Hangar Door Repair Remains A Family Affair

Merle Marshall's attention to detail served him well during his 33-year career as a Teamster.

After retiring in 2017 as a Metropolitan Airports Commission senior maintenance worker, it wasn't long before Marshall's attention turned from runways to hangars after helping out a friend.

"Larry Degner of Aerolift Door kept getting phone calls about hangar door cables and latches being broken," Marshall recalled. "He'd call me, and I'd go help him. Well, one day the phone rang so much I decided to start my own business and form Merle Marshall's Hangar Care LLC."

Four years later, Merle is getting ready to hand over the hangar repair business to his son, Jens.

"Taking over my dad's business is a really good opportunity for both of us," Jens said. "I've hung out more with him in the past two or three years than I have in my whole life." The dynamic hangar repair duo started out working from the back of a truck, then they bought a large storage trailer, which is fully loaded with every imaginable hangar repair tool, Jens said.

"We get our customers up and running and the door fixed as soon as possible," Merle said. "There's a lot of neglect with hangar

doors. We find a lot of broken hangar hinges. We have to drill them out and force grease inside. We pay great attention to high-end preventive maintenance."

There's nothing worse than coming out to the hangar on a Sunday and finding a broken door, Merle said. Broken cables happen all the time. Repair calls aren't limited to summer or winter.

"Pulleys wear out," he explained. And broken cables often result when one part of the sheave gets as sharp as a razor blade and cutting starts. A telltale sign is a grooved leveling bar. "Hangar doors are heavy. You are talking about 3,000 pounds, depending upon width," Jens said. That's why he developed a 23-point checklist and a door inspection report when documenting service calls.

During the winter, Jens suggests removing snow at least 1 foot to 2 feet away from the hangar door at all times. That prevents the bottom door seal from getting frozen to the ground.

"That's a seasonal thing I see a lot," he said, adding about 70% of the set-screws on any given hangar door gearbox are loose. "Many of them are 30 years old. A lot of hangars have been neglected and passed through owner to owner," Jens said. "If you buy a hangar, get it inspected. You're going to save money down the line. Aircraft-door strikes are expensive."

Merle offers this additional advice: Inspect the hangar door annually and just as often as your aircraft. Merle Marshall's

Hangar Care LLC is located at 513 West Wind Ave. in Shakopee. Contact Jens at (612) 503-6756 or Merle at (612) 703-0845 to schedule a hangar service call.