For a single-engine general aviation airplane, plan on a metal hangar around 50 feet wide by 50 feet deep with a door at least 45 feet wide and 12 to 14 feet tall, because the door has to clear your wingspan with margin on each tip. Width is the number that decides the build: a Cessna-class wing spans roughly 36 feet ‹confirm›, so the clear-span door opening, not the floor area, sets your true minimum.
That is the snippet version. The size you need tracks your aircraft’s exact wingspan, length, and tail height, plus whether you want to pull a wing past the door jamb, run a maintenance bay, or park a second plane nose to tail. This page sits under the metal building uses pillar and gives you the full version. For the hangar build itself, see airplane hangar kits.
The numbers
The hangar size each aircraft class needs
Start with your aircraft’s three measurements, then add clearance to each. The working rule is wingspan plus 8 to 10 feet for the door opening, fuselage length plus 10 feet or so for the depth, and tail height plus 2 to 3 feet for the door height. Run those against the table below, then round up to the nearest stock width.
| Aircraft class | Typical wingspan | Recommended hangar | Min door (W x H) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultralight, LSA, or experimental | 25 to 33 ft ‹confirm› | 40 x 40 | 36 x 12 ‹confirm› |
| Single-engine GA (Cessna 172, Piper) | 33 to 36 ft ‹confirm› | 50 x 50 | 45 x 14 ‹confirm› |
| High-performance single or light twin | 38 to 44 ft ‹confirm› | 60 x 50 to 60 x 60 | 50 x 16 ‹confirm› |
| Light business turboprop | 45 to 55 ft ‹confirm› | 60 x 60 to 80 x 60 | 55 x 18 ‹confirm› |
| Two aircraft or a maintenance bay | varies | 80 x 60 and up | full-width clear door ‹confirm› |
Illustrative sizing only, not a verdict. Measure your own aircraft at its widest and tallest points, then round up to a stock footprint.
Depth is the forgiving dimension: a single GA aircraft sits in 35 to 40 feet of building depth with room to walk around the tail, so a 50-foot depth leaves space for a workbench at the back wall. Width and the door opening are where hangars get sized wrong, which is why a clear-span steel frame matters so much here. The airplane hangar kits guide walks the frame and door options in depth.
The door
Why the door opening sets the real minimum
The door, not the floor, is what fails an undersized hangar. Your aircraft has to roll through that opening with the wings clear of both jambs, so the door width has to beat your wingspan by several feet on each side. A 36-foot wing wants a 44 to 45-foot opening at a minimum, and more if you push the plane in at any angle.
Height follows the tail. Most single-engine planes stand under 10 feet at the rudder ‹confirm›, so a 12 to 14-foot door clears them, but a high tail or a future upgrade can need 16 feet or more. Because a wide opening cannot carry a header beam without sagging, hangars use a clear-span frame and a bi-fold or hydraulic door that lifts the whole wall out of the way. Match that width to the largest aircraft you expect to own, not the one on the ramp today, the same way you would size any metal building for room to grow.
The clearance most owners forget
The door width has to clear the wingtips, but the door height has to clear the tallest fixture, which is the vertical stabilizer, not the cabin roof. Measure to the top of the rudder, add a foot of margin for the door track and a slight nose-up roll, then size the opening. A door that clears on paper can still scrape a tail tip when you push the plane in by hand.
Size up
Sizing up for maintenance, a second plane, or a tug
The minimum hangar parks one aircraft. The hangar you are glad you built leaves room to work on it, store the gear that flies with it, and maneuver it without a fight. Three things push the footprint past the bare bay.
- Maintenance and wing access. Add 8 to 10 feet of width past the wingtips if you want to pull a cowling, swing a prop, or run an annual inspection indoors. That is the jump from a 50-foot width to a 60.
- A tug and turning room. Moving a plane by hand or with a tug wants clear floor at the nose and tail, so a deeper building beats a tight one when you have to reposition the aircraft to roll it out.
- A second aircraft or a shop. To hangar two planes or run a work bay alongside one, step up to an 80-foot width or a nested-T layout. An airplane hangar kit can frame either, and the metal building uses pillar shows where a hangar sits among shops, barns, and other steel buildings.
- Future aircraft upgrades. If you might move to a faster single or a light twin, build the width and door for it now. Widening a finished shell or replacing a door later costs far more than the steel you would add at the drawing stage.
Size the hangar for the widest, tallest aircraft you expect to own, not the one tied down today. The extra feet of door opening cost less now than the wall you would have to rebuild later.
Related
Read more
Sizing a hangar connects to the rest of the build. Follow these next:
- Metal building uses: the complete guide (the parent pillar).
- Airplane hangar kits (the hangar build, frame, and door options).
- Metal building sizes (how widths, lengths, and clear spans work across every use).
