Hangar door options

[Swoopjack]

I need to start building my hangar so I will have a place to build my super stol. Just haven't decided on the door style I want. I know there's some hanger building experience on the forum. What would you guys do if you were gonna build a new hangar now?(door style)

[danerazz]

That is a pretty general question. Hangar doors in warm climates can be done pretty much however your budget supports since frost heave is never an issue. While doors in northern climates can be made to work in any format, bifolds seem to work a little better.

What your budget is, overhead space available, power available and your fabrication skills will determine what is right for you.

[orenjr]

I Installed a Schweiss Bifold door for my shop and really like it. You can order just the frame and install whatever you want on the outside and inside.Available in any size I believe up to 80' .
Here is the link. http://www.bifold.com/
Oren

[SuperFly]

I bought a Higher Power door for my shed. My door is 32' x 15'. My dad has the same doors on his, one of which is 40 x 18, the other is 50 x 18. I have a friend that has two at 70' x 22. All love them, and they are less expensive that most other options. I live in IL, so snow and ice are a concern for me. I like this door because it lifts straight up for the first 8" breaking free of any ice and snow. I also like that it puts no load on the building. It is free standing. I open and close my door at absolute minimum of two times every day of the week. The one draw back I would have to list is that if in a cold climate, and it is not on a heated building (because the hydraulic pump is mounted in the building and the oil is cold) the door closes very slowly when less than about 10*F outside. Otherwise, it is a pretty fast operating door. My door is 24 seconds full travel open, and 27 seconds full travel closed. Unless its very cold... then it it a fair bit slower.

http://www.hpdoors.com

[Swoopjack]

Dane,
I guess that was pretty general. I guess what I'm asking is what door do you have and are you happy with it.
Jack

[donRNO]

My hangar door, 14'x49', is a Stack Door by Horton. While it has the advantage of being operable with no power and requires almost no support by the building, it has several disadvantages such as interference by even a little bit of snow, and it takes some effort to open and close. I have looked at ALL the options and would now choose the Higher Power door which Ben Schneider has nicely described. The Higher Power could be installed on a tent and it would work fine. You get the full opening which mine doesn't provide. The hydraulic system never lifts more than the weight of the door whereas the other hydraulic-ram doors have relatively huge huge hydraulic systems as they lift several times the weight of the door. I also think you would save money, and they also can provide a simple system to open or close the door if the power is out. What's the first thing the fire department does when they arrive on-scene at a hangar fire? They turn off the power!

Don Osborne, Reno

[Swoopjack]

Thanks Don. I'll definitely have to look into the higher power.
Jack

[BucF16]

I have a Hydroswing on my hanger. The building is 50X60, and the door is 40X15. What I like about it is that when open, I have 15 more feet of shaded space. So if my hanger is full and a friend need me to work on the machine, our work is still under roof. Being up north we did lower the concrete pad by an inch from the hanger floor.

I installed it myself with only the use of my front end loader and a forklift attachment. Very easy!

http://hydroswing-hydraulic-doors.com/a ... ngar-doors


Cheers,
Bruce

[Swoopjack]

Thanks Bruce

[gkremers]

Just another vote for the Hydroswing door. We built out hangar home 8 years ago and the door has been great. I also like the extra sunshade Bruce described.

Gary

[Swoopjack]

thanks, Gary

[Rampil]

I have a 55' wide 18' high Schweiss Bifold with the straps rather than cables. The best part is the RF remote for my car and plane.
I can hit the open button entering the pattern and taxi right up. It seems to hold up well to wind and when up shields the inside
from rain. It is true that the door cost more than a SuperSTOL kit, but a guy's got to have what he's got to have, right?

Ira

[R Rinker]

This is what we have been working on..waiting for spring to finish trim, etc. Some of these are in use here in Canada. The door is made of 4 panels about 9' wide hanging on a track with rollers. A short panel on the end about 3' wide is double hinged. The track curves around the inside and the door rolls along the side wall to open.

The first step is to open the hinged panel outward to allow the door access to roll around the curve.

Then after pulling the pins connecting the panels just slide them around the curve and down the side of the hanger.

After the panels are slid around and down the side (I just opened one here to demonstrate), then the hinged panel can be closed inside so it is out of the wind.

This shows the rollers that hang the panels.They side very easy and the entire 40' door built this way, minus the hardware at the top, only weighs about 400 lbs. It requires no electricity and with stops at the bottom is very strong for wind loading with the 2x4 construction. Benefits are: probably the cheapest way to go. No electricity. Good wind loading with bottom stops. No maintenance. Easy to build by one person. Easy to open by hand. Anyone building one of these could call me for some little tips on side wall clearance, construction tips, etc. My phone 403-989-3715.


My comments on the other style doors. They all have benefits for any particular situation. If you do a bi-fold, be sure to engineer the center latching mechanism that pulls the middle in to lock it tight, very carefully. I almost had my head taken off by one of those when I unwittingly released it!
Here is a link about bi-folds being outlawed in Europe due to lack of anti-drop mechanism and shows some very expensive doors being replaced.
http://hydroswing-hydraulic-doors.com/blog/post/2015/2/26/Bi-Fold-Declared-Dangerous-The-Only-Replacement-Part-for-a-Bi-fold-is-a-Hydroswing1

[Swoopjack]

Thanks Roger,

Something like this would really help the budget. With the hangar, kit, engine, avionics, etc. etc. all looming in the near future, saving some money on a DIY type door is just what I need. Last couple of days I started thinking about bottom rolling doors that roll from the center out to both sides. Door construction would be very much like yours, but with a double bottom track so they can overlap when open. I'm in Louisiana, so no snow or ice to worry about much. Thanks a ton for the pics and description. I am leaning heavily toward building my doors myself now and putting the 10,000 dollar savings into something that flies.

Swoop Out

[BucF16]

Swoop,
Besides our hanger we also farm, and in our most recent construction we used Kwik-Frame in the framing of the doors. We built 3 large doors in a day. Here is the link:

http://www.midwestmanufacturing.com/Mid ... ductId=227


Bruce