Incident Summary
The pilot started the airplane and began taxiing between two rows of hangars. Upon reaching the end of the rows, at the east-west taxiway, the pilot stopped to contact ground control and check the windsock. After several minutes, ground control cleared the aircraft to taxi to runway 16L. The pilot then proceeded toward the east-west taxiway and was about to initiate S-turns to look for obstacles. After traveling approximately 40 to 60 feet, the propeller, right wing, and right landing gear made contact with poles that surrounded a fire hydrant.
Damage
The right wing sustained substantial damage as a result of the collision with the poles.
Pilot Observations
The pilot noted that the airplane had conventional landing gear, which prevented him from seeing the fire hydrant or its surrounding poles over the nose of the aircraft. Additionally, the pilot indicated that there was no taxi stripe leading from between the hangars to the east-west taxiway that would have guided a pilot away from the poles.