$1M project giving Wright Brothers airport first new hangar in decades

A $1 million hangar will be built at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport, the first new facility to house aircraft at the city-owned airport in decades.

The new hangar will hold more aircraft and have about one-third more space than the one demolished last month, said Dayton Aviation Deputy Director Gil Turner.

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The city has operated three hangars at the airport on Ohio 741 in Miami Twp. and the new one will be the first built at the general aviation facility since it opened in the 1950s, he said.

The project is among the long-term improvements planned at the 527-acre airport across the intersection from Austin Landing. A multi-million master plan calling for relocating a part of Austin Boulevard to the north for a runway extension remains under Federal Aviation Administration review, but local officials believe it will be approved.

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Meanwhile, time has taken a toll with the hangars’ roofs, siding, doors and lighting, officials said.

“It’s getting beyond the point of just repairs,” Turner said. “We had to do a major upgrade.”

“Those aircraft aren’t very cheap,” he added. “So if you buy a $200,000 or a $500,000 aircraft, it’s a shame that you’ve got to have leakage on top of the aircraft, or the doors (to the hangar) falling off.”

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The permit for the new hangar lists a value of $1 million, said Miami Twp. Community Development Director Chris Snyder. It will be 18,000 square feet – 5,500 more than the one torn down – and be paid for through city aviation department revenues, Turner said.

When more funds are available, plans call for the city’s two other hangars to be demolished and be replaced with a single, larger one, he said.

The new building will have 17 “T hangar” – or aircraft – slots, five more than the old one, Turner said. Construction is expected to start in August and projected to be done in October.

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The old hangar had tenants for all 12 slots, Dayton aviation officials have said. However, the city has not secured leases with the former occupants, according to Turner.

“We’re hoping they’ll come back once we build this facility,” Turner said. “A lot of them have interest because we have to displace them during this time period when the hangar is being built.

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“We do hope they come back to this new facility, but we’re not sure as of yet as to how many will be,” he added.

The airport has two other hangars and some aircraft owners have expressed an interest in building their own sites. A study on the best land use for the airport was commissioned by the Miami Twp.-Dayton Joint Economic Development Board, a tax-sharing district that involves airport land.

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