. Depending on how far away your hangar is from home it just could become sort of a place for you to rest and unwind, hence the Stereo and maybe a beer. Warm days you open the door and watch the world.

Compressor and battery minder / charger is a must from there depending on ability and need start adding drill press, metal shear, set of rollers et all. If any real work is expected buy a “real” air-compressor not one of those God awful viberators.   otherwise get a “silent” air compressor for light work, available everywhere and many under $150. They are honestly as quiet as a sewing machine, oil less etc. I just can’t stand the noise one of the viberators make, when one that essentially just hums works just as good.

Good standing tool box to store tools, and in my neck of the woods a good de-humidifier. Keep the humidity low in a hangar and there is no corrosion, even your tools, vise and drill press table etc. won’t have any rust. I suspect up North one will be even more useful as a dehumidifier is a very efficient way to add a slight amount of heat in a hangar, of course all energy used by one is dispersed as heat like anything else, it’s enough to be noticeable, not real heat but enough to be noticed.

Thus guy rambles for 5 min before actually turning the thing on, so skip the first 5 min to hear it run, I chose tge Harbor Freight one as Inassumed it’s the cheapest, but honestly most seem to be the same compressor with different bling and stickers.

 

[Fly Boomer]

10 hours ago, ElisiumNate said:

Hey Mooneyspace!

I'll be picking up my new (to me) 1964 M20E next month and flying it back to my new hangar.  As a first time Mooney (and airplane) owner, I'm looking for ideas on what kinds of stuff I'll need in my hangar.  Please share some ideas with me here so that I can put together a good list.  I've never had a hangar before.  It has a powered door, and electricity. 

Thanks!

I have an old leaf blower in my hangar but my preferred method for cleaning the floor is to wet it down, use a rough-surface push broom to agitate any patches of gunk that are stuck to the concrete, and then use a squeegee to push all the water out the big door.  The squeegee gets all the standing water, but leaves the floor damp.  Takes about a half-hour to dry after that.  I don't have running water in my hangar, so I have to haul 40 gallons in a tank to get this done.  And I have almost everything in my hangar on wheels (workbench, upright compressor, Kennedy box of course, stainless shelves, etc.).  With the airplane out, I can push everything to one side, clean the other side, then swap sides and finish up.

[Fly Boomer]

34 minutes ago, A64Pilot said:

I suspect up North one will be even more useful as a dehumidifier is a very efficient way to add a slight amount of heat in a hangar,

Great idea in Summer, but they don't work when temperatures drop.  And heaters that burn hydrocarbons (gas, propane, kerosene) put tremendous amounts of water into the air.

[Rick Junkin]

I suggest starting with a rolling toolbox, at least two sets of rolling wire shelving with shelf liners, a work bench, something comfortable to sit on, and a small fridge.

The toolbox, shelves, and fridge will fill themselves quickly and keep you organized as they do. Reorganizing and cleaning the hangar is a snap with everything on wheels. Make sure they are the locking variety of wheels.

Cheers,
Rick

[Fly Boomer]

8 minutes ago, Rick Junkin said:

I suggest starting with a rolling toolbox, at least two sets of rolling wire shelving with shelf liners, a work bench, something comfortable to sit on, and a small fridge.

The toolbox, shelves, and fridge will fill themselves quickly and keep you organized as they do. Reorganizing and cleaning the hangar is a snap with everything on wheels. Make sure they are the locking variety of wheels.

Cheers,
Rick

Great suggestions!

[47U]

13 hours ago, ElisiumNate said:

I'm looking for ideas on what kinds of stuff I'll need in my hangar.  Please share some ideas with me here so that I can put together a good list.

A flag, fire extinguisher, and speedy dry (or cat litter). 

[PeteMc]

6 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

a good de-humidifier

I've seen lots of room size de-humidifiers, is that what you're talking about?  Or more of an industrial space for the size of even a T-Hangar? 

 

[Fly Boomer]

18 hours ago, ElisiumNate said:

Please share some ideas with me here so that I can put together a good list.

The good news is that if you take all the suggestions above, it will cost less than AMU100.  I think the bottom line may be to buy what you need when you need it and, over 20 or 30 years, you will have accumulated most of what you need.

[ElisiumNate]

Outstanding suggestions, everyone! I really appreciate how awesome and knowledgable this community is.  I'll post pics as I get them! Look how empty! 

[ZuluZulu]

If you wanted to get carpet or seal the floor, now is a great time to consider doing it.  It'll never be this easy again!

[A64Pilot]

3 hours ago, PeteMc said:

I've seen lots of room size de-humidifiers, is that what you're talking about?  Or more of an industrial space for the size of even a T-Hangar? 

 

Mine is just a room sized one, I think they rate them in pints and I think mine is a 60 pint model. When it runs it does do so for hours, on rainy days it runs continuously.

I actually bought it for my boat years ago.

I keep thinking I’ll buy another and put it on the other side of the hangar, just haven’t done it yet through.

I put in a 2 ton mini split and run it off of a humidistat, turns on at 65 RH and off at 60RH, but I live in Florida, won’t cool the hangar much but it does keep it dry in Summer.

My hangar is 50 x60 so 3,000 sq ft, but the 60 pint dehumidifier keeps humidity usually in the 50’s in cooler months. It’s built in humidistat isn’t nearly as good as the one for the mini-split so to keep it below 65 RH it turns off in the mid 50’s. Surprised how well it works.

‘I got 65RH off of the internet, looked up aircraft aluminum corrosion and humidity, found a chart that showed above 65RH the curve went up steeply.

[dkkim73]

Answering based on recollections of a club hangar and maintenance, and general garage thoughts: 

Most specifics already suggested. I remember needing a lot of cleaning supplies. 

Practically, I would say prioritize things that 1. can keep you from having to run home, to the HW store, convenience store, etc. Time is life and if it's not convenient, you might postpone it, 2. things that make the environment pleasant and easy to work in. 

Looks like a fun project! I'm going to board for a while but look forward to a dedicated hangar some day...

ETA: please post pics when you're done! Airplane pics, Snap-On calendar, Minion statues for the kids, BBQ grill...

[1964-M20E]

[Igor_U]

This is the area to hangout and relax,

 

 

Further aft, not shown on photo are:

compressor, filing cabinets for stuff and tools, shelves with bottles and screws and such, ex-Boeing Drafting board for workbench, ex-Boeing “tanker” desk (obscenely heavy!), aircraft jacks and tail weight, winter tires, snow shovel, shop vac, oil, filters, tool cabinet or two, truck bed box (used on the ramp to store oil and such), boxes of aviation hardware, lights, creeper, office chair or two, cleaning supplies, parts…