Inside MRO: How Heavy-Duty Hangars Withstand Extreme Weather and Earthquakes

Ghafari’s global aircraft maintenance facility portfolio was the focus of an Inside MRO article – “How Heavy-Duty Hangars Withstand Extreme Weather and Earthquakes” – that describes how hangars are being designed to endure challenging climates while providing safer, more comfortable working environments for maintenance staff.

The article highlights American Airlines’ new maintenance hangar at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, which was designed specifically to endure the city’s chilly winter weather, along with Turkish Airlines’ in-progress MRO complex, which is being constructed in a seismic-sensitive area. It also features multiple soundbites from Ted Oberlies, Senior Vice President of Ghafari’s Aviation Group.

“Hangars have to be designed for a certain amount of uplift,” Ted explains. “So, for instance, if you open the hangar doors and there’s a wind incident, the forces actually kind of inflate the building like a balloon, and the roof structure and walls have to be designed to absorb that energy and to resist any structural failure.”

He goes on to describe how continued advancements in smart building technology will improve energy efficiency and ultimately drive greater productivity in these large-scale facilities.

“The other thing that will affect the operations in hangars is better Wi-Fi technology and the ability to move data wirelessly,” he says. “That’s an improvement that will increase productivity and, frankly, all the aspects of the building—including safety—will be aided by advancements in wireless communication.”

Read the full article here.