Honolulu Airport Walkway – Project Spotlight
Western Steel Buildings provided a durable, custom 12,000 square-foot covered walkway for Honolulu Airport, ensuring comfortable traveler access.
Project Spotlight
Heber Valley Airport Hangars
Aviation Hangar Complex – Custom Private & Multi-Use Hangars
Western Steel Buildings collaborated with private aviation clients at the Heber Valley Airport to design and deliver eight custom aviation hangars, engineered to accommodate aircraft storage, mechanic shops, private party venues, business offices, and high-end garage uses. Each hangar features specific owner preferences, such as PowerLift hydraulic doors, personalized color themes, and tailored insulation packages (R-38 roof, R-19 walls).
Western Steel has since returned to the same campus to deliver a ninth hangar, this one almost three times the size of the largest unit in the original group, for Elemental Aviation. Engineered with a tapered, trapezoidal footprint that widens from 90 feet to 120 feet across an 85-foot length, the new hangar features a 30-foot eave height and power lift hangar doors at both ends, allowing aircraft to move straight through the building rather than in and out of a single opening.
Project Scope & Scale
- Use: Aviation hangars for private and business use
- Number of Hangars: Nine hangars total, eight from the original campus build plus one new large-format hangar for Elemental Aviation
- Typical Size Range (Original Eight): Examples include 70′ x 50′ x 17′ eave height and 50′ x 50′ x 17′ eave height, with stem walls of 20′ for some units
- New Hangar Footprint (Elemental Aviation): Tapered, trapezoidal footprint widening from 90′ to 120′ across an 85′ length, approximately 8,925 sq. ft., with a 30′ eave height
- Roof Slope: 2:12 on the original hangars, 1:12 on the new Elemental Aviation hangar
- Special Features: PowerLift hydraulic doors up to 60′ x 16′ on the original hangars; power lift hangar doors at both ends of the new hangar, with a 70′-6″ clear opening width and approximately 22′-5″ clear height
Key Challenges
- Meeting diverse individual client requirements across multiple hangars while maintaining consistent delivery and quality.
- Designing large-opening hangars that balance aesthetics, structural integrity, and aviation operational needs.
- Providing insulation (R-38 in roof, R-19 in walls) suitable for hangar conditioning in a mountain climate.
- Integrating large hydraulic doors, stem walls, and custom sizes into a unified campus environment.
- Engineering a tapered, trapezoidal frame for the new Elemental Aviation hangar, widening from 90 feet to 120 feet across its length while still reading as part of the same coordinated campus.
- Designing power lift hangar doors at both ends of the new hangar so aircraft could move straight through the building, while meeting Utah’s 105 mph wind speed and Seismic Design Category D requirements under IBC 2021.
Solution / Approach
- Engineered nine pre-engineered steel hangars, each tailored with owner-specific dimensions, color themes, and door systems.
- Incorporated high-capacity PowerLift hydraulic doors for seamless aircraft and equipment entry and exit.
- Applied insulated panel systems and stem walls to enhance structural and thermal performance.
- Delivered units in a coordinated fashion on the same campus to optimize construction efficiency and minimize disruption.
- Returned to the campus to design a significantly larger ninth hangar for Elemental Aviation, engineering a tapered footprint and a rigid frame system sized for a 30-foot eave height.
- Placed power lift hangar doors at both ends of the new hangar, giving Elemental Aviation a drive-through structure suited to larger aircraft and more flexible operations.
CLICK PLAY TO BEGIN
Unique Features
- Owner-customized hangars are used for aircraft, private events, businesses, and mechanical operations.
- Signature PowerLift hydraulic doors sized to maximize access and versatility.
- Coordinated color and aesthetic themes across multiple hangars while preserving individual customization.
- Clear-span steel frames allow unobstructed interior volume for multiple purposes.
- A new, large-format ninth hangar for Elemental Aviation, almost three times the size of the largest original unit, with a tapered footprint widening from 90 to 120 feet.
- Power lift hangar doors at both ends of the new hangar, a drive-through design not found on the original eight hangars.
