Getting Started as a Pilot
Welcome to Hangar Direct. As a pilot or aircraft owner, you can search hangars nationwide, send inquiries to operators, join waitlists, sign leases electronically, and pay rent, all from one account. This guide walks you through your first steps.
Create your account and add your aircraft
Sign up with your email and verify it; a verified email is required before you can send inquiries. Then head to My Aircraft in your account sidebar and click Add aircraft. You will pick your aircraft from a type-ahead list and record its name, wingspan, length, height, and tail number.
Accurate dimensions matter: search results match your aircraft against each hangar's door width, door height, and depth, and only show spaces your aircraft fits.
Search and send inquiries
Use Find a Hangar in the header to search by airport name, identifier, or city. On any listing, click Send Inquiry and answer three questions: which aircraft needs space, when you need it, and anything else the operator should know.
Track everything under Inquiries (tabs: All / Pending / Approved / Closed). When an operator approves your inquiry, it becomes a lease under Leases.
Join a waitlist when a facility is full
Many airports have more demand than space. On a facility's public airport page, click "Join the waitlist". You can join with your email address, verified by a one-time code. You will see your position in line ("N of M") on your facility Overview card and the public status page.
When a hangar may be opening up, the operator sends you an email with a single-use response link (valid 30 days) where you can confirm interest and upload any documents they request.
Your dashboard
Your account home shows an "Action needed" card that gathers overdue payments, unsigned leases, leases awaiting acceptance, compliance documents needing attention, expiring leases, waitlist updates, and unread messages. Each row links to the item that needs attention.
Each facility where you rent gets its own page with Overview, Lease, Compliance, and Payments tabs, plus a Message button to reach the operator.
Sign your lease and set up payment
The lease detail page is a guided checklist: click Review & Sign Lease to sign electronically (or Review & Accept when no signature is required), upload any required compliance documents, then Complete Payment. Payment rows have Pay Now and Retry buttons, and you can click Set up Autopay to pay future rent automatically.
Add a card or US bank account (ACH) under Payment Methods. ACH supports instant verification or micro-deposits.
Keep your documents current
Facilities often require documents such as a certificate of insurance. Your facility page's Compliance tab lists what is required and its status. If a document falls short of a requirement, you will see the operator's exact requirement sentence with a "Fix this" action. Click "Choose file" to upload a replacement (PDF, JPG, PNG, or WEBP, max 10MB), then Save.
Expiring documents get advance warnings in-app, visible to both you and the operator.
Alerts and notifications
Two notification tools are available:
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Hangar Alerts: click Add alert and choose a location, aircraft, radius in miles, and term to get an email when a matching hangar is added.
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SMS notifications: under Notifications, add your mobile number and consent to receive text alerts.
We are here to help!
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