By EAA Chapter 1129
Chapter 1129 in Fairbanks, Alaska — officially the farthest north EAA chapter — has come up with an unusual, but very “EAA” way to build our chapter’s new hangar. Our building consists of four extra-large, 40-foot, steel cargo containers stacked two high, then spaced apart about 50 feet, with a custom built steel truss roof over all. The back wall is framed up of 2-by-6s with plywood sheathing. The floor is inexpensive asphalt on grade.
“That’s what it was like when we bought it a couple of years ago,” said chapter member Bruce Dunkle, EAA 670716. “Since then we’ve added a bi-fold hangar door on the front hung on a large glulam beam, poured concrete footings under each end of the containers, and welded the steel roof trusses to the top of the containers, to make it more stable and to meet local building codes. The structure is very solid, plus comes with plenty of secure storage.”
Recently a corrugated steel ceiling was installed, along with a couple of feet of insulation. With normal temperatures ranging from -20°F to -40°F from October to April, insulation and heating are a major concern.
“Our goal is to get the interior walls insulated and heater and lighting installed this summer so that we will be able to start having our regular meetings here over the winter,” Bruce said. “We also have plans to cut some doors into the interior walls of the lower containers, using one of them for kitchen and bathroom facilities, and the other to house woodworking, metalworking, and welding equipment.”
The chapter has been able to hold its summer meetings at its hangar, but during the winter, has had to meet in borrowed space.
“We are very much looking forward to being able to have our own hangar home that we can call our own, year round,” Bruce said.
Plans for use include regular weekly building and training sessions, monthly pancake breakfasts, and the occasional movie night. The chapter hopes to further engage with local youth through local Boy Scout and Civil Air Patrol organizations. Only a short taxi to the active runway, the chapter also plans to continue its very popular and successful Young Eagle flights from the new facility.
“We talked with chapter leaders from around the country and were repeatedly told that having a hangar home, along with regularly scheduled events involving food, family, and fun, was the secret sauce that made their local chapters come alive and thrive,” Bruce explained. “We’ve already had a significant increase in meeting attendance in the summers, when we have the grill running and members bring potluck dishes. We’re looking forward to continued growth and enthusiasm and are very excited about reaching out to youth organizations. We’re planning rebuilds on some of the several aircraft projects that have already been donated to the chapter. The hangar has been a focal point for our chapter’s energy, and it has opened up a flood of donations of aircraft projects, tools, office equipment, kitchen appliances, you name it. It’s like that saying, ‘Build it and they will come!’”
