Okay, so it has been a long time since our last update. But I think you can understand when I say what has been going on –
We had to move.
Longtime Facebook followers might recall that last year, on our original Facebook page, we posted an update saying that the airport was going to end our lease. Said update did not stay up long, as I had mentioned details about our neighbors who also had to move, but preferred it remain private.
For many years, Hangar 3 of Asheville Regional Airport was our home. Located next door to the Civil Air Patrol, our arrangement was a special one, based around the fact that we fixed up a hangar originally in very bad shape. Since Asheville, being one of the more upscale cities in the American South, has greatly expanded in recent years, the airport authority decided to implement a $400 million expansion program to increase the size of the airport by some 150 percent. As a result, Hangars 1, 2, and 3 are all to be destroyed.
Spokeswoman Tina Kinsey phrased it this way:
Commercial aviation is the key driver of revenue for our airport and is vastly important to our region’s residents and the economic strength of western North Carolina, so we must utilize our aeronautical land closest to the terminal to meet commercial aviation needs, especially as commercial air service capacity continues to expand.
In theory, the plan adds “areas of development suitable for more general aviation hangars in the future.” However, any new general aviation infrastructure requires that said hangars be built independently, leasing the land. Signature Aviation, who currently handles the general aviation side of the airport, has no plans to replace the razed hangars.
We were not initially informed of the details involved with the airport’s expansion. Instead, we were given a notice by Signature to be out of the hangar by the end of 2024, following an attempt to raise the rent. This went away after airport authorities clarified that we would not need to be out until July 2025. There was talk of us potentially being able to move to another hangar on the field. Likewise, there was also talk of the airport potentially changing their minds about the fate of Hangar 3. Both of these proved unfounded. It turns out there was never any real possibility of us staying at Asheville Regional Airport.
This final clarification did not happen until February, with us having to be out following the weekend of 19 April. The timing on this was awful. Despite having over 11,000 followers, Facebook shut down our page in September for reasons that remain unclear, destroying our ability to effectively reach out to the community. The devastation of Hurricane Helene, while not physically affecting the project, made locating a new home all that more difficult.
It was not until the very last moment, seemingly, that we were able to find a new home.
Monday was the day of the big move. And everything is still scattered about the floor, with hundreds of parts still packed away in boxes. So, there really is not much to show yet. But at least we have a new home.
Our new location is not far from the old one. As before, you cross Col Robert K. Morgan Bridge – named for the pilot of B-17F Memphis Belle, who was an Asheville native – only to pass the airport and drive on a bit. We are now located in Horse Shoe, North Carolina, just down the road from the summer camp Camp Highlander. Because of this location’s relative reclusiveness, we are now going to separate our mailing address from our physical address.
It will take some time to get things situated. Special thanks are due to Donnie Nodine, Dean Harris, and Eric Miller for helping us move, as it took several trips back and forth with our small army of trucks and trailers to get everything. When all is said and done, however, I think this place will be incredible. The building is larger than the old hangar and, more importantly, has its own bathroom. This latter shortcoming of the old hangar will not be missed, as wont be the hassle of having to buzz in visitors through airport security.
It is hard to overstate how much stress this has placed on all of us, and I hope you can sympathize with the work involved overshadowing our regular updates.
The Hangar Thirteen Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit charity and donations toward this project are tax deductible. If you can spare a little to help this project, you can guarantee that you will see the results on Facebook and here on our website.
You can contribute through the Donate page or, to avoid a PayPal fee, you can send something via the mail to:
Gerad Allen Blume
Hangar Thirteen Foundation
442 Old Chalk Bed Road
Batesburg, SC 29006
Volunteers are also always welcome. In fact, you need not be an Asheville resident – you can work from home! Persons skilled with metal fabrication, machining, CAD modeling, metal casting, 3D scanning, and laser/waterjet cutting, are particularly helpful. Just reach out to us to get started.
Keep the show on the road!