Keeping the Hangar Clear of Snow

We're facing the snowiest fall ever in Iowa, which has required shoveling
pretty much every other day. (Gosh, I can hardly wait for winter!)

Our airport plows the ramps and runways well, but they always leave a strip
of snow approximately 2 - 3 feet out from the hangar door. This, of course,
needs to be cleared before the plane can be removed.

We keep a snow shovel at the hangar, of course, and occasionally (like,
today) we truck our snow blower in when the snow is really heavy and deep.

I've thought about tipping the snow plow driver to get him to plow as close
to the hangar door as possible (when the airport manager was a friend of
ours, he always took extra care to plow as close as possible), but I never
seem to catch the guy. Our FBO is useless in this regard, only shoveling
right around their office door entry way, and not getting involved with the
hangars in any way at all anymore.

Anyone got any tricks for keeping the hangar ramp clear of snow?

Also, can anyone recommend something they put down on ice that (a) enhances
traction (b) melts snow, (c) doesn't harm aluminum, and (d) doesn't leave a
gritty, prop-eroding residue?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Two to three feet? Is that all? I have an approach in front of my
rental hanger that is about 35 feet to the plowed taxiway. The airport
guys do the taxiway. I do the rest. I zip over from my office during
the lunch hour, before work, after work, etc. whenever it snows, in
order to keep it clear. If I miss a storm and it gets too deep, I toss
the snowblower from home into the truck and do it on the weekend. One
secret: I built a "snow-pusher." This is a wide 1x6 board with a long
handle. I can clear that 35x15 foot approach of 2 inches of light snow
in about 5-10 minutes. My goal is to keep the approach clear before
anyone drives or parks a car on it-packing down the snow.

On your other question: I don't think there is anything that changes
the melting teperature of snow that is not corrosive to some metals.

Al
1964 Cessna 172
Spokane, WA



Jay Honeck wrote:
We're facing the snowiest fall ever in Iowa, which has required shoveling
pretty much every other day. (Gosh, I can hardly wait for winter!)

Our airport plows the ramps and runways well, but they always leave a strip
of snow approximately 2 - 3 feet out from the hangar door. This, of course,
needs to be cleared before the plane can be removed.

We keep a snow shovel at the hangar, of course, and occasionally (like,
today) we truck our snow blower in when the snow is really heavy and deep.

I've thought about tipping the snow plow driver to get him to plow as close
to the hangar door as possible (when the airport manager was a friend of
ours, he always took extra care to plow as close as possible), but I never
seem to catch the guy. Our FBO is useless in this regard, only shoveling
right around their office door entry way, and not getting involved with the
hangars in any way at all anymore.

Anyone got any tricks for keeping the hangar ramp clear of snow?

Also, can anyone recommend something they put down on ice that (a) enhances
traction (b) melts snow, (c) doesn't harm aluminum, and (d) doesn't leave a
gritty, prop-eroding residue?

In article ,
Al Gilson wrote:

Two to three feet? Is that all? I have an approach in front of my
rental hanger that is about 35 feet to the plowed taxiway. The airport
guys do the taxiway. I do the rest. I zip over from my office during
the lunch hour, before work, after work, etc. whenever it snows, in
order to keep it clear. If I miss a storm and it gets too deep, I toss
the snowblower from home into the truck and do it on the weekend. One
secret: I built a "snow-pusher." This is a wide 1x6 board with a long
handle. I can clear that 35x15 foot approach of 2 inches of light snow
in about 5-10 minutes. My goal is to keep the approach clear before
anyone drives or parks a car on it-packing down the snow.

On your other question: I don't think there is anything that changes
the melting teperature of snow that is not corrosive to some metals.

Al
1964 Cessna 172
Spokane, WA



Jay Honeck wrote:
We're facing the snowiest fall ever in Iowa, which has required shoveling
pretty much every other day. (Gosh, I can hardly wait for winter!)

Our airport plows the ramps and runways well, but they always leave a strip
of snow approximately 2 - 3 feet out from the hangar door. This, of
course,
needs to be cleared before the plane can be removed.

We keep a snow shovel at the hangar, of course, and occasionally (like,
today) we truck our snow blower in when the snow is really heavy and deep.

I've thought about tipping the snow plow driver to get him to plow as close
to the hangar door as possible (when the airport manager was a friend of
ours, he always took extra care to plow as close as possible), but I never
seem to catch the guy. Our FBO is useless in this regard, only shoveling
right around their office door entry way, and not getting involved with the
hangars in any way at all anymore.

