b'HANGARSD25 41When we added that second runway,private investors will fund all of thethe need for hangar space startedbox hangars. growing, Hanson explains. Thats whenThe local and federal funds come out a group of guys got together and formed aof the fuel tax, which is paid by those who corporation to construct the airports firstactually use airports like ours, Hanson nested T-hangar. notes. Today, that and three other T hangars provide shelter for 35 airplanes, and thereLots of Choices, Less Red Tapeare seven other standalone hangars, eachWilke highlights variety and flexibility as 60-feet square. All are privately owned,major benefits of the airports array of with long-term leases for the airporthangars and tie-down options.property they occupy.Some pilots prefer to park their aircraft In 2010, the airport built an all-in-oneoutside all summer, but many want basic hangar with five 50x50 bays that hold upshelter, so an uninsulated hangar will to 10 aircraft. At the time, that was the onlydo. Others opt for an insulated building airport-owned hangar on the field, but thatwith a bathroom and in-floor heat. Those is changing.who want even more amenities choose Two years ago, airport leaders beganunits with an office, satellite connections, the process to add the 18 more hangarsInternet, room for a vehicle and more.mentioned. They secured FAA funding asIt all depends on what their needs are well as a block grant for public airportsand what they want to spend, says Wilke. from the Wisconsin Bureau Aeronautics.While many features are up to the Part of their appeal for funding was a longbuilding owners, airport leadership list of people from Milwaukee, Chicago,established design standards for building Rockford, Madison and Minneapolis whosizes, shapes, rooflines, materials, heights want T hangar space at the 500-acreand exterior colors. Northwoods airport.A tract of land about the size of threeToo many airports end up with what football fields has been graded andlooks like a shanty town because the improved with stormwater drainage, utilityhangars are all different shapes, colors and services and taxiway access for eightqualitysome with dirt floors, he says. private and the airport-owned T hangars. Thats not what we wanted here. The Manitowish Waters community is built and Four private hangars are alreadymaintained to a very high standard, and we built, and one additional plot has justwanted our airport to be consistent with been leased, Hanson reported in July.that standard! The airport will also construct and leaseGenerally, owners have wide latitude a series of approximately 10 nestedwhen developing their spaces. Weve got tremendous interest in newT-hangars.hangars, reports Wilke.As part of a previous project, the airportThey are able to walk through an replaced its non-directional beacon withexisting hangar and then imagine their The sudden surge of demand set airfieldown space and customize it to their improvements in motion. At the end of thisGPS approaches to improve airfieldpreferences, Wilke says. Residences summer, projects were underway to add asoperations during inclement weather. Noware not allowed, but many interiors are many as 18 new hangars over the next few[pilots] can get in and out on a regulararranged to accommodate flight planning, years. Those plans began with a wait list ofbasis, Hanson says. The practical side ofZoom calls, meetings, entertainment and over 20 prospective tenants vested in thethings just got better.hangar-flying of all types!progress.The price tag for recent landFrom a process standpoint, the airport improvements totaled $575,000, and theand local government work closely together Hangar Historypending T-hangar project is out for bid. For decades, Manitowish Waters AirportWe will know the cost for that soon,to accommodate aircraft operators looking operated with a single 3,000-foot-long,Hanson said in July. It is planned tofor hangar space. Customers dont suffer 120-foot-wide grass runway. In the 1980s,be built next spring. Only 5% of the Tbureaucratic delays that are common it added a 3,500-foot paved runway thathangar investment will be provided byelsewhere because Hanson serves as town intersects the original turf strip and includeslocal tax revenue, he adds. Fully 95% willchairman and handles hangar leases as the overrun areas at both ends.be covered by government funding andairport manager. AirportImprovement.comOctober 2024'