A hangar door is the largest moving structure on most airport sites, and it sets the design of the building behind it. The door opening has to clear the tail height and wingspan of the biggest aircraft the owner expects to house, the door has to resist the wind at that elevation and the clear-span structure above it has to carry the door loads without deflecting into the track. We design and build hangars from the aircraft backward: tail height and span first, then the door, then the frame, then the apron.
Colorado airports differ widely in elevation, wind and operations. Centennial Airport recorded 360,725 aircraft operations in 2023, hosts more than 125 businesses and, per a February 24, 2025 study, is credited with 9,236 jobs and $2.4 billion in total business revenue for 2023. It lies in unincorporated Arapahoe County adjacent to Centennial. At the other end of the range, Telluride Regional Airport sits at 9,070 feet with a 7,111 by 100 foot runway rated for 89,000 pound dual wheel loads, and offers a 17,000 square foot hangar that can hold aircraft as large as a G-650.
Each of those airports has a different sponsor, different design standards and a different relationship between the tenant and the land. We handle the construction side and coordinate the airport-side approvals, which include lease terms, the airport layout plan, any design standards and FAA airspace review. A hangar is a building and also a lease improvement on an airfield, and both have to be right.
What a hangar package includes
The building starts with a deep foundation and a thick slab, because aircraft and tugs impose heavy point loads. The structural frame is usually a clear-span steel frame or truss system, and many owners choose a pre-engineered metal building frame with a hangar door package. Larger or maintenance hangars use high-bay crane-ready framing with overhead cranes or bridge cranes for engine removal. Walls and roofs are insulated to the owner's climate target, and we coordinate radiant floor heating, high-volume low-speed fans or unit heaters.
Interior items include fire suppression, usually a foam or high-expansion foam system sized for the aircraft value and the fire code, along with floor drains with oil and fuel separators, a grounding system, compressed air, power for ground support equipment and shop spaces for parts and offices. Maintenance hangars add tooling, hazardous materials storage and paint booths with ventilation. Our maintenance shops and service bays experience applies directly to these support areas.
Airfield conditions that change the build
The airfield sets the pace. On the ramp and taxiway, construction has to maintain safe distances from active surfaces, and the contractor needs airport approval for haul routes, laydown areas and crane use. Crane height during construction can trigger a notice to the FAA, and the finished building has to stay below the protected imaginary surfaces around the runway. We file those notices at the start of the schedule since the review time is not within our control.
Weather and elevation matter in mountain locations. Airport safety guidance for Telluride notes that mountain top winds of 40 to 60 knots are not uncommon from December through March, and that performance charts do not extend to Rocky Mountain airport elevations. For a hangar, that means the door system must be rated for high wind, the building must resist uplift and erection must be planned around wind days. The same applies at other high-elevation fields, and we confirm the design wind speed with the local building department.
Approvals that run alongside the building permit
A hangar permit set goes to the local building department, but the airport sponsor and the FAA have their own reviews. The sponsor will check the site plan against its airport layout plan, the lease and its design standards. Where the airport is town or city owned, as Erie Municipal Airport is, with a concrete runway listed as 4,700 feet long, the sponsor is also the landlord. Longmont says Vance Brand Airport has more than 40 acres on its southwest side available for development or expansion, and a tenant wanting to build there will work through the city's process.
Building code editions vary by jurisdiction in Colorado. HB22-1362 requires a county or municipality that updates its building code on or after July 1, 2023 to adopt an energy code at least equal to the 2021 IECC, with the state model low energy and carbon code as the benchmark from July 1, 2026. Hangars have unusual thermal conditions because the large doors open and close, and we work with the engineer to demonstrate compliance without compromising operations. Cities near Longmont may be on different editions from the airport itself, so we ask which one applies.
Working beside aircraft
On an active airfield, safety starts with access control and foreign object debris. Every vehicle and worker is badged or escorted, gates are controlled and the work area is fenced so that debris cannot reach aircraft movement areas. We train crews on the airport rules, and the superintendent coordinates with airport operations for each change in the work area.
Fire watch, hot work and fuel control are written into the plan. Welding and cutting inside or beside a hangar are subject to strict permits, since fuel vapor and aircraft materials are a real hazard. Before a fire suppression system is commissioned, we confirm the test procedure with the fire authority, because an unplanned foam discharge is expensive and disruptive.
Airports we can serve and the corridors between them
We build hangars at fields that range from the Front Range, where airports have a dense business-aviation presence, to mountain airports and plains municipal fields. In Greeley, the airport is pursuing FAA Part 139 certification, and a 2024 plan said a large meat processor would move its corporate jets there by March 2026, requiring a new hangar, a new taxiway and a runway weight limit increase from 45,000 pounds to at least 65,000 pounds. That example shows how an operator's fleet decision can drive airfield and hangar work at once.
Aspen is another case. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport received a $37 million FAA Airport Improvement Program grant to rebuild, widen and shift its runway, which closes April 4, 2027 and reopens November 19, 2027. Construction near a runway closure of that kind depends on coordination with airfield contractors, and we can plan to avoid conflicts. Tenants in advanced manufacturing and aerospace often want hangar space attached to a plant, which we handle as part of a manufacturing plant program.
Start with the aircraft and the airport
Send the aircraft types, the door opening you need, the airport and the parcel or lease area. We will run the airspace, lease and structural questions in parallel and give you a schedule that shows what the airport and the FAA control.
Common Questions
How do you decide the hangar door size?
From the tail height and wingspan of the largest aircraft you expect to house, plus a clearance margin. The door type, bi-fold, hydraulic or sliding, depends on the opening, the wind and the available space beside the building. We get the aircraft data first and design the door and frame together.
What approvals does the airport require?
Typically a lease or lease amendment, a site plan review against the airport layout plan and an airspace review with the FAA. Some airports also have design standards for building appearance and materials. We start those conversations at the beginning, since the review times are often the longest part of the schedule.
Do cranes on the job site affect aircraft operations?
They can. A crane close to a runway or approach path may need an FAA notice, and airports may restrict crane operation during certain hours. We file the notice early and schedule crane work to fit the airport's requirements.
Can a hangar be built on a short schedule?
A pre-engineered frame with a prepared foundation can go quickly, but the airport and FAA reviews often set the pace. We run the approvals in parallel with design and order the door package early since it is a long-lead item.
What fire suppression does a hangar need?
It depends on the size of the hangar, the aircraft value and the code. Many hangars use foam or high-expansion foam systems, some use water-based systems. The fire official will review the design, so we involve the fire authority and the insurer early.