Anyone got any tricks for keeping the hangar ramp clear of snow?

Time to get a blade for The Grape! Pounds of fuel translates to
traction. Think of the benefits of being able to plow the Inn's parking
lots. Think of the money young Joe will be able to make in future years.

Also, can anyone recommend something they put down on ice that (a) enhances
traction (b) melts snow, (c) doesn't harm aluminum, and (d) doesn't leave a
gritty, prop-eroding residue?

Is urea still applied at some airports?

john smith wrote:

Time to get a blade for The Grape!

Another possibility is the sort of independently powered large snowblowers that
mount on lawn tractors. A new one for my tractor would cost $600. When this sort
of thing comes up on Ebay, it's frequently pretty cheap 'cause you have to pick
it up. Jerry-rig a way to hook it up to the front of the Grape.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

Is urea still applied at some airports?

Urea is used as nitrogen-type fertilizer. We've used it on the
runway at low application rates to get thin skins of ice off it. The
urea will melt or cause evaporation of small patches of ice so that the
sun can warm those little patches of pavement and begin the warming
process that gets rid of the rest of the ice. Ice and/or snow will
reflect the sun's heat back into space.
Some have used soot applied to the snow or ice to absorb light
and start melting. Soot, though, is commonly found in ashes, which can
be corrosive.
Sawdust can be used to gain traction on ice. Only disadvantage
is its being tracked into the hangar, airplane, house, whatever.

Dan

Urea is 46% N. We buy and use it by the truck load on the farm. Some time
when you don't have anything better to do, stop by your local fertilizer
co-op. Take a look at their trucks or ask them to see the equipment that
they spread or haul urea with. If it isn't wood, plastic, stainless steel,
or brand new it will have corrosion, pitting, and rust. If aluminum wasn't
affected by urea, we'd use aluminum tanks, hoppers, mixers, conveyors and
augers rather than stainless, everything would be a LOT lighter. Granted,
urea isn't AS corrosive as phosphates and potassiums, but urea by itself
will corrode aluminum. It will corrode copper. It will corrode steel.
I've got plenty of equipment around here that is specifically used to handle
urea and other nitrogen fertilizers that can testify to that. An airplane
makes a well balanced diet for urea.
Jim

wrote in message
oups.com...
Is urea still applied at some airports?

Urea is used as nitrogen-type fertilizer. We've used it on the
runway at low application rates to get thin skins of ice off it. The
urea will melt or cause evaporation of small patches of ice so that the
sun can warm those little patches of pavement and begin the warming
process that gets rid of the rest of the ice. Ice and/or snow will
reflect the sun's heat back into space.
Some have used soot applied to the snow or ice to absorb light
and start melting. Soot, though, is commonly found in ashes, which can
be corrosive.
Sawdust can be used to gain traction on ice. Only disadvantage
is its being tracked into the hangar, airplane, house, whatever.

Dan

"Jim Burns" wrote in message news
Hi Jim,

Urea is 46% N.

Not necessarily. It is cut with water at the manufacturing plant. The stuff that goes to feedlots is usually 70%...
sometimes 50%. The higher concentrations "salt out" faster and solidify. IIRCC 70% salts out at + or - 134 deg. F.
it is hauled in insulated trailers, usually with a steam coil inside like asphalt trailer have. The trailers are
usually stainless.

We buy and use it by the truck load on the farm.

How in the heck can you afford it? :' )

Some time
when you don't have anything better to do, stop by your local fertilizer
co-op. Take a look at their trucks or ask them to see the equipment that
they spread or haul urea with. If it isn't wood, plastic, stainless steel,
or brand new it will have corrosion, pitting, and rust. If aluminum wasn't
affected by urea, we'd use aluminum tanks, hoppers, mixers, conveyors and
augers rather than stainless, everything would be a LOT lighter. Granted,
urea isn't AS corrosive as phosphates and potassiums, but urea by itself
will corrode aluminum. It will corrode copper. It will corrode steel.
I've got plenty of equipment around here that is specifically used to handle
urea and other nitrogen fertilizers that can testify to that. An airplane
makes a well balanced diet for urea.

The piping, exchanger tubes, and vessels are usually 316 or 304 stainless in the manufacturing facilities just for
the reasons you cite.

Joe Schneider
Cherokee 8437R
ex-Urea plant operator & poor farmer / rancher who can't afford to top dress his wheat this spring.



