There is a need for newer and more hangars at Manhattan Regional Airport, and currently there are no standards for how those hangars should be built.

Shane Wright, Assistant Airport Director has been spending a majority of his time over the past month developing a draft of new standards for future hangar development.

Currently the City of Manhattan manages 43 hangars that are full, and have a list of about 20 people who wish to occupy a hangar or move into a different one. Wright said that the demand for new hangars is there they just need to have a list of standards developed before people begin to build.

The airport has identified locations on the east side of the airport for new hangars.

“The east side is going to be the new face of the airport for all of the general aviation arrivals, and people on that side, the city, and privately there is going to be a lot of investment on that side of the airport. We want to make sure that it’s getting the best face possible,” says Wright.

Some of the items to be addressed in the standards include a timeline of construction, making sure the new hangars are constructed in accordance to local, state and federal codes, what types of building materials are allowed, the color of the hangar, and roof orientation.

Wright plans to have a draft of the standards ready to present to the Airport Advisory Board by the November meeting, and hopefully have it ready to present to the Manhattan City Commission for adoption by December or early January.