Airship Hangar Door Refurbishments

KPFF, along with our sub consultant Tetra Tech, completed site investigations and condition assessments of eight (8) large hangar doors belonging to 1930 and 1940 vintage airship hangars. All hangars had been mothballed for more than a decade and our work was one portion of a much larger project aimed at placing these historic structures back into active use. The KPFF team’s scope included the Door Leaf Structures and Cladding, Door Support Rails, Door Support Wheel Trucks and Pins, Door Drive System, Door Control System and Door Power Distribution (including power cable festoon). All features were evaluated against current engineering design codes and estimates of the remaining service life for all components were established. Door refurbishment concepts were developed that would bring the door systems into full compliance with current design standards. Additionally, measures for selectively and economically extending the service life of critical door components were developed. Working closely with the client, it was determined that the projects ROI goals were best met through a combination of full restoration to operable condition on four doors and a refurbishment of the remaining doors to stabilize the structures and address life safety issues with the doors non-operable. With the plan identified, the KPFF team developed engineering drawings and specifications required to implement the refurbishments and assisted the client identifying and contracting with appropriate fabricators to complete the work. Currently the team and has been supporting fabrication and installation of the refurbished system and will be actively providing the testing and commissioning oversight.