Reduce, reuse, recycle… hangars in this case

The great state of California reduced the number of general aviation airports in 2014 by at least one. Specifically, Rialto Municipal (L67) was shut down on Sept. 18 to make way for a 1,439-acre residential and business center. (I know, but don’t get me started…)

From the ashes of L67, nearby Flabob Airport (RIR) will reuse Rialto’s hangars. Flabob is just 8 nm on a heading of 169° from L67… as the homebuilt flies.

Flabob is the seventh oldest surviving airport in California and privately owned by philanthropist and all-around good guy Tom Wathen. But they’ve long been in need of hangars.

“When the City of Rialto closed L67 they didn’t tell anyone how many hangars were going to be made available,” said Jon Goldenbaum, chairman of the board of the Tom Wathen Center and owner of Poly Fiber Aircraft Coatings. “We learned in mid-October we had until early December to remove the hangars.”

Flabob received a “disposition of surplus property” contract from Rialto on Oct. 8.

The inventory of recycled hangars includes 17 Port-a-Port, 24 enclosed T-hangars and 25 box hangars of various sizes. Prices range from $295 to $925 per month.

They’ve started work on site prep and expect the hangars to be ready for aircraft in early spring 2015. “The port-a-port hangars will be ready in a few weeks,” Flabob officials note.

“Flabob is a special place,” continued Goldenbaum. “We are home to EAA Chapter One, have a beautiful 3,200-foot runway, lots of open grass and a great cafe. Furthermore, we don’t have a commission of any kind overseeing the operation of the airport. And we have a great relationship with the City of Riverside.”

We should never celebrate the demise of an airport. But we should – if possible – make the best of it. Flabob Airport has done just that.

Interested in a hangar? Call Airport Manager Beth LaRock at 951-683-2309 x103.