Aidan,
I got full covers for my plane and it is no problem whatsoever to keep it outside, a M20C. Bruce’s covers make heavy weather covers which work really well, I got the normal ones (which can withstand snow however) and it works really well. I wish I had them earlier.
Packing up the covers and putting them on again is not an issue. They fit into a nice bag wich comes with them and are folded in 5 minutes. I guess taking the plane out of the hangar takes more time. They fold flat on the bottom of the baggage compartment, leaving enough space.
Mooneys are not that problematic to keep outside like e.g. Bonanzas with their magnesium surfaces. And if you use a good cover, the paint won’t suffer.
Also, I would put myself on the waiting list for all airports in question. They here are talking for “Decades” waiting time. That was 2-3 years ago… today they come running after me all the time, but I prefer to stay in Zurich for now.
I’d think about it. A plane like that you are not going to find again soon. Covers are a relatively cheap option but they do the trick. And if you want to be sure, take the hail resistent variant, they are a bit heavier though.
Check your PMs Aidan.
Also, hangar spaces sometimes appear surprisingly. Many hangars are full of hangar queens and people (or their spouses, after the pilot died) eventually get fed up with paying.
Also, a lot of places discourage newcomers. They like to keep “everything in the club”. You get a lot of that on the farm strip scene here. Especially people with “capable” planes are discouraged. When I bought my TB20, 2002, I got “the only hangar place at Shoreham”. The catch was that the company had to maintain it also…
and if you’re adamant about selling it, bump your price quite a bit unless you’re in a hurry.
imo, for what someone will get, that is too low unless something else is wrong with the plane.
I like Mooneys, and if I didn’t have one already, I would probably not tell you all of this… 
just wrote a message to Peter saying I might have put the price too low!!, 2 days and only 1 contacr, perhaps people thinks its a scam!!
I thought it was an Iron rule that you can’t make money buying and selling a plane – I am selling at a small loss.
There is nothing else wrong with the plane, it’s an honest price, a real ifr pilot will want a new gps/com and the trim is manual (which I liked actually, nothing like that semi automatic zen hand movement to retrim while flying)
Also, hangar spaces sometimes appear surprisingly. Many hangars are full of hangar queens and people (or their spouses, after the pilot died) eventually get fed up with paying.
At an airport near Munich, where I learnt, a guy did the following trick.
Talked to hangar owner and enquired about hangar queens – found a TB10 not flown in 6-7 year, no chance for a ARV w/o massive work.
He bought the plane off the happy owner 10k or so but INCL the hangar space. Then polished paintwork and windows and cleaned it inside. People wondered about the repairs, but he couldnt be bothered.
Put it on ebay and got most of what he invested. Once gone he moved his plane over from the previous airport ;-)
Smart move… isnt it ?
ch.ess wrote:
He bought the plane off the happy owner 10k or so but INCL the hangar space. Then polished paintwork and windows and cleaned it inside. People wondered about the repairs, but he couldnt be bothered. Put it on ebay and got most of what he invested. Once gone he moved his plane over from the previous airport
Did the buyer fly it out? I always wonder about these posts that describe ‘massive work’ required to fly a plane that has been sitting for a while. Meanwhile I have a known a number of planes that have been made airworthy with a limited amount of work after years of storage. This is an extreme example, a wood winged plane flown out after thirty years. They do mention a ‘fresh engine’, whatever that means when it comes to Franklins that haven’t been supported with new parts since the 70s. It’s a nice story…
Anyway several have flown out local to me after 5 or 10 years.
I agree that buying into a hangar sometimes works without a lot of outlay. I got my hangar by buying an Aerolift that was already in the hangar for $7K, sometime around 2006. A relatively small barrier to entry but enough to limit the market to one person, me. I sold it this year after 13 years of use for $8K 
ch.ess wrote:
At an airport near Munich, where I learnt, a guy did the following trick.He bought the plane off the happy owner 10k or so but INCL the hangar space.
He certainly isn’t the only one to have done that :)
Dont know how the TB10 got out.
I had talked to the hangar owner some months before that, out of interest for that plane and he suggested to forget that because of the work required.
Given that he a) flew since early childhood b) owns several rented out planes and c) otherwise had no particular interest himself in the plane, I took his information as fairly reliable (he flies planes in a state that I wouldnt…)
On a side note, I am surprised about the casual running of an engine withoit cowling. I learnt early on that there is a high risk of local overheating w/o proper airflow. Not true ?
You can certainly fly a rusted engine. I knew a guy who kept a heli at Shoreham. Every 6 months he turned up, put on his latest sunglasses, started it up, a big cloud of red smoke came out, and went for a flight.
I am surprised about the casual running of an engine withoit cowling. I learnt early on that there is a high risk of local overheating w/o proper airflow. Not true ?
No problem with it; it is routine post-maintenance to check for leaks etc. I would not run it for a long time though – say 20 mins, or anything approaching the normal oil running temperature. Certainly you cannot fly the plane with the cowlings off because the airflow through the cylinders will be all wrong (it’s also illegal, I am sure).
Some engines & planes cannot be run long at high power without a cowling, some can. Obviously some never had a pressure cowling in the first place, e.g. Stearman and J-3. The banner tow planes in my area started life as Cubs with some kind of cowling but now fly with none at all, nothing covering the engine forward of the firewall. Given that they now run four cylinder Lycomings designed for a pressure cowl, I’ve wondered how this works. The legalities are covered by a Restricted Category registration, they are single purpose working planes.
