They use some type of neoprene looking gasket. They seal up tight. And they take winds extremely well.

Barnstormer wrote:They use some type of neoprene looking gasket. They seal up tight. And they take winds extremely well.

Cool. Thanks.

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Just an update on where we are at. Thanks all for your input.

God bless my wife, she is good with getting the hangar finished before we talk about building a cabin. Cabin build timeframe is next 3-5 years at this point. I'd like to get a concrete floor, hangar door, and electrical work completed either this fall or next spring for the hangar. Unfortunately can't make a move in any direction until we close on the property which is pending some other items (well, septic, etc.).

Merrill (Supreme Hydraulic Doors) was kind enough to stop by this property which is a few hours out of his way, on his way home from another job in Idaho. Really nice guy. He was very helpful and I'm thankful for all the info he provided. Sounds like with his system we will lose a total of 12" horizontal clearance and 6" vertical clearance. This is doable for our PA-32 and most GA airplanes. If I were building this hangar from scratch I would make it a few feet larger in each dimension, but have to work with what we have. Merrill, being located in the northwest and also a private pilot is a definite plus. He has a lot of general construction background which would be helpful for this project.

We're hoping to close on this property by end of August so can't make a decision until then, but from the quotes I have received cost will be from around $7AMU to $18AMU. Of course snow will hit in late September or sometime in October... would love to have a working door this year but we'll see what is possible.

scott

https://diamonddoors.com/

Another to consider. My 14' x 44', three inch insulation package, fully automatic electric lift controller (remote opening) was under $12K Canadian. I put it up myself, pretty easy. Comes completely assembled except for tin and metal skinned tongue and groove insulation.

The one piece door that is self supporting look ok, but building still needs to be strong enough to support the wind loads when open.

This has turned into a real challenge getting the plane to fit.

For reasons I will never understand, this pole building has the poles on about 12'8" centers in the middle of the building. Would be great for horse stalls but not so great for airplane tales. This leaves 12' of clearance between the poles. A PA-32's tail is about 12'11". Sigh. If we wanted to make it work as a hangar, engineering project #1 is to reinforce the horizontal beam enough to increase that span as much as possible so I could get the tail through with enough of a gap. A C-182 tail would just barely fit with an inch or two clearance on each side.

This would be a great hangar for a Kitfox.



Problem #2 is the distance from the front face of the front row of poles to the door. Sixes with their long noses (as I measured) need about 13'1" from back of flaps to tip of spinner. This building has 14' in this dimension to the front face of the structure... so any door that eats up space inside of the door frame cuts that already slim margin down. MIGHT be able to buy a few more inches by putting the flaps down, but who wants to remember that every time or risk dinging something up.



Current thinking is that it seems like throwing good money after bad to put the door I really want on this building. Iff a sectional door will work we could get by with that and use it as a poor mans' hangar (or shop) until we have funds to build the dream hangar. At that point in time it would make a nice shop and the sectional door would still have utility.

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Take these comments with a grain of salt. I'm not a builder, but I've been around enough barns and hangars that maybe these thoughts would be useful.

For the back poles, add poles laterally about 2' outside the existing poles. Then remove the existing poles. That will give you 4' extra room, enough for the Six's tail, without compromising strength to any appreciable degree.

You could do that with the front poles, too, although if you put in permanent wheel chocks, that might not be necessary. I currently have permanent chocks in my hangar, screwed into the concrete, so that I can push my airplane back as far as necessary to keep my little power tow thingy attached--gives me maybe 2" of clearance to the doors. I agree, though, don't rely on remembering to lower the flaps. Better to have it chocked so that it stops a couple of inches short of the poles.

Finally, don't succumb to sliding doors. No matter how they're built, they'll be a pain in the neck in wind, snow, rain, or dark of night. Horrible, in comparison to bifolds, California lifts, and sectionals. If it were mine, I'd probably go with bifolds, but a sectional would be a good alternate. I'm not too fond of California lifts, largely because of the danger of something being parked too close when it goes up.

All that FWIW.

Cary

Thanks Cary that is exactly what we were thinking. Worst case a sectional door or roll up steel door will do the job. I agree I do not want a slider. When i pour the concrete i plan to pour a deeper footing where the posts could hopefully be moved too.


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Before I would be moving any support posts, you better get someone who has some degree of engineering to see if moving them is possible.
Your taking a pole barn and trying to make it into an airplane hangar. You saying that you don’t understand why the posts are where they are leaves me scratching my head. They are there to support the roof structure. Moving them may compromise the strength of the building. Taking a pole barn and enclosing it, changes all kinds of structural needs.

I am a builder and what you are proposing has me concerned. Some pictures would certainly be helpful.

Yeah I know they support the structure This building was originally intended as a hangar, so the confusion is why the original builder chose to build this style of structure for a hangar use case.

And yes this would not be a DIY project, I would definitely consult an engineer before embarking on it. I know this is not my field of expertise and certainly don’t want to compromise the structure.


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I 2nd the point about staying away from sliding doors. Really put some thought into how snow and winds will impact your door. Sounds like a nice project. Best of luck!