A hangar is a warehouse with one very unusual wall. The other three sides look familiar: panels or metal, a roof, a slab. The fourth side is a door that may be 100 feet wide, 30 feet tall and heavy enough to need its own structural frame. Around that door the building has to do things a warehouse never does, such as hold a nose-in aircraft, drain fuel and fire-fighting foam safely, and keep a tail clear of a roof truss.
Oklahoma has built hangars at a serious scale. The KC-46A depot campus at Tinker Air Force Base includes a $120 million, 130,000-square-foot two-bay hangar and 14 hangar bays in all, with total construction costs expected to exceed $600 million. In Tulsa, a 2020 report said an airline planned to invest $550 million in its maintenance base over seven years, including a 193,000-square-foot hangar for larger planes. In western Oklahoma, a maintenance hangar at an industrial spaceport opened in October 2025.
We build clear-span hangars for maintenance, repair and overhaul operators, corporate flight departments and airport authorities. The structure is familiar to us. The specialty systems come from partners who do nothing else, and we coordinate them closely.
Clear spans, big doors and the floor under the airplane
The structural system is a long-span frame, steel trusses or rigid frames, with column-free space across the hangar bay. Span depends on the aircraft: a regional jet, a narrow-body and a wide-body need very different dimensions, and the engineering team sets the envelope early. We design the roof for loads from lighting, fire suppression piping and maintenance equipment such as bridge cranes or fall-protection tracks.
The door system is a major package. Options include bi-fold, hydraulic, sliding and stacking doors, each with different structural, sealing and operating requirements. The floor is a thick, reinforced slab with embedded tie-downs, trench drains and possibly jacking points, finished smooth for tugs and tooling. The pages for high-bay crane-ready buildings and pre-engineered metal buildings explain related long-span structures.
Where the hangars are going
Aviation maintenance is growing in several places. At Will Rogers World Airport, an MRO operator broke ground in April 2024 on an expansion adding more than 80,000 square feet of hangar and warehouse space and 200 full-time positions. In Tulsa, an engine facility is expanding from 28 to 46 work bays, with more than 100 new jobs expected by 2030. Out west, the Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport has a 13,501-foot concrete runway and a $120 million investment announced in October 2022, whose hangar opened in October 2025 for maintenance, repair and overhaul work on 737 and larger aircraft.
The common thread is airfield access and a workforce. Sites with a long runway, ramp access and nearby industrial land attract maintenance business. Our pages on Tulsa International Airport and the aerospace corridor and Clinton describe two of these markets.
Airfield rules, fire protection and code
A hangar is a building with an airport behind it. Plans near a runway are reviewed for height and for lighting, and an airport owner has its own tenant design rules. The Federal Aviation Administration may need notice for construction near flight paths, and cranes can be a hazard. We coordinate with the airport manager and the FAA process, and we ask the owner to lead the formal filings.
Fire protection for hangars is specialized. Foam or high-expansion systems, deluge valves, drainage and containment are designed to national standards that the design team follows. The state sets minimum codes through the Uniform Building Code Commission, and cities adopt and enforce their own editions and amendments, so the local building department controls the code path. Hangars are typically a distinct occupancy group, and the design team classifies it early.
What we coordinate and who we bring in
We coordinate sitework, foundations, slab and structural erection, and where an owner wants concrete side walls we can use tilt-wall panels beside the door frame. We plan the apron connection, the taxi route and the utility service along with the owner and airport. Concrete work is a big share of the scope, since aircraft aprons and hangar floors carry high point loads, and the finish must be flat enough for tooling and towing.
Specialty subcontractors handle large doors, foam systems, ventilation, compressed air, overhead cranes and paint booths. We vet them with the owner, review their shop drawings against the structure and schedule their work with ours. A clear division of responsibility prevents gaps, such as an unplanned door-frame load. For owners who need a hangar built to a tenant's specification, our build-to-suit process applies.
What sets the pace
Door packages and structural steel set the pace on most hangar jobs. The door manufacturer needs an approved opening size and loads before the frame is final, and fabrication can take months. We order steel and doors as early as the design allows, and we sequence the foundations to match the delivery of columns and door tracks.
Airport access adds scheduling constraints. Construction traffic must pass security, cranes require approvals and work near operating aircraft may be restricted to certain hours. We write these constraints into the schedule. Owners with an aircraft arriving on a fixed date should plan for a turnover period before the first plane moves in.
Cost drivers for a hangar
Span, door size, fire protection and floor thickness drive a hangar's price. A hangar built for a business jet costs far less per square foot than one built for a wide-body. The door is a significant line item. Foam systems, drainage and containment add cost, as do heated floors, paint booths, shop compressed air and offices.
Apron paving is another item. Aircraft pavement is thick, jointed and designed for tire loads, and the apron may cost as much as the building. Owners who are weighing land lease against purchase, or airport funding, should talk to us early. Our developer and REIT page covers speculative hangar development.
Tell us the aircraft
Send the aircraft types, the wingspan and tail height, and the airport. We will return a span study, a door approach and a schedule. Our Altus page covers the southwest market.
Common Questions
How wide is a typical hangar door?
It depends on the largest aircraft. A business jet may need 60 to 80 feet, a narrow-body airliner 150 feet or more, and a wide-body even more. The door is chosen with the span and the structure, and we obtain its loads from the manufacturer before finalizing the frame.
Can a hangar be a metal building?
Yes. Many are pre-engineered metal buildings with long-span frames. Larger maintenance hangars use custom steel or trusses. We compare the options for clear span, door loads and schedule.
What approvals does an airport add?
The airport owner reviews tenant plans, and the FAA may need notice for construction near flight paths and for cranes. Ask the airport for its design standards and filing process at the start. We help prepare the drawings and schedule around approvals.
How should a hangar handle fuel and foam drainage?
Hangar floors are sloped to drains that connect to containment or separators, designed with the fire protection engineer and environmental rules in mind. We build the slab and trenches to the design and coordinate inspection before the pour.
Does storm risk change a hangar design?
Yes. The Weather Service records May as the peak tornado month in Oklahoma, and large doors are the weak point in high wind. Door attachments, wind-rated door systems and building envelope design matter, and the owner's insurer may add requirements.