Naval Air Station Whiting Field Public Works Department turned over the final hangar bay to the Chief of Naval Air Training last month. This act marked the completion of the multi-year hangar restoration effort.
The five year, $5 million recapitalization initiative, which began back in 2009, removed and resurfaced the flaking lead-based paint from all of the structural steel components and resurfaced the deteriorated hangar bay floors of each of the hangar at north and south field.
“The salt air on the gulf coast is highly corrosive and once the paint system fails, a building can really deteriorate quickly. Our staff saw what happened in other areas of the Southeast Region and decided to get ahead of the problem,” according to Wes Hamill, Deputy Public Works Officer.
Completing the work outside of hurricane season added an additional layer of complexity to the project. The Wing needed all of the hangars available to shelter aircraft in the case of a hurricane, so all of the work had to be contracted separately and synchronized to occur between December and May.
“The Whiting Field leadership gave us tremendous support on these projects. Each year we invested a million dollars of the sustainment budget in preserving the hangars. Being proactive will save us money in the long term though,” says Lt. Cmdr. Alex Kuriatnyk, Public Works Officer.
Additional improvements made during these restorations included adding better lighting to increase visibility. These repairs have improved overall safety for the maintenance personnel.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: NASWF Public Works Department restores deteriorating hangar bays