Ranch Hangar

[Ian.B]

Hi, this is my first post in Garage Journal. I have been scheming for a number of years and been working on my own shop. Recently a new project arose at my families ranch for a hangar. The following thread will be that, plus more side projects as well as tools and restorations from my shop at home. As we all know, projects and shops are never "finished" and one can never collect too many tools.

This is the site where the new hangar will be located. It will be a 60x60x18 steel structure with hydraulic hangar door that opens up to a flat field that could be used as an airstrip in the future.

 

[CT2012]

A hangar in south bay area? Yowza! Gonna keep my eyes on this one for sure.

Sounds awesome. Helluva size too. Like you said, can never have enough tools....and can never have a big enough garage....

 

[Ian.B]

The rebar, formwork, and rock arrived and shortly thereafter the forms were up.

 

[Ian.B]

A hangar in south bay area? Yowza! Gonna keep my eyes on this one for sure.

Sounds awesome. Helluva size too. Like you said, can never have enough tools....and can never have a big enough garage....

CT2012, I live for the most part in the south bay area but the ranch is farther south and east a bit. closest city would be Hollister. The large size is for what goes in it

 

[Ian.B]

A week later the slab concrete was placed. It measures 60x60 with a 6" slab that has footings around the exterior.





Here is a detail of anchor bolts for the steel framing. If you look carefully you can see where there are anchor bolts closer to the slab edge where the roll up door will be.

 

[CT2012]

got it. was wondering if more central valley.

been on 156 more times than i care to remember....

lovin' those photos of rolling california hills.

 

[Ian.B]

A friend of mine is working on becoming a commercial helicopter pilot and he stopped by to say hi. He has his private and is working on instrument at the moment. It's something that I have thought about before, but everything associated with those machines is so expensive . Anyway, the little R22 posed no match for the high strength concrete.

 

[james_crane]

If the hangar door has not yet been specified please call me about a hangar door that is self supported. No loads on the building, only wind load.

There is no doubt this door is really changing how we think about hangar construction.

Check it out here: http://www.hangardoors.aero/hangar-doors/higher-power-doors/

 

[Ian.B]

If the hangar door has not yet been specified please call me about a hangar door that is self supported. No loads on the building, only wind load.

There is no doubt this door is really changing how we think about hangar construction.

Already have a higher power hydraulic door on order! Should be here in a couple of weeks.

 

[Ian.B]

The steel structure came in on one truck and was unloaded and inspected. The dogs had to confirm there were no ground squirrels hitching a ride. The anchor bolts were all in the right location and the structure was erected faster than expected.
Here are some of the structural members and the roll up door.

A team of skilled workers threw this thing up




This is where the main hangar door will be. Its been slightly delayed so the structure will be complete before the door arrives. It is being shipped out with others to reduce costs.

 

[Steve from Socal]

Without a runway around with that size hanger you must have an S-76 or Dauphin to park in there!

Steve

 

[Ian.B]

Steve, that would be really cool! but it will be mostly used for ranch equipment and a portion for a future addition of a light sport aircraft. The occasional supercub or experimental aircraft might top by and spend the night there as well. It is big enough for a Cessna Grand Caravan or a Pilatus porter in the distant future

 

[PugetDude]

The steel structure came in on one truck and was unloaded and inspected. The dogs had to confirm there were no ground squirrels hitching a ride. The anchor bolts were all in the right location and the structure was erected faster than expected.
Here are some of the structural members and the roll up door.

Who did the structural package? Did you order a building package direct from the manufacturer or through a contractor?

 

[Ak Mancave]

Subscribed. Awesome work so far... Being a aviation buff into Supercubs and helicopters I have to follow this build... You have more than enough room there for the stuff I fly...

 

[Ian.B]

Who did the structural package? Did you order a building package direct from the manufacturer or through a contractor?

I ordered the structure through Metallic Building Company, and one of their distributors delivered it. It comes with structural calculations done and we just added an end frame where the hangar door will be.