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I "just" got back from the airport shoveling. Nick and I did our hanger,
and two neighbors that, in the past, have shoveled ours out. Snow was about
6", drifts 9", and still coming down at a very high rate. No 2 wheel drive
vehicles to be seen.

The approach to our hanger is sloped uphill, which you would think, would
allow for the water to run away from the hanger... well kinda... if the snow
melts off the roof, water then drips down in front of the hanger and
freezes, it creates a huge ice dam(n) right in front of the door, from then
on, the water runs INTO the hanger.... grrrr freezes the door to the ground
and sometimes freezes inside the hanger..... instant in door ice skating
rink!

So, unless we've got about 40 of Santa's Elves equipped with cleated elf
shoes.... we use sand, kitty litter, floor dry, oil absorb to enable 1) us
mear mortal's to stand up and 2) the electric tug to get better traction to
push the plane into the hanger.

I've been thinking about some kind of rubber mat, maybe a 10 foot strip of
12" wide conveyor belting, drilling a bunch of holes in it, then putting
carriage bolts through, washers and nuts on the bottom side so they would
dig into the ice. Kind of a ice gripping rubber sidewalk for the tug to
drive along.

As for melting snow... I won't touch anything like that... I've seen wayyyy
too much equipment eaten up by salt and other chemicals to throw anything
like that around an airplane.... A couple guys have tried the nitrogen
based materials that our airport sells, only to find that they eat up the
concrete in their hangers. We use as little sand or kitty litter as
possible, only to get the plane pushed back inside, then we shovel up what
we can so others don't taxi through it.

Jim

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:103of.646180$xm3.454419@attbi_s21...
We're facing the snowiest fall ever in Iowa, which has required shoveling
pretty much every other day. (Gosh, I can hardly wait for winter!)

Our airport plows the ramps and runways well, but they always leave a
strip
of snow approximately 2 - 3 feet out from the hangar door. This, of
course,
needs to be cleared before the plane can be removed.

We keep a snow shovel at the hangar, of course, and occasionally (like,
today) we truck our snow blower in when the snow is really heavy and deep.

I've thought about tipping the snow plow driver to get him to plow as
close
to the hangar door as possible (when the airport manager was a friend of
ours, he always took extra care to plow as close as possible), but I never
seem to catch the guy. Our FBO is useless in this regard, only shoveling
right around their office door entry way, and not getting involved with
the
hangars in any way at all anymore.

Anyone got any tricks for keeping the hangar ramp clear of snow?

Also, can anyone recommend something they put down on ice that (a)
enhances
traction (b) melts snow, (c) doesn't harm aluminum, and (d) doesn't leave
a
gritty, prop-eroding residue?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jim Burns wrote:

if the snow
melts off the roof, water then drips down in front of the hanger and
freezes, it creates a huge ice dam(n) right in front of the door, from then
on, the water runs INTO the hanger.... grrrr freezes the door to the ground
and sometimes freezes inside the hanger..... instant in door ice skating
rink!

Install a gutter up there. Full width of the hangar. Don't put ends on it. All
the melt water will run over to the ends of the building. Slope the gutter both
ways from the center if you can.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

The riding lawn mower has to live somewhere in the winter and ours lives at
the hanger with a snowblower attached (We have a large tractor with a 72"
blower for the driveway). The most painful part was shelling out $80 for
lawn tractor chains.



Mike
MU-2


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:103of.646180$xm3.454419@attbi_s21...
We're facing the snowiest fall ever in Iowa, which has required shoveling
pretty much every other day. (Gosh, I can hardly wait for winter!)

Our airport plows the ramps and runways well, but they always leave a
strip of snow approximately 2 - 3 feet out from the hangar door. This, of
course, needs to be cleared before the plane can be removed.

We keep a snow shovel at the hangar, of course, and occasionally (like,
today) we truck our snow blower in when the snow is really heavy and deep.

I've thought about tipping the snow plow driver to get him to plow as
close to the hangar door as possible (when the airport manager was a
friend of ours, he always took extra care to plow as close as possible),
but I never seem to catch the guy. Our FBO is useless in this regard,
only shoveling right around their office door entry way, and not getting
involved with the hangars in any way at all anymore.

Anyone got any tricks for keeping the hangar ramp clear of snow?

Also, can anyone recommend something they put down on ice that (a)
enhances traction (b) melts snow, (c) doesn't harm aluminum, and (d)
doesn't leave a gritty, prop-eroding residue?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"