Upscale Alaskan hangar expanded

Most pilots will admit to wondering what other pilot’s hangars look like. Here’s a peek inside one at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Alaska that was recently expanded.

The hangar is owned by Jim St. George. Now semi-retired from his construction company, STG Inc., St. George recently oversaw an addition to his hangar at the base southwest of downtown Anchorage.

Lake Hood is the world’s busiest seaplane base, handling an average of 190 flights a day. Located next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, the base has an operating control tower and during the winter months, the frozen lake surface is maintained for ski-equipped airplanes.

The old hangar was revamped with the addition of two larger hangar bays, creating 14,000-square-feet of space. Another old wooden structure was demolished to make room for the new hangar additions.

All of the hangar bays have access to a five-ton or a one-ton overhead crane that St. George leases out for use to other pilots.

It was because of the cranes he decided to install two new hydraulic doors, partly to gain headroom and due to some airfield line-of-sight flight height restrictions at Lake Hood. The doors from Schweiss Doors are 65 feet by 18 feet, 7 inches and 40 feet by 18 feet, 7 inches. They are engineered and wind-rated for 130 mph. The largest bay is 70 feet wide by about 80 feet deep.

St. George provided a lot of his general contractor expertise along with Whalen Construction of Anchorage to upgrade his three-bay hangar. Hangared inside is his 1971 Cessna 180 on Aerocet 3400 amphibious floats that he can retrofit with Federal wheel skis for use in the winter.

The radiant heat hangar, with LED lighting, has six-inch insulated panels on the roof and four-inch insulated panels on the walls. Decorative windows adorn the outside of each hangar door to provide maximum light into the hangar.

The inside of the hangar isn’t complete just yet, with a mezzanine, kitchenette, and other amenities planned, according to St. George.