Start Due Soon on $1-Million Addition of 60 Hangar Spaces at Pacoima Airport

A $1.1-million construction project to increase hangar space at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima will begin within a month, an airport official said Thursday.

The project, funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and the County of Los Angeles, is expected to create about 60 hangar spaces and will clear land for more aircraft tie-down slots.

Combined with 30 spaces already under construction, the new spaces will increase the total from the existing 160 to about 250 in the next year, said John Lounsbery, the airport manager.

The county-owned airport has a waiting list of more than 200 for hangar spots, reflecting a need throughout the county, according to Lounsbery.

“There’s a 200-plus list that probably means multiple years of waiting for space right now at the airport,” he said.

Closing Spurs Scramble

The closing last August of San Fernando Airport sent about 250 pilots scrambling for tie-down and hangar space.

“For the private small-airplane owner, it’s tough to find a place to put an airplane these days,” Lounsbery said. “At airports it’s kind of like the situation at the marinas, where it is crowded with boats.”

There are 714 aircraft based at Whiteman, an increase of nearly 100 from a year ago. Since the closing of San Fernando Airport, Whiteman air traffic has increased by as much as 39% in some months. In May there were 15,000 takeoffs and landings.

The airport project was approved June 25 by the county Board of Supervisors and will include road and lighting improvements. The contract was awarded to Compton-based Clark Construction & Maintenance.

Will Lease Land

The work includes preparing airport land for hangar construction. The airport then will lease the land to private contractors who will build the hangars and rent the spaces, Lounsbery said.

Also under way at Whiteman is an FAA study of whether an air traffic control tower is needed. The airport now operates under uncontrolled airspace regulations, and pilots visually determine when to take off and land.

The initial FAA study showed that the airport is about 60,000 airport operations short of the 200,000 generally considered an indication of a need for a tower.

“But that’s not the final word,” Lounsbery said. “It’s only a criterion for determining the need.”