On Tuesday, October 28, 2014 1:01:29 PM UTC, Mark628CA wrote:
I've always been puzzled why the carousel hangar for sailplanes never caught on. Bob Carlton designed a beautiful example that has been in operation for over 15 years at Moriarty, NM. It holds eight gliders on a set of rotating beams driven by a rope and capstan. It takes a 3 HP electric motor, and in a "worst case" scenario, (your glider is on spot #8 and #1 just pulled out), you have to hold the switch for 2 1/2 minutes to rotate all the way back around.

You never have to touch any other glider, there is no "hangar rash," only one door (and thus requires much less taxiway access) and the building required is smaller than the long, narrow designs with full width doors on both sides.

Bob tried to market plans, kits and full installations years ago, but nobody ever committed. Except for a few minor glitches due to operator error, it has been very reliable. There is pretty much always a waiting list, and some gliders have been in the hangar since day one.

The Scottish Gliding Centre considered the carousel concept but it simply doesn't make sense to build one unless there is a site limitation that allows only a small square shaped hangar and only 8 gliders needing to be housed..

The packing density is less than the the more conventional design, it relies on a large rotating mechanism, only one glider can be got out at a time, it is very inconvenient for fettling a glider in the hangar when the whole thing has to be moved around every time someone wants to get their glider out, it is awkward for handling cables and power points for battery charging etc in situ, and it is only suitable for a limited number of gliders (our hangars have 18 and 22 gliders and could have been built for any number over a minimum of 8 )

John Galloway