One regional field with ninety based aircraft shows how much plane there is to house in Oklahoma. The state has regional airports in nearly every county seat, and owners of single engine planes, turboprops and light jets all hit the same wall: tie-downs are cheap, but weather, hail and sun are not, and a plane parked outside is a plane losing value.
A steel hangar is the usual answer. A pre-engineered frame gives you a wide clear span with no columns to bump a wingtip, a roof that sheds hail and wind, and a price per square foot that beats most other construction. We build box hangars, the standard aircraft hangar building type, for single aircraft, T-hangars and row hangars for airport authorities, and larger corporate hangars with offices and shop space attached.
The hard part is not the frame. It is the door wall, the slab, the airport's own rules and the way the building gets approved. We help with all of it.
Look at how the airports are set up and the demand makes sense. The state aerospace agency lists Stillwater Regional Airport (see our Stillwater page) with a 7,401 foot concrete runway, a second 5,004 foot runway, a control tower and 90 based aircraft. Guthrie-Edmond Regional Airport, covered under Guthrie, sits between two growing metro areas with a 5,001 foot runway, and the field is city owned. Fields like these draw private owners who want a roof for the aircraft, and many airport authorities lease ground to people who build their own hangar.
Military and training activity adds to it. A report from 2014 described KC-46 facilities at Altus Air Force Base valued at $56 million, including a flight training center, a fuselage training facility and new aircraft hangars. Those are government buildings, not something we pitch, but they show how much steel and concrete the aviation sector keeps moving. Our aviation industry page looks at the state's operators in more detail.
Start with the aircraft. Wingspan, tail height, gear width and whether you want to tow or taxi in decide the clear opening and the door height. Then add the extras: a second plane, a workbench, a tug, a golf cart, fuel storage, a mezzanine for parts. Owners nearly always want more room after the first year, so we suggest planning a bay or two beyond your current need.
Then look at the ground lease and the field. Most public airports have a design review for new hangars. They set setbacks from taxiways, height limits, color rules and sometimes fire separation items. Get the lease terms in hand early, because the airport authority may need to approve plans before we can pull a permit. Our team reads those documents with you and makes sure the building we draw can actually be approved.
We handle the whole hangar. That means site prep and slab, anchor bolt layout, frame erection, wall and roof panels, insulation, trim, the door wall and the walk doors. For many owners, the door is the most important single item, and our overhead and hangar doors page explains bi-fold, hydraulic and sliding choices. Electrical and plumbing, if you want lights, outlets, a compressor circuit or a floor drain, are coordinated with licensed trades.
Managing the work under one plan means one schedule and one point of contact. If the slab has a tilt, we find out when we set the steel, and we fix it. If the door vendor is late, we adjust the sequence. The alternative, a stack of subcontractors who each blame the last, is how hangar projects drift by months.
A single-aircraft box hangar might be 50 by 50 feet with a 40 foot door. A T-hangar row has staggered bays so planes nose in, with shared walls and a common apron. A corporate hangar for a jet may run 100 feet wide or more, with an attached office, a restroom, an insulated ceiling and a heating plant. A maintenance hangar adds a heavier slab, drains, compressed air and overhead lifting provisions, and might tie into the crane and industrial buildings approach for gantry loads.
The slab is its own topic. Aircraft are heavy and concentrated on small wheels. Hydraulic fluid and fuel are hard on concrete. We design the thickness and reinforcing for the heaviest plane you expect, slope the floor to drain toward the door, and finish it for easy cleaning. For foundations we follow the same method as in our foundation and anchor bolt work.
The schedule usually starts before we do. Airport approval, a survey, a soils check and permit review all take time, and a public field adds its own paperwork. Once approvals are in, steel lead time, slab cure and door delivery are the main sequence. A simple box hangar goes up in weeks once the steel arrives; a larger one takes longer.
We give you a written schedule with the long-lead items called out, and we tell you when something slips. Wind is the main weather concern for erection on an open airfield, since there is nothing to block it, so we plan lifts for calm mornings and keep a cushion of days for gusty spells.
Our customers include private pilots, flight schools, charter operators, ag aviation businesses, aircraft mechanics and airport authorities. Crop-spraying operators need hangar space close to the fields, plus a mixing and loading area, which overlaps with our agricultural buildings experience. Flight schools want multiple bays and classroom space.
If you are still weighing a purchase, we are happy to compare a steel hangar to the lease options at your field. A well-built hangar often adds to the value of the aircraft and the sale price of the property.
Tell us the aircraft, the airport and your timeline, and we will sketch the hangar and give you a price range. If you also run a shop or fleet at the field, ask us about a commercial metal building on the same lease.
Most single-engine aircraft fit in a 40 by 40 foot hangar, but wingspan, tail height and the way you park decide it. Add room for tools, a tug and a little margin on every side. We usually suggest an extra bay width so a second plane or a workbench is possible later.
At most public airports, yes. The airport authority or the city reviews placement, height and design before a lease or permit is issued. We work from your lease terms and prepare drawings that satisfy both the airport and the building department.
Yes. Wall and roof insulation, a liner, and a heater sized for the volume make a hangar comfortable for winter work. Insulating the door wall is the part many owners overlook. We price the insulation and the door seal as a package.
Approvals and steel lead time set most of the schedule. After those, a small hangar goes up quickly, with the slab cured before steel arrives. A bigger one with offices takes longer. We give you a written timeline when we price.
The slab carries the weight of the aircraft on small tires, plus tugs and any shop equipment. It should be sloped to drain and finished for cleaning. We size thickness and reinforcement from the heaviest load you plan for.
Tell us about the site, the building and the schedule, and we will set up a review of scope, schedule and permitting.
See the services, building types and industries we plan and manage across Oklahoma.