You just received a request for an aviation hangar. Simple enough, right? Aviation hangar design and construction is NOT your typical cookiecutter building project. Hangar development can be tedious, time consuming and expensive if not done correctly by a professional team with significant experience in hangar design. The wrong type of hangar door spec, can lead to a laundry list of job hang-ups and hindrances. To help better identify where these hindrances most commonly occur, we put together the ABCs of successful hangar construction, for your convenience. Keep these tips in mind when taking on your next aviation project.
Awareness of Customer Needs
As you consult with your customer throughout the process, it’s important to proactively weigh what they want vs. what is permissible at the specific location. Be sure you’re asking the right questions. Verify that what they are requesting makes sense considering the size and scope of the project and their budget.
If the job specifies nested Tee-hangars for smaller single- or double-engine craft, hydraulic lift or bi-fold doors may be desired but not the most serviceable or economical solution. If your client makes this type of request, take the time to explain the pros and cons of all design options: hydraulic lift, bi-fold and rolling doors. This will prevent headaches down the line.
Suppose your client wants a top-of-the-line, larger- than-life hangar that makes a statement. You spec the high-performance hydraulic lift or bi-fold doors
for this job because the benefits are now applicable. Sometimes the option of rolling doors, either manually or electrically operated, may be the better solution, given opening size, rates of service and maintenance ability. Each design must be specifically chosen.
Be sure the client works up a cohesive maintenance plan for after the building is put up. Ask who will be performing the required maintenance and care of the chosen door system. The maintenance providers should be well researched and well vetted for the responsibility. Breadth of experience is paramount in ensuring proper care of a high-performance door system long after you’ve closed the books on this job. If the door system on your hangar facility doesn’t work properly, you no longer have a hangar. Now it’s just a costly warehouse.
Be Conscious of Your Geography 
The regional geography of where the hangar is built always plays a crucial role in design. Common meteorological patterns become a factor when determining size, positioning and materials. When building in warmer climates, snow buildup on the roof above your door tracks is less of a concern, unlike regions prone to heavy, frequent snowfall.
Snow load potentials will also affect your deflection requirements, or the maximum amount of vertical movement a building can sustain. When adjusting for deflection, it’s key that you not only account for the building, but also for the door system separately, especially on the large-scale, high-complexity jobs. Too much deflection means your door system doesn’t open.
Snow isn’t the only weather-related obstacle. Because the functionality of a hangar requires extra large openings, wind loads and wind load requirements are of crucial concern and deserve full attention to detail. Buildings are constructed with the principle in mind that wind occurs and acts on the outside of the envelope, not the inside. If your client’s aircraft is resting in its hangar and the doors are open during a storm, wind circulation acting on the inside of the structure can literally pick up the aircraft and slam it back down, potentially causing costly damage to your client’s prized investments, and the building.
With this in mind, make sure your structure and product choices meet or exceed local and regional structural codes. Some area codes require higherthan- average wind velocity and exposure rates, going as far as demanding partially enclosed design in lieu of fully enclosed building design. It’s important to know your local and regional requirements in the early stages of project development.
Consider the Airfield’s Requirements
Finally, after receiving and reviewing the project request, contact the airfield where the building is to be erected and ask for its specific building requirements. This is an easy step that is all too frequently skipped.
Airports have their own regulations, standards and guidelines. If something is missed early on that affects the overall square footage allowed, be prepared for more time, money and effort. For example, door systems can take up additional square footage not initially spelled out in the overall spec. If the airfield in question has allowed for 8,000 square feet of building, and the door system adds an additional 400 square feet to one end, it’s back to the drawing board. Roof heights may be controlled by the airfield as well as roof pitch, due to location and glide slope. This causes tight constraints on framing because of the conflict caused by your customer’s initial door height request.
Location of the door system can also affect the overall length of your hangar. Has the space the door system will inhabit when the doors are fully open been accounted for? Also be cognizant of the clearances the specific aircraft type will require for optimal mobility and storage within the facility. Clearances on either side of the wingspan should be considerable, not quaint. It is these types of details that can make or sink an aviation project.
Taking these factors into account at the beginning of the project and asking the right questions will help you be successful in the long run and hopefully aid in the prevention of design and construction problems. At the end of the day, there’s nothing better than a job running smooth, from take-off to landing. The next time your client walks in with a new hangar project in hand, sit back, relax and recite your ABCs:
• Awareness of Client Needs
• Be Conscious of Your Geography
• Consider the Airfield’s Requirements
George Jeffries is the vice president of sales and marketing at Irving, Texas-based Mesco Building Solutions, pilots small engine aircraft in his spare time and is an avid fan of aeronautics and aviation. To learn more, visit www.mescobuildingsolutions.com.
