Steven_P wrote:
Does the fact the aircraft is pressurized mitigate the impact of the environment on the avionics etc?
Oh yes, it definitely will, and that is a very good thing. Stable temperatures, keeping cold soak ops and moisture out, same for the dust, and one thing electronics don’t like, are power surges as in switching ON or OFF.
PS
Just to be sure, you’ll have to keep the engine running continuously to enjoy all the benefits listed above, along with some positive pressurisation. Depending on the model, you’ll first have to shut the engine down prior to the opening of any door or window, as always, safety first!
For a PA46 I would not worry so much about the avionics. Our Meridian is parked outside when we travel and even last week it was raining non stop the inside of the plane is watertight like a modern car.
That beeing said I would absolutely avoid having it parked outside all the time. The UV light will eat into your expensive pait job and you risk corrosion, especially if you are close to the sea. The elements will attack your $$$ deice boots in the long term etc. If you do not at least cover the windows your 30$ front window will degrade. If it is outside 365 days you risk storm damage and hail. Depending on your aircraft this can easily be an 1 million Euro plane. No owner of a car of similar value would dare to park it continuously outside. If you have absolutely no choice but to park it outside it might be possible to put on a full fabric cover but this would probably be at least a 30 minute job to attach and detach it…
Mine was always hangared and it still has the original paint in good condition. 53 years!!
A lot also depends on the type.of hangarage and indeed the aircraft.
Advantages of hangarage are indeed weather damage and to some extent security. In winter there is no need to scrape the frost off before flying and most preflight checks can be done in the dry.
Also some maintenance can normally be done.
There no need for an expensive full cover which usually attracts humidity and corrosion on unprotected parts.
The aircraft is protected from UV light when parked so less damage to unprotected paintwork.
Disadvantages
Cost, entry and exit of aircraft especially if its shared hangar. Heavier aircraft usually need some form of motorised tug.
Hangar rash. Birds crapping on the aircraft, pigeons love to nest in hangars.
Unless it is an expensive climate controlled hangar or one which has free air circulation you will get the same humidity and same corrosion as leaving the aircraft outside.
So you need to make sure you return the aircraft to the hangar, dry.
Whether stored outside or in a non climate controlled hangar a good idea is to install some sort of dehumidifier to protect the instruments and some people even use them to protect the engine.
BTW These are the same precautions that many classic car owners use.
As the director of Robin aircraft once said that the best way to avoid corrosion or rot or anything like that is to fly the aircraft regularly. It doesn’t matter whether the aircraft is metal, composite or wood and fabric.
lets keep it simpel
value of hangarage=value of your aircraft
My view is as post #1: hangarage has huge value, and this doubles if you are allowed to do maintenance inside the hangar.
You have to shoot pigeons, regularly.
The RH inside a hangar will be lower because the internal temp will be a few degrees higher, except possibly at night.
Yes that is key. I do the major part of my maintenance in my hangar. I wouldn’t do that outside for various obvious reasons and I wouldn’t have bothered buying a plane if I would have to spend so much money.
I cannot estimate the savings, but when I listen to the respective complaints of others on my field I get the impression that it must be a lot.
The challenge of finding hangar space has slightly relaxed in recent years around here, though not sure about the causes… but the ability to sell an aircraft with its dry space is for sure added value, usually in the region of 20K.
Most fields had a long waiting list, and I had to wait 8 years before secure my first hangar space.
We have a few, say around 12 aircraft staying exposed to the elements on the permanent tie-downs. Amongst them a couple of Cessna, an SR20, and the red AN-2.
At LFFK we rarely have an aircraft tied down outside for long periods other than those at.the maintenance hangar.
We are lucky in that respect and if we need more or personal hangarage we could probably rent a parcel of land from the town hall and build one.
LFBH has quite lot of hangar space. There are both municipal and large privately owned hangars here. The more expensive ones have things like remotely controlled doors
LFRI has both large privately owned hangars and municipal hangarage.
LFBN has hangarage but I don’t know whether its municipal or privately owned.
There are many other airfields just a little further away where you rent hangar space.
Unless you want to build your own hangar it usually takes less than a month to find a space.
Or you can buy a house on one of the airparks.
AFAIK none of them forbid or discourage doing your own maintenance in the hangar, providing of course you are respectful of others who share the hangar and of the hangar itself.
gallois wrote:
Or you can buy a house on one of the airparks
I’ll sure do that!
In my next life, since wifey is not too warm about that idea 
And what Gallois describes reinforces my perception as France still being, the more so if you master the language, another aviator’s paradise.
My source of envy with all you guys living in bigger places than say Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Belgium, and maybe a couple more, is the ability of performing long flights without continuously hitting international borders.
The longest straight line flight for me would be St. Gallen-Altenrhein LSZR to Geneva LSGG, the whole of 160nm, so slightly more than 1hr at Carson settings. In other words flying North from my base I’ll hit Germany in about 7 minutes, flying South I’ll hit Italy in about 35 minutes, flying West France in 25 minutes, and East Austria in 25 minutes. Anything further away would require at least a FPL, + all the customs bull excrements if I want to put my wheels down somewhere… not complaining though, just plain facts
PS
Thinking about my post above piqued my curiosity, and our webcam only shows 7 airplanes on the fixed tie—downs, though I know of a couple not there since in the maintenance hangar.
