Category Archives: Flying

Eight weeks ago we started raising steel for our new hangars at the CAF SoCal location in Camarillo. Six weeks ago the longitudinal beams were up, four weeks ago the roof was on and concrete was ready to pour, three weeks ago the exterior walls were being installed, and two weeks ago interior walls were going up.

By last Thursday, October 1st,  all of the old ramp asphalt had been ripped up and grading begun for the new asphalt.

(Click for full-sized image.) Our two existing hangars on the left, 2/3 of the new hangars on the right. (The other third abuts the right-hand, old hangar.)

By Tuesday, October 6th, the final prep had begun for the area to be re-paved. It was a bit of a pain to have this unpaved for several days – any planes we needed to fly over that period had to be taken out before the asphalt was ripped up and then parked elsewhere on the airport for the duration.

The last big chunks of the hangar exteriors were going up – the huge, folding doors.

On Tuesday they only got the top half sections hung.

Today, the frames for these hangar doors were done and they were working on the third door, which is on the other side off to the left, leading off from the EAA’s portion of the hangar onto the ramp out on the back side of this hangar.

The first huge swaths of new asphalt were going in, which should allow us to move our planes in and out normally again tomorrow.

For the record, it was 91°F in Camarillo today, and that asphalt was a lot hotter than that as it was being laid down. You could feel the heat radiating from it twenty feet away. I do not envy this guy that job.

Here’s a detail of the new folding doors – for scale, look at the two workers inside on the left. We have some big airplanes, we need some big doors on big hangars!

Edit: Originally titled “Steel Rising (Part Four)” by mistake – corrected because I’m apparently obsessively anal.

Six weeks ago we started raising the steel for our hangar expansion out at the CAF SoCal location in Camarillo. Four weeks ago the longitudinal beams were in place. Two weeks ago the roof was going on and the ramp concrete was ready to pour. Last week the exterior walls were being put up.

(Click to view full size image.) About 99% of the skin on the exterior walls are up now, the only parts remaining being above the hangar doors. That will be done after the doors are installed.

From the north end right near the taxiway, the huge space in front of us is the CAF (our) portion of the hangar, almost twice as big as our existing two hangars combined.

We’ll be able to fit two B-25s in here at once, along with many of our “smaller” planes.

It really is impressively huge, especially for an outfit our size. I’ve seen bigger on my trips up to the NASA Armstrong facilities on Edwards Air Force Base and at Palmdale where SOFIA is kept – but that’s NASA and the Air Force. For the local group of a non-profit, this is a big deal.

Down at the south end, the wall separating our section from the one being leased by the EAA was going up today.

The EAA (where I’m also a member) will have much more space and a much better facility than they had before. Everybody wins!

The small-ish middle section shown in the foreground, between these support columns and the EAA’s space, will be used for storage and repairs on our ground equipment (which up until now has all been left outside) as well as (probably) machine shop areas and parts storage. It’s also where the restrooms and store rooms will be, as well as facilities to be used by caterers and other hosts when the space is rented out for other functions. (We rent out our museum hangar for things like weddings, movie and photo shoots, charity events, high school reunions, birthday parties, and so on. It’s a big chunk of our annual operating income. I’m told this new hangar will be the largest available meeting space in Ventura County when it’s completed.)

Five weeks ago we started raising the steel for our hangar expansion out at the CAF SoCal location in Camarillo. Three weeks ago and last week I gave updates.

It’s looking like a hangar. A really BIG hangar. Here the two large doors (they’ll be on the right) head out onto our ramp.

Down at this end the door will head out the opposite way, onto the EAA’s ramp.

(As always, click to enlarge to get the full panorama.) Starting the interior work (plumbing, electrical, etc) next week, maybe? We’re almost there!

Four weeks ago we started raising the steel superstructure of our two new hangars out at the CAF SoCal location in Camarillo. Two weeks ago I gave an update. Then I went away for ten days or so.

Wow, have they made a lot of progress! Another few weeks and it will be done.

The roof is on and the end walls are almost finished. Here you can see where the two huge hangar doors will go for our portion of the hangar.

The rebar is in for the first section of the new ramp to be poured on Saturday.

The new storm drain position required some grading in front of the new hangars.

While we have cement on our ramp in front of our existing hangars for about forty feet (or so), we have asphalt from there to the taxiway. That asphalt is in lousy condition, so it’s all being ripped up and replaced with cement.

At the south end, by the street, the hangar doors will face out the other way onto the ramp there. This end of the new hangars will be occupied by the local EAA chapter and the AAF’s B-17, “Executive Suite.”

A view of the south end from across the street. The edge of our existing hangars (and parking lot) are just visible on the right.