How much does an aircraft hangar cost?

If you have an aircraft, a well-designed hangar is a must. Not only will it protect your equipment from the elements and theft, but it will also provide you with space to complete maintenance and safety checks. 

Here at XL Structural, we often have people asking us how much an aircraft hangar costs. This varies depending on the design and specifications of your aircraft hangar.

This article will help if you’re at the early feasibility stage of planning a new hangar and need to understand what influences the costs of a hangar and what the typical costs of an aircraft hangar are. However, if you have secured your site and want to finalise your design and price, we recommend you reach out to our team to see how we can help turn your vision into reality.

What influences the cost?

In this section, we outline the design elements and other factors that are likely to impact your aircraft hangar pricing. 

1. Building Importance levels

Depending on the Importance Level of your hangar, you will need to follow different Building Code guidelines. Importance Level (IL) is used to determine the appropriate engineering required in your hangar to ensure the safety and protection of those in the vicinity. 

Importance Level 1 (IL1)

This applies to hangars that pose a low degree of hazard to life and other property in case of failure. This typically applies to small hangars that are not normally occupied. Alpine Buildings provide a great range of hangars for these applications.

Importance Level 2 (IL2)

IL2 generally applies to commercial hangars, hangars on commercial airfields like Ardmore, or where the council determines that normal risk (not low risk) to human life and other property in case of failure. This is often determined for maintenance hangars where people will work from or hangars with offices attached.

This increase in Importance Level can change the structural requirements, fire protection requirements and general council compliance rules.

2. Building site conditions

With aircraft hangars, the choice of where to build is typically limited by availability on your local airfield or airport. However, the site conditions can impact the costs of the project. Poor ground conditions can add substantial costs to remediate the land or increase the foundation requirements.

The site of your aircraft hangar impacts which regulatory requirements apply. Factors such as airport regulations and local council regulations could mean that you need resource consent as well as building consent adding extra planning costs and conditions to your project. If you are unsure whether you need resource consent check with your local council and read more about resource consent here.

3. Geotech Reports

A simple Geotech report will generally cost between $5,000 and $12,000. However, if geotechnical challenges are found, more testing may be needed and the costs can be as high as $40,000, depending on the size of the project. This will determine if any ground remedial work is needed and allow you to budget accordingly. 

4. Scope and estimates

When adding elements to your building design, they can quickly accumulate and drain your project budget. If your project isn’t scoped correctly, your budget is bound to be strained. Working with an experienced project consultant can help ensure you consider aspects of the project early so an accurate scope can be set and estimates provided to that scope.

To get an estimated price range for your hangar project, use our online Budget Estimator Tool. 

5. Aircraft hangar plans and complexity

The cost of your hangar will also depend on the complexity of your building design and aircraft hangar dimensions. By keeping your hangar design simple, you can save significantly in terms of construction costs. Features that may drive the cost up include custom hangar doors, office fitouts, gantry cranes, service rails, and ventilation systems. 

6. Hangar doors

When designing a hangar, there are a number of hangar door options available. Sliding doors are the most common hangar door system and are regarded as the easiest, most cost-effective, and low maintenance solution due to their simple design. Other hangar door designs include bi-folding overhead doors, vertical folding doors, and sectional overhead doors.

Bi-folding overhead doors allow for a large opening with minimal room to accommodate tracks. They are often regarded as a high-end option and usually come with a higher price tag.

Vertical folding doors are best suited where there is limited room on either side of the hangar. This design allows for a full-width door opening without the need for sliding door tracks to run past the building line. 

Sectional overhead doors are worth considering for hangar doors under 12m wide where space is limited for sliding door tracks.

The height of your sliding hangar doors will significantly impact the cost as the frame size may need to increase to cater for the wind loads on the door. However, it is important to consider designing your hangar for future uses or aircraft with different dimensions. For example, if you purchase an aircraft with a higher tail height, the extra door clearance will be invaluable.  

7. Adding a service rail

If you will be maintaining your aircraft inside the hangar, you can add a service rail to the building design. This is built using a structural steel I-beam, from which you can lift heavy items from your aircraft during servicing. In most cases, the I beam runs directly under a portal to brace the portal and support the extra load.

8. Bird proofing 

When it comes to storing your aircraft, protecting them from birds and bird droppings is crucial. Fortunately, our designs don’t require knee and apex braces and we can incorporate different purlin designs to prevent birds from perching and nesting. Keep in mind that some purlin designs may increase the cost of your hangar. 

For more information about our birdproof building designs, read our article here. 

Aircraft hangar cost

A square metre rate is a very simplistic way to estimate building costs as it does not consider every element. However, we have given some indication of costs and explained what items impact these rates below. 

Generally, the base build will include all the core elements of your hangar. If the building design is relatively simple, the price per square metre will be around $800/sqm to $1200/sqm, excluding fire walls and concrete aprons. However, the more features you incorporate into the design, the more this will increase. 

To get a more accurate budgeting price range for your specific project you can use our Budget Estimator Tool.

Aircraft hangar buildings NZ

If you’re planning your new aircraft hangar and need a reliable supplier, the team at XL Structural is here to help. Our team has a wealth of experience in building hangars and can assist throughout your project right from the early planning phase to ensure you get the best outcome for the long term.

Why work with us?

• Unlike lightweight roll-formed steel, structural steel construction will last for generations.
• Our ability to deliver projects efficiently throughout New Zealand.
• Our ability to tailor the hangar design to suit your specific requirements.
• No ugly knee braces or apex braces.
• Bird perch-free rafter space to prevent bird droppings on your aircraft.
• We'll sort the full design and building consent process for you, saving you the hassles of dealing with the council.
• Efficient structural designs for large clearspan hangars.

We also believe we're a great team to work with but you don't have to take our word for it. Find out what our recent customer Hayden Gould has to say here.

Want more information about how to build a reliable aircraft hangar? Download your free copy of our Hangars Brochure. From recreational aircraft hangar buildings to commercial operations our expertise can deliver the ideal building for you. 

Aircraft Hangar Budget Calculator

If you’re looking to build a new aircraft hangar and want to calculate how much it will cost, try our online budget estimator tool today. Simply enter your specifications and we’ll provide an estimate range for you to work from. Try it out now!

Alternatively, book a meeting with a project consultant to discuss your specific project requirements, and get a detailed conceptual design and full proposal.