ONLY ONLINE: Whitley Airport gets grant funds to build new T-Hangars

Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport officials are hoping to start construction this fall on a 10-unit T-Hangar project thanks in part to nearly $300,000 in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant money.

U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers (KY-05) announced Monday that U.S. Department of Transportation had awarded the funds to support improvements at the Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport.

"Investing in expanded transportation options is key to greater economic development and increased tourism for Whitley County," Rogers said.

"This grant will go a long way toward providing new hangar facilities for pilot owners and operators and the growing demand for hangar space is a testament to the hard working leaders of this Southern Kentucky community who remain dedicated to improving the region."

The Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport is four miles northwest of Williamsburg. With seven aircraft based on the field, including single- and multi-engine aircraft and a helicopter, the airport averages 100 aircraft operations per year, almost exclusively general aviation.

Since the 2002 fiscal year, Rogers has secured $5.65 million for improvements for this airport.

Grants are awarded through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The FAA is responsible for the safety of civil aviation.

The Airport Improvement Program (AIP) provides grants for the planning and development of public-use airports, including improvements related to enhancing airport safety, capacity, security, and environmental concerns.

For small primary, reliever and general aviation airports, such as those in Southeastern Kentucky, the grant covers 95 percent of eligible costs.

The state will pay for an additional 2.5 percent of the funding, and the airport board will have to borrow the remaining funds, said Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport Board Chairman Keith Brashear.

He said that this round of funding represents about two years worth of AIP money for the airport, and that it should cover well over half the construction costs.

Bids for the project are expected to go out in mid-September and by early October, the airport board hopes to know the exact cost.

Brashear hopes to start construction on the project in mid to late fall.

"We are hoping to get the concrete pad poured before the weather gets too cold. It will be a metal building on a concrete slab," he said.

T-Hangars are small individual hangars that can each hold one aircraft. They are similar to a garage.

Brashear said that there is a 12 to 14-person waiting list for the T-Hangars even though there is still space available in the community hangar.

"The problem is a lot of people that own airplanes aren’t willing to put their plane in a hangar where other people have access to it. They are pretty expensive," he said.

"I’m pretty sure we will have it filled up. That will help us having the planes based there not only from the standpoint of rent from the T-Hangars, but the purchase of fuel and people using the facility."

Brashear said that the airport has room for five to seven T-Hangar complexes, and that he is hoping to have enough demand to house 50 to 60 planes in T-Hangars over the next five to 10 years.