Big things could be coming to the Allen County Regional Airport.
At least two hangars, one for a crop dusting business and an even larger one for a Topeka air museum, are on the horizon.
County commissioners agreed to find sites for the two hangars, expressing enthusiasm for potentially adding those projects at the airport.
The county has focused on airport development in recent years, pursuing grants and financing that will allow them to make improvements and potentially develop land around the airport for economic development and an industrial park.
A couple of weeks ago, a new airport advisory committee met to discuss needs of those who use the facility.
Pilots are always in need of hangar space, commission Chairman Jerry Daniels said. There are two types of hangars. One is for plane owners as dedicated space for their equipment. The other is for pilots to use on a temporary basis, such as an overnight stay while they are just passing through.
“Hangar space is a premium,” Daniels said. “There are few and far between.”
MATT Orth, a crop dusting pilot from Marion, asked the county if he could lease property to build an 80-foot by 80-foot hangar with small living quarters for pilots.
He’s a member of the new airport advisory board and uses the Allen County airport as part of his business, Central Ag Air, LLC. He has hangars in Marion and Herington.
Under FAA rules, airports are not allowed to sell land, Daniels said, but they can lease property and allow someone to build a hangar for their personal use. That’s not very common; most airports build their own hangars and rent them.
The Allen County airport leased land to another pilot who built a hangar. Orth would be the second.
Orth is working with airport officials and Public Works Director Mitch Garner to identify a location for his hangar. An engineering company will help with that process, Garner said.
The county will be responsible for building an apron to connect his hangar to the taxiway.
The lease would last for 20 years with an option for another 20. Again, FAA rules dictate the maximum time for a lease.
ANOTHER hangar proposal generated even more excitement among commissioners.
Robert Rice, with the American Flight Museum in Topeka, shared his plans to build a very large hangar for a satellite location for the museum.
