New Burnet hangar could be regional hub for aircraft maintenance

Burnet is building a new 12,000-square-foot hangar at the municipal airport, with discussions underway about its potential use for aircraft maintenance. File photo
The city of Burnet is building a 12,000-square-foot hangar at its municipal airport, expected to be completed by the spring. The hangar will not only expand the space for larger aircraft, it could also become a hub for maintenance services and boost the city’s economy.
The Burnet City Council on Jan. 14 discussed how the hangar could fill a regional gap in turbine engine maintenance, which has a strong demand, according to Airport Manager Adrienne Feild.
“There’s a void in our surrounding areas of maintenance shops that can handle turbine engines,” she told the council. “If our maintenance shop can expand, there’s no doubt we’ll attract clients.”
The airport’s current maintenance facility is too small to accommodate larger aircraft, such as jets and turbine-engine planes. A larger space could potentially draw clients from hundreds of miles away.
Burnet City Manager David Vaughn said maintenance jobs for turbine engines are lucrative, with bills for work often ranging from $75,000 to $80,000 or more.
FIRE SAFETY
If the new hangar is used as a maintenance facility, the city will have to install safety equipment to meet fire code requirements.
“(National Fire Protection Act Section 409-standards for aircraft hangars) says if you’re going to do some sort of hazardous operation, you should have a suppression system,” Burnet Fire Marshal Johnny Caraway told DailyTrib.com. “It does give some latitude for alternative means to protect in case of a fire.”
The cost of a traditional sprinkler system is estimated at $200,000 to $250,000 per hangar.
Fire Chief Mark Ingram noted that installing sprinkler systems across all current and planned hangars could push total costs beyond $2 million, prompting exploration of alternative solutions.
During the council meeting, Ingram presented three options to meet fire code requirements:
- a high-expansion foam system;
- a sprinkler system;
- or the acquisition of an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) truck, a specialized vehicle designed for aviation emergencies that costs about $387,000.
The last was recommended as the most flexible and cost-effective solution.
“For what we currently have and plan to build, (the ARFF truck) is an option to save money,” Ingram told the council. “Spending $400,000 is better than $2 million for fire-suppression systems.”
The Burnet Municipal Airport, 2302 U.S. 281 South, currently has $1 million in reserves with $700,000 expected to be replenished through grants that City Manager Vaughn said could be used as a funding source if needed.