Rostraver Airport employee John Willey knows that renting out hangars for commercial and recreational aircraft works.
"All the renters seem to be pleased with them, especially because they don't have to come up with the $40,000 to $50,000 to build one of their own," said Willey of 20 T-hangars owned by the Westmoreland County Airport Authority that are designed for smaller planes.
"We have a waiting list of 10 to 14 pilots. If we had 50 hangars to rent, we could rent them all."
Based on the size of the hangar, monthly rental rates currently range for $250 to $500, Willey said. That equates to additional annual revenue of roughly $83,000 to run Rostraver Airport, said WCAA Executive Director Gene Lakin.
"As operating expenses rise annually, it's become all the more important to create new sources of revenue. We've found that renting out hangars is a good way to do it," said Lakin, adding that six more hangars to be built at Rostraver by January will generate another $25,000 per year.
That makes it all the more logical that Lakin would consider trying the same thing at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity Township. On Tuesday, he learned that Pennsylvania will help the WCAA with $500,000 in 50-50 capital budget grant funding to finance construction of rental hangars there.
The state money is part of nearly $6 million released from the capital improvement budget to nine airport projects statewide that are designed to create jobs and ensure safer and more efficient airport operations.
"It's part of what we call our annual 'August release,' " said Ed Buczeskie, grants manager for the state Department of Transportation's Bureau of Aviation. "In June, airports apply for the money based on need and eligibility."
It comes at a good time, Lakin said, as a federally funded $1.8 million site preparation/taxiway construction project necessary to build such hangars is nearing completion.
"Hangars are not eligible for federal funding, 95 percent of which is from the Federal Aviation Administration, so we decided to see if any money was available from the state based on the potential for economic impact in the area," Lakin said. "This news is very timely and will tie in perfectly with our project. Sometimes things work out for us, and it did here."
The current project and the pending hangar construction will boost the total aviation package offered by Arnold Palmer Regional, Lakin said.
"This will not only aid commercial service, these projects address general aviation, including recreational pilots and corporate aircraft users."
Additional revenue from the rentals also could be of benefit in other ways.
"That could mean jobs in aviation-related business associated with new tenants," Lakin said. "When you bring new people onto the field, that means a few more sales, but it could also mean tourism dollars and a variety of other things that could be impactive economically."
Exactly how many hangars and what kind will be built at Arnold Palmer Regional will be determined in the coming months, Lakin said.
"Some hangars will be for aviation service businesses, aircraft maintenance, a flight school, and a radio shop," Lakin said. "That should make this attractive to potential renters in the future."
A site preparation study will be conducted this winter and construction of the hangars will most likely begin in the spring and end in late summer, Lakin said.
If the venture proves as successful as it is in Rostraver, Lakin said, the WCAA plans to petition the state for more funding.
"We intend to take advantage of state funding opportunities in the future if this is a success," Lakin said. "We were able to obtain this money based on good use of money in the past."
Of the nine state airports receiving money, two plan land acquisitions and the rest plan hangar and taxiway construction.
"Each one is its own unique case, and the state is trying for even distribution of the funding," Buczeskie said.