 

[Ian.B]

The siding was installed sandwiching insulation between the metal sheeting and the structural framing.

 

[Ian.B]

The insulation and roofing went on today. There are clear skylight panels which are double thick (two panels with an air gap) to avoid condensation on the underside. The insulation will be cut away to reveal them, and bring in natural lighting.







We also had a visitor stop by in a Cessna 180 with bushwheels. He took me for a ride and it was exhilarating. Excited is an understatement

 

[Ian.B]

Here is a picture from my phone as we were on final and it shows the 2000ft dirt runway. the 60x60 structure looks tiny from up there.

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The Cessna 180 had more than enough runway to comfortably land and takeoff.

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[Ian.B]

The rear wall was finished up, so now we are only waiting on the hangar door to button up the building. The man door was also installed and the roll up door will be going in soon.

 

[Madhatter10-6]

Having your own runway has to be awesome.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Now that's my dream as well, I love an all metal shed (hanger).

Looks fantastic.

 

[Sunbimmer]

We also had a visitor stop by in a Cessna 180 with bushwheels. He took me for a ride and it was exhilarating. Excited is an understatement

YES that IS an understatement Great place you have there

 

[Ian.B]

The roll up auto door is now installed and we are just waiting on the higher power hydraulic door. We ordered the higher power hydraulic hangar door before we even had a metal structure picked out. The metal structure was designed, shipped, a foundation was placed, and the metal structure was completed, and the hangar door still hasn't been shipped. We have been waiting on it unnecessarily long. I'll keep you posted but it probably wont arrive until early January.

In the mean time, here are some pictures of the structure as it waits.

 

[Ian.B]

Still no Hangar Door. But a new friend stopped by the other day. That Super Cup has 35" bushwheels any bigger and they would hit the wing strut.

 

[Ian.B]

Still no hydraulic door. In the mean time, concrete was placed outside the doors as a transition zone between the dust and the building. Some gravel will most likely be placed around the building to help mitigate dust coming in.
The new concrete slab could also be used as a washing pad.



The smaller side door has one as well.

 

[randomtwinkie]

Those wheels are 35"? I guess planes are bigger than I thought. Hope your door comes soon.

 

[Mpower5266]

Very cool thread and build, I cant wait to see what you do inside the hanger. My dad and I have a small end unit hanger, big enough for one plane and a small work area with a man door. I love looking through hanger threads to get ideas on how to set up ours.

 

[Zeke]

Those wheels are 35"? I guess planes are bigger than I thought. Hope your door comes soon.

Well, they do hold 2 to 4 passengers, so place yourself in the cockpit and the tires would be in proportion. Yeah, what happened to the door? Great hangar. Never seen a passage door installed quite like that with the metal jamb sticking OUT of the building. Work out OK?

 

[Ian.B]

So, better late than never. The hangar door finally arrived and progress can resume. We unloaded the truck with a Gradall forklift and moved everything to the hangar so assembly of the door can be done ASAP.





The hydraulic power unit, bolts, weatherstripping, and all other small components were shipped in a wooden box.


Getting a perspective

 

[Ian.B]

The hydraulic hangar door was started today. We are still working out the final details of exact location so flashing and weatherstripping works out and everything lines up properly.

Unfortunately, the Higher Power Hydraulic manual called for bolts that were not included in the package and the only supplied hardware is too short, and the threads did not engage the nylon locking on the nut so progress is halted after half a day. A quick run to the hardware store should get us back up and running.

The Instruction manual is a vague at times and could be better, but so far things are working out after some trial and error.

Laying out the edge frame




Framing and truss installed, however, more bolts are needed to finish



Hydraulic power unit

 

[Ian.B]

We installed two 16' gates to allow taxiing from the hangar straight out to the field.

 

[jesse72]

That's just awesome, love the 180 too. I'm a helo pilot myself but always liked the idea of flying bush plane too someday in the future.

 

[riddleyo]

Awesome. Where are the updates!