Airport manager explains need for new hangars

So how badly needed is the new 10-plane T-Hangar that is being built at the Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport?

Let’s put it this way. The current seven-plane T-Hangar is full, and four of the spaces in the new T-Hangar have already been promised to pilots, Airport Manager Don Stricklin said Friday afternoon looking out his window at five planes on the tarmac waiting to get fuel.

U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers announced Friday that a $980,000 grant had been awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to the Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport in order to build the new 13,000 square-foot hangar.

“Our small airports are vital to business operations, emergency medical transportation, tourism and economic development,” said Rogers. “These FAA grants help supplement the support necessary in our small communities to ensure our airports are sustainable and maintain the highest safety standards year-round. I applaud our local leaders for putting together competitive grant applications that examine the aviation-related growth needed in our mountainous region.”

Stricklin said that ordinarily there would be about a $22,000 matching grant required for the FAA funding, but because of COVID that matching requirement has been waived this year.

Stricklin noted that you can’t hardly get grant funding for a T-Hangar without having waiting list.

“Whitley County is always proud to see new investments in our community, but especially ones like this at the airport that will create long-term opportunities for our community,” said Pat White, Whitley County Judge Executive. “We are very appreciative of our federal delegation working hard to help make projects like this happen.”

“We are very appreciative of the federal support and for Congressman Rogers’ work to secure funding for the FAA, which in-turn provides us with excellent grant opportunities like this,” said Jeff Shelley, Chairman of the Airport Board. “We will continue working to expand opportunities at the airport that benefit our entire community.”

Stricklin said that no concrete has been poured for the new T-Hangar yet, but other work, including environmental studies and tests, has been done.

“The concrete should be soon. Once they pour the  concrete it should take off and be underway,” Sticklin noted.

Construction of the new hangar is scheduled to be complete in November.

Stricklin estimates that the airport averages about seven planes per day taking off, landing or both.

This time of year, several of them come in to refuel en route to other locations, but Stricklin said that some stick around with pilots and passengers spending the night.

Stricklin said that thanks to a new jet fuel truck, Operation’s Manager Harvey Alder can now meet jets out on the taxiway and refuel them without those planes having to pull up to the pump, which is reducing refueling time significantly.