VACAVILLE — Airplane owners waiting for hangar space at the Nut Tree Airport will get some relief in the near future.
The airport is moving forward on development plans to build 26 county-owned hangars of various sizes at the airport. There is a list of nearly 25 airplane owners who want space at the Nut Tree.
“We are entering into the design phase and will complete those next summer,” said airport Manager Dave Daly said in a phone interview Tuesday.
“So we are meeting a need,” Daly said.
The airport has more than 104,000 flights come in and out each year.
Nut Tree Airport has 117 hangar spaces now, 69 of which are owned by the county and the rest are privately owned, Daly said. One houses the Solano Community College aeronautics program.
Overall, the airport has about 41 acres earmarked for various kinds of development.
The Solano County Board of Supervisors recently approved the updated implementation plan, as well as an addendum to the environmental impact report confirming the new projects are in compliance.
In the addition to the $1.7 million hangar project, the airport also is expanding its office capacity, which will also double the space available to the Wings Flight School.
All of that will enhance revenue for airport operations, Daly said.
Daly said the commercial airline industry is anticipating a shortage of pilots in coming years, so flight schools are showing an increase of interest and enrollment.
“There is a big upswing in flight schools because of the projected (pilot) shortage,” Daly said.
Daly said the office project will cost about $600,000.
“The source of (the hangar and office project) funding is a combination of airport operations and we will finance part of that,” Daly said.
“The other development-related matter . . . is we are completing new perimeter fencing,” Daly said.
There are a couple of gaps in the existing fencing, including a section created when the airport removed eucalyptus trees for flight safety reasons. A temporary fence stands there currently.
Nearly 2,500 trees were removed, and more than 3,000 native species were replanted as part of a rehabilitation project in the Lower Putah Creek area.
The airport is also planning out water and sewer infrastructure needs for its expansion projects, including where new water and sewer line will have to be laid.
Existing airport businesses:
Icon Aircraft
Center for Aviation and
Freedom
Hertz Car Rental
PG&E Helicopter Operations
Aviation Specialties
Solano Community College
Buckhorn Grill Headquarters
Wings Flight School
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