New hangar project taking shape at Northeast Iowa Regional Airport

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The North Cedar Airport Authority made some design decisions for its new 10-hangar building project during its monthly meeting Wednesday afternoon, giving an airport engineering consulting firm directions as that firm gets specifications ready to let the project for bidding.

Alexa Hazelton, a professional engineer with Kirkham Michael in Lincoln, Neb., said they were ready to begin design work for the project which is planned to be built next summer, and she had a list of questions that needed answers.

Airport Manager Bill Kyle consulted a couple of manuals for the largest aircraft likely to be housed in the new hangars and came up with the dimensions the individual hangar stalls would need to meet – doors at least 42 feet and preferably 45 feet wide, opening height of 16 feet, and hangar depth of 42 feet.

The group decided that although the building will not be designed with heat, it should have insulation at least in the roof, and possibly the doors and wall panels.

Kyle said the people leasing the hangars would likely have engine heaters for the airplanes located there, but those are fairly low current draws so the individual stalls wouldn’t need much more electrical power than required to operate the doors.

The group did decide on four stalls of parking on each end of the hangar, and made several other design decisions.

Much of the hangar project cost will be paid through Iowa Department of Transportation funding, including $300,000 toward the hangar and $400,000 toward the construction of a taxiway to link the new hangar to the existing airport taxiways and the runways.

Total price for the project is estimated at more than $1 million, and Kyle said some federal funds will likely be available, and a low interest loan could come through Heartland Energy, which has helped finance several projects at the Northeast Iowa Regional Airport east of Charles City.

The taxiway grant is coming through the state Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and the hangar grant will come through the state General Aviation Vertical Infrastructure Program.

Hangar space is in demand at the airport, Kyle has said. The space-saving T-hangar design will have planes nose-to-tail side by side, and each of the 10 hangar stalls will have its own door, as contrasted with the current hangars at the airport, that have one large common area and door, and sometimes pilots have to move other planes out of the way to get their planes in and out.

Also at the Airport Authority meeting Wednesday, the group discussed interest by a person who has described himself as “an airplane guy to the extreme” who was looking for a place for him and his wife to retire where there is an airport, where he could build as big of a hangar as possible to store and “tinker” on his planes.

Brian Lee, of Washington state, had previously said he was especially interested in an airport with a grass runway because he is also a glider pilot – in fact, he had just purchased his fifth glider.

He was attracted to Iowa because of efforts to eliminate the state income tax on retirement income, he said.

Kyle said the couple had spent four days in the Charles City area, visiting the airport, talking with real estate agents about houses, and talking about where and how big he could build a hangar on airport property.

“His comment was church at the Lutheran church ‘felt like home,’” Kyle said.

The Airport Authority members talked about property leases they have and have had for other private hangars, and potential stipulations for a new lease.

Doug Kamm, the Airport Authority chair, said Lee is looking for a lease that would allow him to sell the hangar at some point if he can no longer fly, but the Airport Authority would want to have a say in who it could be sold to.