The Arkansas Aeronautics Commission recently approved a $42,099 matching grant for roof repair at Hot Springs Memorial Field’s Community Hangar (Hangar A12). The hangar, reconstructed at HOT in 1946, is the airport’s oldest building. It is currently utilized as a storage structure for millions of dollars’ worth of various size aircraft, ranging from small planes to larger jets. It is also used to protect transient aircraft.
Roof repair is one of several repair projects scheduled for Hangar A12 in the next 24 months with an estimated total cost of $150,000. Other repairs include window pane replacement (recently completed), installation and replacement of roof drains and downspouts (September 2015); hangar door repairs and upgrades (2016) and installation of heaters and improved lighting (2016-2017).
The roof repair project will consist of placing a roof coating which meets the criteria for forming a fully adhered elastomeric membrane that encapsulates, stops all leaks, and protects the metal roof from further corrosion. The project should extend the building’s life for another twenty years.
The required 50% grant match ($42,099) for the $84,198 project will come from the airport’s maintenance budget.
HOT also recently received notice of a $38,000 congressional discretionary fund grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), combined with $10,000 in non-primary entitlement funds, for a total of $48,000 to study options to improve the airport’s Runway 5 safety area.