Leasehold hangars and content restrictions

Tony Cox wrote:
At my home airport, we have a new airport manager
who seems to be on a mission to eradicate anything
but aircraft from leasehold hangars. He claims to have
discovered FAA support for this position during his
"on the job" training -- he is not a pilot, and has no prior
aviation experience -- but he cannot come up with
anything written. We pilots are, naturally, rather
skeptical that the FAA has expressed an opinion
one way or another.

Hangars are all owner-financed (no FAA money), typically
originally with a 30 year lease. It's a municipal airport,
exclusively civilian use, and has in the past been the recipient
of FAA grant money and will no doubt receive additional
FAA funds in the future. There are roughly 100 "private"
hangars (not commercial) at the airport. We're not a pt
139 airport -- some pt 135 sightseeing flights & that's all.

Does anyone have any experience with airport managers,
and/or rules and regulations that restrict what one can
store in one's hangar? Our pilot community is concerned that
our lifestyle is under threat -- historically, people have stored
cars, RVs, boats, tables, chairs, sofas and all manner of toys
and comfort items along with aircraft.

Perhaps there is even someone out there who has a definitive
ruling from the local FSDO...

Our airport went through that a few years ago. I can't come up with the
reg's, but my understanding is that property on a federally funded airport
must be used for aviation related themes. We had people using hangars as
workshops for their auto racing teams, people storing boats, etc. If you
have an aircraft in the hangar, the airport doesn't have any problem with
you storing odds and ends there in addition to the aircraft.

KB

Robert M. Gary wrote:




They have. Every airport in my area has had to extract the non-airplane
users of hangers as part of the federal grants.

There's no federal grants that require hangar owners to take their couch
out of the hangar. Likewise storing an additional car or boat or
putting your car in the hangar while you are on a trip. No way, no how.

Robert M. Gary wrote:
Tony Cox wrote:
"Newps" wrote in message
...
No such rule. The FAA would never get into this area.

That's what we think. But how do you prove it to a skeptical
City Council, especially when Blakely announces at Oshkosh
that the FAA is going to "crack down on hangar misuse" ??

They have. Every airport in my area has had to extract the non-airplane
users of hangers as part of the federal grants. However, I believe you
said the airport hasn't taken federal money.

The airport *has* taken FAA money for various things (an
ASOS, runway lights, new taxiways), but the hangars themselves
were constructed (between 8 and 15 years ago) with private
funds.

Further, if you did, the
feds would require you to kick them out so you'd need to have a lease
agreement that allowed for that. I hope your leases at least expire.

Actually, we're hoping that they don't ;-)...

As long as there is an aircraft in the hanger, you should be able to store
other items that you personally own. Some airports are pushing against RVs,
Cars and Boats and household junk. But most will lean over if there is an
airplane in the hanger.

It makes no difference if the hangers are personally built and owned. They
are sitting on airport property where you probably pay a lease for ground
use and the airport has FAA Money. The Airport could loose future funding
and have to pay back previous funding if they continued to allow non
aviation use of airport property.

BT

"Tony Cox" wrote in message
oups.com...
At my home airport, we have a new airport manager
who seems to be on a mission to eradicate anything
but aircraft from leasehold hangars. He claims to have
discovered FAA support for this position during his
"on the job" training -- he is not a pilot, and has no prior
aviation experience -- but he cannot come up with
anything written. We pilots are, naturally, rather
skeptical that the FAA has expressed an opinion
one way or another.

Hangars are all owner-financed (no FAA money), typically
originally with a 30 year lease. It's a municipal airport,
exclusively civilian use, and has in the past been the recipient
of FAA grant money and will no doubt receive additional
FAA funds in the future. There are roughly 100 "private"
hangars (not commercial) at the airport. We're not a pt
139 airport -- some pt 135 sightseeing flights & that's all.

Does anyone have any experience with airport managers,
and/or rules and regulations that restrict what one can
store in one's hangar? Our pilot community is concerned that
our lifestyle is under threat -- historically, people have stored
cars, RVs, boats, tables, chairs, sofas and all manner of toys
and comfort items along with aircraft.

Perhaps there is even someone out there who has a definitive
ruling from the local FSDO...

