Curious on recommendations while shopping for a hangar.

I'm on the kenai peninsula in Alaska, so snow and wind load must be considered. The hangar is purely for private use on my land, next to my own airstrip.

I do plan on the following:
Gravel flooring
No insulation
A wood stove for temporary heat
No water/electricity

I prioritize the following:
Space
Cost
Security (wildlife)
Ease of build (diy)

It would house a J3 cub to begin with but would like ample room to house 2, maybe 3 planes of similar size. A bonus would be fitting an excavator or dozer inside during maintenance.

I live in a yurt so naturally a fabric hangar is what I lean towards. Maybe in the 50x50 range? This is where I begin to be unsure on size and construction material. Attaching the metal ribs to some techno posts and draping the canvas seems like a reasonable diy project to me. Especially with a roll-up canvas door. Or do I really want a steel building instead of canvas and not know it? I've worked extensively out of both and did not have a preference thus far.

Can anyone steer me in the right direction, or recommend a company they would start chatting with? Hoping to put it up this upcoming summer.

Thanks

There are plenty of fabric structure companies out there that could meet snow and wind loads for your area. Not sure of compatibility with Techno Posts but would think it’s possible. Zero idea of what pricing is like. Shipping from the lower 48 can be extremely expensive. A simple goggle search will give you more than a dozen companies. Here is one that at first glance you would think is an Alaska Company. They are in Arizona.

https://alaskastructures.com/portfolio-view/aviation/

Good luck with the search.

From a security standpoint I would invest in a cat or two for mice and small rodent control. Also plan on a electric fence for bears. You are limiting yourself with no electricity unless you plan on running a generator for lights, plane heating, and power tools. Running a 110 line out to a post in the structure is pretty easy. The advantage of going simple is it does cost a lot less and works. Be careful with small improvements that box you into a set structure down the road. For a good pad I like 2-3 inches of sewer rock followed by D1. Get a walk behind packer and you will have a firm well drained surface to work on. Repack every few years it will do great. I would throw some sheets of scrap plywood under the plane so you have a simple clean space you can sweep for working on the plane and laying gear on the ground. Same for under other equipment. DENNY

Thank you. That's really where I've lost some steam, is sorting out the companies just off google. I talked to those guys earlier in the year. They beat around the bush on giving even a ballpark figure so much, after multiple calls, that it mostly turned me off them. Curious if I'll hear anyone on here that's put up a similar structure and can recommend a company they've dealt with. People that are easy to deal with are a huge bonus to me. Especially if I'm going to eat shipping and not be able to shop local.

Good advice on the gravel layout situation. I've got that pretty well covered thus far but what you described is very similar to what I am doing. And I don't have power to the property on purpose. It is definitely a choice and has its drawbacks but I enjoy it!

Man, I’ve just seen to many fabric structures collapsed on top of equipment inside due to snow load/wind. Even engineered ones that claimed to be up to the task. I wouldn’t park my plane inside of one personally. Some scrap pipe and home sawn lumber can build you a pretty nice hangar for cheap if you are half handy with a welder.

Check with D&D welding in sterling. They’ve had a fabric hangar(custom designed for AK) for 20+ years and they’re putting up a new one right now at Soldotna airport…

Can you get trusses to the site? If so I don’t think you can go easier than framed (or post and beam) walls and a truss roof with tin. I did this with a gravel floor for years and then poured concrete by hand in 10X 10 pads. Way nicer with the concrete floor.

I built my own bifold, which I would probably not do again. Four section hinged door with top rail is simpler. I have no power so 12v winch for door works fine, and generator for tools. I wish I had power.

Some of the newer fabric structures are pretty amazing, and seem to get the job done just fine. My county road dept. has one I drive by every day, tensioned heavy duty fabric with not a single wrinkle in it, with a good pitch to the roof. There is also a huge riding arena, all fabric, there for years now.

On the other hand, a fabric roof (no sidewalls) over a huge pile of grain collapsed a few years back. Near the airport, it looked for all the world like a zepplin had crashed! I'd just do my homework, get the right one for your projected wind and snow loading, the failed ones most likely were wrong for the area they were erected. I see too many of them nowadays to just blow off the concept, and I'm a old house framer so pretty traditional in my construction practices.

We built 2 such hangars that appear to fit your needs while living in North Pole, AK. Both are simple shed roof designs. The first was an open sided T hangar employing a front 40' I beam from Alaska Steel with mid and rear headers of laminated wood that we made on site. For posts I found a pile of 7.25 OD well casing in Fairbanks and purchased from the owner what I needed. Those rafters were 2x12x14' which I already had. Wood purlins topped with sheet metal roof. Very cost effective and strong structure with proper bracing. The second is 40 x 32 clear-span as we added a mid-span I beam to eliminate internal posts. Went back and procured more casing for exterior posts, two I beams were ordered from Alaska Steel. Lots of welding as I cut angle for saddles to attach wood rafters to I beams, then bolted in. You have to get creative transitioning from steel to wood to ensure structural integrity. Doors are barn style utilizing a double hanging track. Great for uneven gravel floor and snow. A structural engineer can advise you on beam sizing for your dead and live loads. You should also calculate the mid span bend moment which will give you a vertical measurement of deflection under load. This simple measurement will tell you when you need to get up there and push that snow off. (Recommend the old school wood snowshoes with no ice cleats for weight distribution as you can't see where the purlins are and to avoid denting/ scratching your metal when you do this). Added bonus is you can hang your Cub to change undercarriage. Make sure that is taken into account on beam sizing.

Pulled out an old shot of above described hangar. Building the doors. Just 2 large sliders. Very simple and light.

Some great info in here! I do like the concepts TR described. Thank you. I'll definitely be referencing this as I go forward and will likely reach out to D&D in Sterling as well, I didn't know they did that.

And to answer daedaluscan, I can get trusses to the site however I can't get a big truck out there or anything so it'd be more work and risk of damage compared to steel. Likely most of it will need to be carried/drug by excavator the last mile or so to the site.

No insulation, dirt floor, and occasional heat in conjunction with metal roof may yield some condensation issues when heated. Same issue if you bring in an airplane to remove snow and ice. If it were me, I would seriously consider insulating the ceiling, especially if you have a steel roof exposed on the inside.