Business Airport International exclusively speaks to Avflight about its new hangar at Harrisburg International Airport, which is set to open in January next year.
Avflight is set to open its new 30,000ft² (2,800m²) hangar in Pennsylvania, next month, with the facility having capacity to accommodate ultra-long-range Gulfstream and Bombardier Global aircraft thanks it its 28ft-high (8.5m) door.
The Avflight Harrisburg team worked with Bowers & Associates as its architect on the project, in addition to ECI Construction. The team started work on the hangar by collecting feedback from frequent users of the airport.
“We asked customers about attributes that would be beneficial to our operations and visited other locations with newly constructed hangars to evaluate our options,” says Joe Meszaros, director of operations at Avflight. “Our architect then got to work on various designs. Once we agreed on a direction, the architect created everything from the site plan to full building construction.”
The hangar is the second phase of the FBO’s development. Avflight Harrisburg opened a 5,000ft² (465m²), state-of-the-art FBO building in spring 2018 that features a conference room, kitchen, pilot lounge, three private pilot rooms, office spaces, and a separate catering kitchen.
“We needed the door dimensions of the hangar to fit aircraft as large as a Global,” says Meszaros. “Furthermore, the hangar needed to be built with modern considerations in terms of energy efficiencies, office space, security and fire suppression. The hangar features the latest technologies for security, internet access, and energy management and control.”
The hangar has also been structurally designed to withstand winds of up to 90mph (145kph), helping to keep the structure sturdy during storms.
Carl Muhs, president of Avflight, comments, “We are proud to be the gateway to central Pennsylvania and – with the new hangar along with Avflight Harrisburg’s new FBO facility – we’re now a more attractive option for tenants.
“This will result in more corporate traffic to Harrisburg, which in turn supports the vitality of the local economy. Avflight is, after all, a member of the Harrisburg community, so investing in its infrastructure is a priority for us.”
The hangar is positioned next to the airport’s main terminal and directly opposite a new Marriott-property hotel, which is currently under construction. Avflight hopes the location will make arriving and staying in Harrisburg more convenient for pilots and crews, and better connect passengers to the business and offerings of the city and surrounding areas.