Building Specifications
- Structure: Pre-engineered steel hangar system
- Typical Unit Sizes (Original Eight): Examples include 70′ x 50′ x 17′ eave, 50′ x 50′ x 17′ eave, with stem wall up to 20′
- Roof Slope (Original Eight): 2:12
- Door Systems (Original Eight): PowerLift hydraulic doors, e.g., 60′ x 16′, 46′ x 16′
- Insulation (Original Eight): Roof R-38, Walls R-19
- New Hangar Footprint (Elemental Aviation): Tapered, trapezoidal, 90′ to 120′ wide across an 85′ length, approximately 8,925 sq. ft.
- New Hangar Eave Height: 30′
- New Hangar Roof Slope: 1:12
- New Hangar Door System: Power lift hangar doors at both ends, 70′-6″ clear width, approximately 22′-5″ clear height
- New Hangar Wind Load: 105 mph (Vult), Exposure C, Enclosed
- New Hangar Snow Load: 61 psf ground, 43 psf roof
- New Hangar Seismic: Site Class D, Design Category D
- New Hangar Building Code: IBC 2021
- New Hangar Finishes: 24-gauge Polar White roof panels, 26-gauge Ash Gray wall and hangar door panels, Charcoal trim
“We would absolutely recommend Western Steel Buildings. I think they uniquely understand some of the opportunities and challenges that you have when you are looking at constructing an aviation hangar. They understand some of the things that work and some of the things that don’t work, and they will be your partner along the way.”
— Jason Talley,
CEO at Elemental Aviation
Sustainability / Compliance
- Steel construction provides long-term resilience and minimal maintenance requirements.
- Insulation systems improve energy performance and occupant comfort in mixed-use hangars.
- Clear-span design and customized entries support flexible use, including aircraft, business, and social functions.
- The new Elemental Aviation hangar is engineered to IBC 2021 and applicable wind, snow, and seismic design criteria for its Heber City site.
Results & Benefits
- Delivered eight unique, high-quality hangars suited to private aviation, business, and lifestyle uses.
- Enhanced access and operational flexibility through large hydraulic door systems.
- Provided clients with durable, insulated buildings adapted for the mountain climate environment.
- Coordinated delivery of multiple units, optimized time and budget efficiencies across the project.
- Returned to deliver a ninth hangar for Elemental Aviation, almost three times the size of the campus’s largest existing unit, growing the relationship with a repeat client.
- Gave Elemental Aviation a drive-through hangar with power lift doors at both ends, a first for the campus.
Design aviation hangars tailored for performance, access, and customized use—partner with Western Steel Buildings to elevate your next aviation facility.
Western Steel Buildings is SolutionCentric.®
We started Western Steel to create solutions to the major challenges of our industry. Western Steel Buildings is SolutionCentric.® Client problem solving is at the core of what we do. Every day, our team looks for the opportunity to proactively help projects go right.
More Steel Building Projects
Novae LLC. – Project Spotlight
Serving advanced manufacturing needs, Novae Corp.’s new 142,035 sq. ft. facility was engineered by Western Steel Buildings and features six connected pre-engineered steel structures with gable, single-slope, and lean-to roof lines, along with a full mezzanine and heavy-duty crane systems for industrial flexibility.
Las Vegas U-Haul – Project Spotlight
Supporting large-scale commercial operations, the Las Vegas U-Haul Project Spotlight highlights a 44,000 sq. ft. clear-span pre-engineered steel facility engineered by Western Steel Buildings, delivering open interior space, durability, and operational efficiency.
Feliz Creek Cellars – Project Spotlight
Showcasing premium winery infrastructure, Western Steel Buildings engineered and delivered two attached pre-engineered steel buildings totaling 60,000 sq. ft. for Feliz Creek Cellars in Hopland, California — creating a climate-controlled steel winery with insulated metal panels, modern parapet details, and high-tech processing capabilities to support quality winemaking and storage operations.
RC Ornamental – Project Spotlight
Built to support ornamental metal fabrication, the RC Ornamental project in Heber, Utah is a 12,720 sq. ft. pre-engineered steel facility by Western Steel Buildings, engineered for efficiency, strength, and consistent performance.
Fort Wayne FC Stadium – Project Spotlight
Western Steel Buildings engineered and delivered a multi-structure stadium complex for Fort Wayne FC, the Stadium grandstand, Locker Rooms Building, and Fan Experience Building, on one set of drawings and one foundation plan, completed in 14 months.