Hangar Design

("Morgans" wrote)
I was not able to find the exact page that I was looking for. I remember
seeing a hangar that was a concrete dome, and had two doors, that were the
same shape as the dome. They would stay in a down position, but rotate
along the inside wall, thus taking up very little space.


Here you go Jim.

If you're a fast reader ....it shouldn't take you too long. g

http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/commercial/hangar_door/index.html

http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/commercial/mclad/index.html

http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/commercial/hangars03/index.html

http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/commercial/hangars/index.html


http://www.monolithic.com/construction/index.html
Much much much fun info in these links, too.


Montblack

Domes are simply cool.

I remember a proposal for a dome/carosel hangar that stored 8 aircraft. The
aircraft were on a snowflake-like carosel made of 6" steel "C" channel that
also guided the aircraft wheels as they were rolled in tail first. It
rolled on the concrete floor with dozens of ball bearing urethane tired
wheels and rotated about the center of the hangar.

An owner would punch in his combination into the lock and the door would
electrically open as the carosel rotated his aircraft into position to roll
out of the hangar. It would have worked something like an airplane vending
machine.

The claim was made that this was significantly cheaper than T-hangers with
the same ease of access to the airplanes. Cheaper because there was only
one small door for 8 airplanes.

Bill Daniels


"Montblack" wrote in message
...
("Morgans" wrote)
I was not able to find the exact page that I was looking for. I remember
seeing a hangar that was a concrete dome, and had two doors, that were
the same shape as the dome. They would stay in a down position, but
rotate along the inside wall, thus taking up very little space.


Here you go Jim.

If you're a fast reader ....it shouldn't take you too long. g

http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/commercial/hangar_door/index.html

http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/commercial/mclad/index.html

http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/commercial/hangars03/index.html

http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/commercial/hangars/index.html


http://www.monolithic.com/construction/index.html
Much much much fun info in these links, too.


Montblack

"Bill Daniels" wrote

Domes are simply cool.

I remember a proposal for a dome/carosel hangar that stored 8 aircraft.
The aircraft were on a snowflake-like carosel made of 6" steel "C" channel
that also guided the aircraft wheels as they were rolled in tail first.
It rolled on the concrete floor with dozens of ball bearing urethane tired
wheels and rotated about the center of the hangar.

An owner would punch in his combination into the lock and the door would
electrically open as the carosel rotated his aircraft into position to
roll out of the hangar. It would have worked something like an airplane
vending machine.

The claim was made that this was significantly cheaper than T-hangers with
the same ease of access to the airplanes. Cheaper because there was only
one small door for 8 airplanes.

I can see that there could be a real economy of scale, in an arrangement
like that.

Since a dome large enough to hold 8 airplanes would be rather tall, it would
seem like a second story would not be a large problem, either. It could
become a great space for an EAA chapter to hold meetings, and have offices,
and of course, rest rooms, since a rotating floor would not allow for that,
unless they were built at the very center. A building of some type at the
center would be a definite possibility, with the grid rotating around the
central structure.

I wonder how much such an arrangement would cost? Just a cost for the shell
and a concrete floor would be interesting to know.
--
Jim in NC

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Bill Daniels" wrote

Domes are simply cool.

I remember a proposal for a dome/carosel hangar that stored 8 aircraft.
The aircraft were on a snowflake-like carosel made of 6" steel "C"
channel that also guided the aircraft wheels as they were rolled in tail
first. It rolled on the concrete floor with dozens of ball bearing
urethane tired wheels and rotated about the center of the hangar.

An owner would punch in his combination into the lock and the door would
electrically open as the carosel rotated his aircraft into position to
roll out of the hangar. It would have worked something like an airplane
vending machine.

The claim was made that this was significantly cheaper than T-hangers
with the same ease of access to the airplanes. Cheaper because there
was only one small door for 8 airplanes.

I can see that there could be a real economy of scale, in an arrangement
like that.

Since a dome large enough to hold 8 airplanes would be rather tall, it
would seem like a second story would not be a large problem, either.

Monolithic domes need not be spheres - they can be oblate spheroids
therefore not as tall. A 2nd story could really be nice though.

It could become a great space for an EAA chapter to hold meetings, and
have offices, and of course, rest rooms, since a rotating floor would not
allow for that, unless they were built at the very center. A building of
some type at the center would be a definite possibility, with the grid
rotating around the central structure.

Actually, the floor doesn't rotate, just a spider frame made of 6" channels.
An additional suggestion was made to make each airplane position slightly
uphill so the airplane would roll out of the hangar powered by gravity. An
electric winch attached to the tail tiedown point would pull it back in -
and allow it to slowly roll out.

I wonder how much such an arrangement would cost? Just a cost for the
shell and a concrete floor would be interesting to know.
--
Call one of the dome vendors for an estimate.


Bill Daniels

"Bill Daniels" wrote

Monolithic domes need not be spheres - they can be oblate spheroids
therefore not as tall.

True, but to give strength to the roof, (the curve is needed) in a large
enough building to house 8 airplanes, it will still be high enough to put a
second story in, I would think. The truss type floor could be supported by
the walls of the dome and a load bearing structure in the middle.
Otherwise, the truss would have to be wicked strong, and that means tall.

Actually, the floor doesn't rotate, just a spider frame made of 6"
channels.

Right, but there can not be any permenant structures in the arc of the
moving channels, or the channels could not move past them.

There could be a structure in the middle, with the frames rotating around
it, much like a "merry-go-round."
--
Jim in NC

"Bill Daniels" wrote

The claim was made that this was significantly cheaper than T-hangers with
the same ease of access to the airplanes. Cheaper because there was only
one small door for 8 airplanes.

It would also tend to lend itself to situations where there is a limited
area for a taxiway, or access to the ramp. Less taxiway surface area to the
entrance would be another reason to expect some cost savings.

OK, I'm sold. Who is in for setting up a limited partnership for designing
and building hangars like this all over the country? g

The strange thing is, I'm about half serious. Humm.
--
Jim in NC