Frequently asked questions

It may. Structures near a public-use airport can require notice to the FAA on Form 7460-1 before construction, depending on their height and distance from the runway. File early, because the FAA's review has to finish before the work starts, and the airport can usually tell you whether your site needs it.

Usually several parties. The airport's owner, often a city or county, approves the location and design under its lease and standards. The local building department permits the hangar itself under the Florida Building Code, reviewing steel plans an engineer has sealed for the wind conditions at that airfield. A hangar used for commercial work is also checked by the fire marshal for the Florida Fire Prevention Code.

Each trades something. A bifold door lifts and folds on straps or cables, opens fast, and gives up a little height where the folded door hangs. A hydraulic door is one panel that swings up and out on cylinders, leaving a shaded overhang, but it needs clear space in front to swing. Sliding doors roll on a bottom track and stack to the sides, keeping full height, but they need wall space to stack against and a track that stays clean.

The door opening is the widest unsupported span in the building. A bifold or hydraulic door hangs its weight and its wind load on the header above the opening, while a sliding door puts its load on the floor track and the stacking walls. The door maker provides those loads, and the frame is engineered for them, so the door is chosen before the building is designed.

Start from the wingspan, the length and the tail height of the largest aircraft you expect to keep, then add clearance on every side for towing it in without a wingwalker. The door opening needs margin past the wingspan and the tail. Owners who plan to upgrade aircraft size the hangar for the next one.

A slab designed for the aircraft's weight on its wheels, flat enough to tow across, and finished so fuel and oil drips can be cleaned up. Sliding doors need their bottom track cast in, and the edge at the door should meet the apron without a lip that catches a nosewheel.

Often, under a ground lease with the airport. The airport usually sets standards for hangar size, door type, color, setbacks and how the building is used, and it may own the building when the lease ends. Get the lease terms and the airport's requirements before any design work starts.