Our airport went through that a few years ago. I can't come up with the
reg's, but my understanding is that property on a federally funded airport
must be used for aviation related themes. We had people using hangars as
workshops for their auto racing teams, people storing boats, etc. If you
have an aircraft in the hangar, the airport doesn't have any problem with
you storing odds and ends there in addition to the aircraft.

That's the same approach our airport takes, and I think it's
appropriate. Heck, we've got a TON of stuff in our hangar, and no one
cares -- just so long as we keep an airplane in there, too.

For a while, we had a guy storing used hospital equipment in a hangar.
He also had another hangar in which he kept his plane(s). Every year,
he would ship all of this used hospital equipment to Nicaraugua, or
Haiti, or some other incredibly needy place, all at his own expense.

Although it was a wonderfully charitable thing to do, eventually he ran
afoul of the "must have an airplane in the hangar" rule, and he removed
all the stuff. It was an ugly political thing, though.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Newps wrote:
Robert M. Gary wrote:




They have. Every airport in my area has had to extract the non-airplane
users of hangers as part of the federal grants.

There's no federal grants that require hangar owners to take their couch
out of the hangar. Likewise storing an additional car or boat or
putting your car in the hangar while you are on a trip. No way, no how.

I'm not sure what your point is. The federal grant requires there be
some airport use for the hanger. non-airplane users certainly don't
qualify. You have to at least have an airplane.

-Robert

Tony Cox wrote:
At my home airport, we have a new airport manager
who seems to be on a mission to eradicate anything
but aircraft from leasehold hangars. He claims to have
discovered FAA support for this position during his
"on the job" training -- he is not a pilot, and has no prior
aviation experience -- but he cannot come up with
anything written. We pilots are, naturally, rather
skeptical that the FAA has expressed an opinion
one way or another.

Hangars are all owner-financed (no FAA money), typically
originally with a 30 year lease. It's a municipal airport,
exclusively civilian use, and has in the past been the recipient
of FAA grant money and will no doubt receive additional
FAA funds in the future. There are roughly 100 "private"
hangars (not commercial) at the airport. We're not a pt
139 airport -- some pt 135 sightseeing flights & that's all.

Does anyone have any experience with airport managers,
and/or rules and regulations that restrict what one can
store in one's hangar? Our pilot community is concerned that
our lifestyle is under threat -- historically, people have stored
cars, RVs, boats, tables, chairs, sofas and all manner of toys
and comfort items along with aircraft.

Perhaps there is even someone out there who has a definitive
ruling from the local FSDO...

Don't know about regs, but at my airport (privately owned but has
taken Federal money) you can put anything you want in the space
under the condition that airplanes have absolute priority.

That is, you can rent a hanger and put an RV in there, but if
someone comes along looking for a hanger for an airplane, you
have to immediately vacate for the airplane owner.

There is a waiting list for enclosed hangers but numerous shade
hangers are open, so only the shade hangers have any non-airplane
renters.

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in
ups.com:

Although it was a wonderfully charitable thing to do, eventually he
ran afoul of the "must have an airplane in the hangar" rule, and he
removed all the stuff. It was an ugly political thing, though.

Not so sure Jay it's an ugly thing...

Considering there is a 2 to 3 year wait for hangar space at my own airport,
I'd not be a happy camper to know that a hanger was used for storing
"paper" when my plane could enjoy the comforts of a hangar.

Allen

Tony Cox wrote:

Does anyone have any experience with airport managers,
and/or rules and regulations that restrict what one can
store in one's hangar? Our pilot community is concerned that
our lifestyle is under threat -- historically, people have stored
cars, RVs, boats, tables, chairs, sofas and all manner of toys
and comfort items along with aircraft.

Perhaps there is even someone out there who has a definitive
ruling from the local FSDO...


Has nothing to do with the FSDO. The airport exists for
aviation. The airport has a right to insure the proper
usage of the property will promote aviation and aircraft
operations. On the other hand, if they granted someone
a long term lease to build a hangar on the property and
the lease does not state that the hangar is to be used
for an airplane and/or aviation related activites then
that's a different story.

Don Tuite wrote:
There's a 20 year waiting list at our airport. These are county-built
hangars. Guys on the list with working airplanes seem happy to have
the airport manager evict people who use their hangars for storage
lockers.

Any airport that thinks it is a good idea to lease their hangars
out to people who are using them to store furniture in is not
serious about aviation.