Metal Airplane Hangars: Sizes, Door Options & What They Cost

A metal airplane hangar is sized from the aircraft out. Wingspan plus clearance sets the door opening and building width, tail height sets the door and eave height, and length plus workspace sets the depth. Cost follows that footprint, the door system, wind-zone engineering and site work, so the real number comes from an itemized quote.

Most pilots start by asking what a hangar costs. We start by asking what you fly. A hangar with a few inches to spare on each wingtip is one you'll fight every time you tow in. We've been designing and quoting steel buildings since 1999, and hangars follow the same rule as every other building: get the dimensions right first, then talk price.

What Size Hangar Do I Need for My Plane?

Work out three numbers, in this order:

1. Width. Start with your wingspan, then add clearance on both wingtips. That total is the clear door opening you need, and the building has to be wider than the door to leave room for the framing around it.
2. Height. Start with your tail height (the plane's overall height), then add margin for the door header and any door hardware that hangs into the opening.
3. Depth. Start with the plane's length, then add room to walk around the nose and tail, plus any workbench, storage or second aircraft you plan to fit.

Here's what that looks like for three common single-engine planes, using each manufacturer's published dimensions:

Take the Skyhawk. Cessna lists a 36 ft 1 in wingspan and an 8 ft 11 in height. A door with a 42-foot clear opening would leave about 3 feet past each wingtip, which is workable if you tow in straight.

If you tow in alone, at night or in a crosswind, you'll want more. We'd rather see a few feet on each side than a few inches.

Plan for the next plane, too. If there's any chance you'll move up to something with a longer wing or a taller tail, size the door for that aircraft now. Making a door opening wider after the building is up is a far bigger job than ordering it right.

ProBuilt's listed hangar is the 60x100 aircraft hangar. Sixty feet of width clears the wingspan of every plane in the table above with room to spare, and 100 feet of depth leaves room for a second aircraft nose to tail or a plane plus a shop area. Other sizes are custom-quoted. You can sketch your own layout in our 3D building designer or send us your aircraft and the footprint you have in mind.

How Tall Should the Hangar Door and Eaves Be?

The door height drives everything above it. Your tail height sets the minimum clear opening, then the door system adds its own needs on top:

• Header space. Some doors need room above the opening for a header, a fold or a coil.
• Hardware in the opening. Bi-fold doors can hang lower into the opening when they're up, which eats into usable height.
• Eave height. The sidewalls have to be tall enough to frame a door of that height, plus the structure above it.

Bigger aircraft, a maintenance lift or a mezzanine push the height up. Our post on how high metal buildings can be covers the height side in more detail.

Which Hangar Door Is Right for Your Hangar?

The hangar door is the biggest single decision in the building. It sets the clear opening, it changes how the frame is engineered, and it's the part you'll use every flight. These are the four common hangar door systems:

Bi-Fold Doors

A bi-fold hangar door is one large panel that folds near the middle as straps or cables lift it. It needs little space in front of the building. When it's up, part of the door can sit in the top of the opening, so size the opening with that in mind.

Hydraulic Single-Panel Doors

A hydraulic door is one solid panel that swings outward and up, forming a canopy over the apron when open. It needs clear room in front to swing, and the frame around the opening carries the door's weight.

Sliding and Stacking Doors

Sliding doors roll sideways on a track and stack against the walls. They don't take headroom, which suits very wide openings. You need enough wall to stack the panels, and the bottom track has to stay clear of dirt and ice.

Roll-Up Doors

A steel roll-up door coils above the opening. It's a good fit for a small aircraft, a narrower hangar, or a second door for a vehicle or the shop side. Our guide to choosing the right size of steel roll-up doors covers sizing.

Which door systems fit a given building is something your ProBuilt rep works out with you during design. Pick the door before the building is engineered. The frame around a wide opening is engineered around that door, and changing the door type later can mean changing the frame.

Why Build a Steel Airplane Hangar?

A hangar has to span a wide space without posts in the middle and hold a very large door opening. Steel handles both.

• Clear span. Steel trusses span the width of the building, so there are no interior columns to taxi or tow around. Our article on metal building trusses explains how that works.
• Tubular steel framing. ProBuilt buildings use galvanized tubular steel, with webbed trusses spaced along the length of the building. The spacing matters on a hangar because a wide door opening interrupts the framing, and the frame around it has to be engineered for that; bay spacing in metal buildings covers why.
• Wind and weather. A large door opening is a weak point in high wind. A steel aircraft hangar from ProBuilt is engineered to your local codes, including Florida wind zones. Our wind ratings guide explains what those ratings mean.

For bigger aviation projects, like a hangar with offices or a maintenance shop, see our commercial metal buildings and metal warehouses. The full range of steel building options starts there too.

What Should You Check Before You Build an Airplane Hangar?

Where the hangar goes changes the paperwork. Sort this out before you order.

On a public-use airport. Under the FAA's Part 77 rules, any construction on a public-use airport needs a notice to the FAA on Form 7460-1, regardless of height. The FAA's Part 77 guidance says the notice is due at least 45 days before construction starts. You'll also be working under the airport's lease and its own building rules, so talk to the airport manager early.

Near an airport, on your own land. Off-airport structures can also require FAA notice if they're close enough to a public-use airport and tall enough to stick up into the sloped airspace surface around its runways. If your property is near a runway, check before you settle on an eave height.

Local permits. Like any steel building, a hangar needs local building permits and engineered drawings. Our permit and engineering guide walks through that process.

The site and the slab. You'll need a level site, a path for the aircraft to reach the door, and drainage that keeps water off the apron. Read our site preparation guide for the basics. The floor matters more in a hangar than in most buildings: it has to stay level for towing and carry the plane's weight at the wheels, and some door systems need their own footing or track. Our guide to the concrete slab for a metal building covers thickness and prep.

How Much Does an Aircraft Hangar Cost?

We don't publish a flat hangar price because aircraft hangar cost swings too much from one project to the next to quote it honestly without your details. These are the things that move it:

• Footprint. Width and depth drive the amount of steel, and width drives the truss size.
• Eave height. Taller walls mean more steel and more wall panel.
• Door system. The hangar door is one of the larger line items, and wide openings need heavier framing around them.
• Wind and snow loads. A building engineered for a high-wind zone or heavy snow needs more steel than one in a mild area.
• Enclosure and extras. Fully enclosed walls, walk doors, windows, insulation and a shop or office area all add to the quote.
• Site work and foundation. Grading, the slab, and any apron or taxiway connection are part of the real cost of the project.
• Location. Delivery and install costs depend on where the building is going.

Settle the aircraft, door and site before you ask for the quote, so the number reflects the building you'll actually put up. If you plan to finance, our financing process page explains how that works.

How We Handle a Hangar Project

You get one ProBuilt rep from the first call to the day the building goes up. We design the hangar around your aircraft, your door choice and your site, then send an itemized quote, usually within 24 hours (excluding Saturday night and Sunday). The quote covers the building and installation, and we lock the price and work to honor it.

Your hangar is delivered and installed, engineered to your local codes, and we stay with you through manufacturing, delivery and install. If something comes up, you call us. In most areas, buildings go up in weeks, not seasons.

Plan Your Hangar Around Your Aircraft

Measure the plane you fly, and the one you might fly next. Pick the door system, then size the metal airplane hangar around both.

Start with our 60x100 aircraft hangar or lay out a custom size in the 3D designer. When you're ready, tell us what you fly and where you're building, and we'll send an itemized quote. Call us at (877) 754-1818 to discuss your project. One rep, one itemized quote, one number to call.