How Can The Right Steel Aircraft Shelter Stop Hangar Rash?

There is perhaps no form of transportation with fewer tolerances for failure and more of a need for precision and preservation than the aeroplane.

This is a big reason why gigantic steel hangar buildings are built just to cater for their gigantic wingspans, and also why these kit-built steel buildings are amongst the most important for designers to get right and for aircraft owners to utilise correctly.

One of the great ironies of many aircraft is that they are designed to handle incredibly high temperatures and forces but can be rendered unusable and in some cases unsafe by slight damage.

This is one reason why most aircraft have redundancies and contingencies to avoid single points of failure; the more alternatives you have if something critical fails, the less of a chance that said failure will cause a potentially catastrophic accident.

Another way of stopping this is to try and minimise the chance of small but crucial points of damage happening in the first place, which means focusing on the place where aircraft call home when not in flight.

What Is Hangar Rash?

The concept of hangar rash is a piece of pilot parlance which describes all of the minor incidents that happen to a plane whilst it is on the ground.

Whilst technically not every instance of hangar rash actually takes place in the hangar itself, with others taking place whilst the plane is on the runway or being towed from one to the other, a lot of the avoidable instances of hangar rash tend to take place within the hangar and workshop parts of an airfield.

These include damage caused by pushing an aircraft out such as when undertaking a push start, improper towing, scraping against walls, doors, objects and other aircraft, dents caused by knocking aircraft with other equipment, and damage caused by environmental factors such as sprays and treatments.

Hangar rash can also be caused by weather or environmental damage, such as a storm throwing up rocks or hard lumps of hailstone, but this can typically be prevented by providing any kind of weatherproof shelter and ensuring that aircraft are not left exposed to the elements.

As for preventing other issues, whilst training and setting firm expectations for safe practices in handling aircraft is vital, one of the best ways to encourage that and to prevent as many accidents as possible is to ensure that your hangar is effectively organised.

Regularly inspect the floor and walls of the hangar and designate strict areas for tools and equipment to be placed which keeps them out of the way whenever aircraft are being stored there.

As well as this, be aware of how long it takes to open hangar doors and ensure they are fully opened whenever a plane is set to move in or out of one.

In particular, if you are using a system such as hangar stacking, be wary of potential damage, as even deflated tyres can lead to scrapes and extra harm.

Finally, have clear, unequivocal floor markings for the limits of entry and exit points, as well as where equipment must be placed when not in operation.