Workers are putting the finishing touches on two 10,000-square-foot hangars at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport built for LeaseCorp Aviation LLC, which offers long-term hangar rental and related services.
The hangar project is only the second one to be built under a relatively new Wichita Airport Authority policy that allows the subleasing of hangars by entities that are not fixed-base operators.
“There was a shortage of hangar space,” Ray Koenig, general manager of LeaseCorp Aviation, said of his project, which he values at about $1.8 million to $1.9 million.
He said his hangars — which can accommodate tail heights of 22 feet through doors that measure 82 and 92 feet in length — aren’t displacing other hangars’ business because several new jets have entered the market.
“Nobody lost any revenue, if you will,” he told me. “We just acquired new business.”
Koenig declined to name his corporate tenants, citing privacy, but he said he has three of his four pilots’ offices leased, with a deal pending for the fourth. Existing tenants account for five jets parked at the hangars, and a fourth tenant is expected to bring one or two more.
The offices are part of a 2,863-square-foot area joining the hangars that includes a comfortable waiting area, a kitchen, a conference room, restrooms, complimentary computer use, public Wi-Fi and more. The slideshow at right offers a look.
The entire facility has secured access.
Koenig likened the new facility to a mini-FBO where passengers don’t have to walk through the hangars to board. Doors from the waiting area lead directly to the tarmac.
He credited his wife, Dorothy, with the interior design, which gives the facility a homey, comfortable feel.
“We want it nice for the pilots, (companies’) employees and their customers,” Koenig says.
Smith Construction was the general contractor for the design-build project.
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