In article ,
Jack Allison wrote:

I think I've logged about four days of hanger rat duty over the past two
weeks. Still have a long way to go in terms of accommodations (chairs,
table, shelves, etc...but having your own hanger sure makes it more fun
(and, IMHO, justifiable) to hang around the airport.

[snip]

fyi - here is a (poorly formatted) list of the stuff recommended for hangars
from the collective wisdom of rec.aviation folks.


First Aid Kit

Small "dorm room" refrigerator for beverages and snacks.

A couple of "chocks" nailed to the floor (to prevent the tail
from hitting the back wall)

chocks

Table/bench
rolling work table

Cabinet

Small wet/dry vac

Rubbish barrel

Push broom

Fire extinquisher

Extension cord and portable light

Small tug (& fuel container for tug - it also runs on 100LL)

Airplane supplies/parts

Whiteboard with maintenance status (e.g., ELT due date)

A couple of folding chairs

small compressor for inflating the tires

papertowels and other cleaning supplies

Snow shovel and ice chopper

FAA-approved sand in a bucket or container



I'd drill into the concrete something that I could use to lower the
tail and get the nosewheel off the ground.

When I got my current hangar, it had a D-ring already there right
under the tail, so it makes servicing the nosewheel easy.



* 36" - "long handle" floor Squeegee - maybe wider
(Thank God for spell checker)

* Minivan third row bench seat, on a 2x4 frame w/casters.
(Seats are free if you look around)

* Small college fridge, or a $50 used regular fridge
(already mentioned)

* A few 5 gallon plastic buckets w/handles
(Free if you look around - We have some green pickle buckets from Margene's
farm in our garage, use them all-the-time)

* Old stereo with some old (80's) speakers attached up high on the wall.
(Very available at garage sales)

* Scanner on shelf, with aux. scanner speaker attached up high on the wall.

* Bucket filled with Floor-Dri for oil spills...from the car.

* I've seen medium sized picnic tables - Nothing beats sitting at a nice
comfortable picnic table.
(down caster for easy moving - up caster for sitting in place. We do this
with theater pieces all the time)

* Microwave

* Bathroom in the corner? Walk up a few steps RV/houseboat set up?



To add a few items that perhaps were missed (I can't "see" this entire
thread, for some reason...):

- A workbench! Absolutely invaluable...

- An oil filter cutter mounted to aforementioned workbench.

- Shelves, shelves, shelves. It's amazing -- no matter how many you have,
you fill 'em.

- Astroturf on the floor. We covered the entire hangar floor with
astroturf -- it REALLY keeps the dust and dirt down. (Our floor is only
concrete under the plane itself -- the rest is gravel.

- A kitchen! Our T-hangar is a corner unit, giving us about a third more
space than an average T-hangar. I built a counter-top with shelves
beneath, and then equipped our kitchen with fridge, microwave, pantry, and
food prep area.

- A torpedo heater that runs on Jet-A.

- A screened in tent. (Really!) This is in the kitchen area. It's not used
to keep bugs out, but to keep the heat down, closer to the floor. In cool
weather, the heat from our torpedo heater doesn't go very far in such a
large spacer. We have found, however, that by directing it into the tent
area, the canvas roof keeps the heat in pretty well. (We've attached
several small electric clip-on fans inside the tent's ceiling, blowing
downward -- which also helps keep the heat where we want it.) With this set
up we're able to have cookouts in the hangar comfortably down to about 40
degrees.

- A TV/VCR. If you have kids, the ability to let them watch a movie while
you sip a few cold ones with friends is awfully nice.

- A gas grill. (Of course!)

- A porta-potty. The girls insisted on this, and it's made hangar parties
much more enjoyable. Use 4 x 8 foot sheets of foam insulation to "wall off"
a privacy area around the potty.

- Speaking of 4 x 8 foot sheets of insulation, we have used industrial
adhesive to glue a bunch of these sheets to the bare metal walls of our
hangar. Not only do they provide a little "R" value, but they are terrific
for stapling your printed digital photos of your flying exploits to. We
have a complete wall, floor to ceiling, covered with 8.5 x 11 inch photos of
our flying trips, going back to 1998 when we bought our first plane. It's
really a conversation starter! (The lighter colored walls also REALLY help
brighten up the place.

- Lots of lights! I replaced the single little 60 watt bulb with a
three-way splitter, and three big halogen spotlights. Haven't blown a
circuit breaker yet, in almost five years, and it's lit up like day
inside...

- A rolling utility cart. Makes working on or cleaning the plane MUCH nicer
to have your tools right at hand.

- Several creepers, both prone and sit-up versions. No matter how many you
have (we have three), they will NOT be where you want them.

- A big dry-erase board, to track maintenance, your biennial, your medical,
how much you owe the kids for opening the door, etc.

- A big, industrial vacuum cleaner, with 30 feet of hose.

- Bicycle(s). They make the long walk to the terminal or maintenance hangar
a LOT quicker.

- Snow shovels, brooms.

- A couch and several chairs.

- A patio table and chairs.

- Lots of electrical outlet strips. We've only got two "real" outlets in
the hangar, split into about a billion with electrical strips. (Make sure
you get the fused kind, and take care not to turn on everything at once!)


A LOT of bench space and pegboard for hanging tools. One curious thing about
my hangar. I have an overhead light. When I raise the door, it vibrates the
hangar and the light goes OUT!!! It comes on by itself later on. It is not
an incadescent light, but it is not a long tube flourescent either. Looks
more like a streetlight. Why would it do this?

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule