Sailplane Hangar Doors

[TOM RENT]

Anyone have any information on 52 foot-wide hangar doors for individual
glider hangars? I know about the various Bifold types, but looking for ones
only 8 foot tall or so, rolling, hanging, or swing style. Not much out there
on small hangars for gliders other than the Ensign design.

Our desire is to build a long "T' style glider hangar with 6-8 individual
bays, each with their own door. Northern climate.

Remove "XXs" from my email if you reply to me directly, but prefer you just
post to the group.

Thanks

[Bill Daniels]

"TOM RENT" > wrote in message
...
> Anyone have any information on 52 foot-wide hangar doors for individual
> glider hangars? I know about the various Bifold types, but looking for
ones
> only 8 foot tall or so, rolling, hanging, or swing style. Not much out
there
> on small hangars for gliders other than the Ensign design.
>
> Our desire is to build a long "T' style glider hangar with 6-8 individual
> bays, each with their own door. Northern climate.
>
> Remove "XXs" from my email if you reply to me directly, but prefer you
just
> post to the group.
>
> Thanks
>
>
I know this is not exactly what you asked for but my experience with
bi-fold, roll-up and sliding doors has been uniformly bad - especially when
they get old.

The "Carousel Hangar" at Moriarty, NM holds 8 gliders with each available
without touching the others. Everyone with a glider in this hangar is VERY
happy with access to their glider. It is a real advantage that there is
only one 60 foot door.

Combine the Carousel concept with the Monolithic reinforced concrete dome
and their curved door that slides around INSIDE the hangar and you have a
magnificent solution. The dome is insulated and virtually air tight. The
door is safe from the wind while open and completely out of the way. The
dome can withstand 150 MPH winds.

If I were building hangars for up to 8 gliders, that would be my choice.

Bill Daniels

[Craig Freeman]

"TOM RENT" > wrote in message >...
> Anyone have any information on 52 foot-wide hangar doors for individual
> glider hangars? I know about the various Bifold types, but looking for ones
> only 8 foot tall or so, rolling, hanging, or swing style. Not much out there
> on small hangars for gliders other than the Ensign design.
>
> Our desire is to build a long "T' style glider hangar with 6-8 individual
> bays, each with their own door. Northern climate.
>
> Remove "XXs" from my email if you reply to me directly, but prefer you just
> post to the group.
>
> Thanks

If you are using metal U or R panel to cover them with I would suggest
building a frame with from 4" C purlin with a base, header and one
support through the middle. Build them laying down and stack them up
using the bottom one for a pattern. Keep them square and install the
sheets before standing them up. That gives them great strength. I think
two Doors for each hanger will be fine provided you put four rollers
under each door. I use 6" ball bearing casters with V grooves in them
rolling on a track made of 1" angle iron. I also suggest bearings of
some kind on the top of the door to roll on whatever kind of guide you
put up there. I use cam followers and put one on each side of a guide
made from 2"x2"x3/16" angle with one flange used as the guide and the
other used to weld or bolt it to the door frame. Unfortunatly good
doors which will work for a long time and not sag and get out of
adjustment are quite a bit or work. I mount the rollers top and bottom
on a plate and bolt or weld them to the door frame. You can let the
sheets extend below the frame to cover the casters and provide a
seal at the bottom. Have some flashing bent and install it over
the top and your done. Good Luck. If you like I could e-mail you
some pictures.

Craig-