SBA Invites the Community to Provide Input Regarding the Future of the Historic Hangars
Santa Barbara Airport invites the community to participate in an Open House regarding the General Western Aero Hangars on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.
Attendees can drop by anytime between 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to provide feedback, explore exhibits, and discuss potential fundraising opportunities to support the rehabilitation of the hangars.
Located near the intersection of Fairview and Hollister Ave, these two historic hangars were originally constructed in 1931 at the genesis of Santa Barbara Airport. As they stand, the hangars need significant restoration and are not currently in use.
To determine how these hangars will be used in the future, Santa Barbara Airport is seeking feedback from the community on ideas and preferred uses during this Open House.
On April 30, 2024, the Santa Barbara City Council reviewed the history of the hangars, heard public comments, and directed staff to proceed with public outreach to gauge public opinion on uses for the hangars and to gather options to seek out funding opportunities.
General Western Aero Hangars Open House
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Direct Relief Conference Room
6100 Wallace Becknell Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93117
For more information about the General Western Aero Hangars and to sign up for updates, visit FlySBA.com/GWAHangars.
Current & historic pix, along with options for the hangars that are on the FlySBA.com/GWAHangars link are both interesting and encouraging. I’m glad to see that serious consideration is being given by SBA.
I’m curious about how the flood risk there will be affected by flood control measures. If the downstream flow capacity is greater than that upstream, would the hangar area still be at high flood risk? Might flood diversion walls mitigate flood risk? Could rebuilding include measures to make the structures and any uses flood tolerant?
Every time I see the surface there being left to deteriorate, SBA’s lack of transient GA parking comes to mind.
John ✈ thanks for the reminder about the https://flysba.santabarbaraca.gov/projects/general-western-aero-hangars page. Agreed with most of your concerns, then stumbled on the last part “…lack of transient GA parking…” (got me there!?)? https://baspartsales.com/blog/top-10-most-popular-general-aviation-aircraft/
hope that’s where you were gong with that as it was really bugging me 🙂
?
At SBA, GA can only pay “full service” to park. GA (General Aviation) refers to basically everything except scheduled airlines. Those flying newer GA planes & jets usually want and can afford full service. The majority of planes are older piston powered aircraft, and many (most?) who’d like to visit our town for meal and meander just don’t. They’ll go to Santa Ynez or other airports with free or inexpensive parking.
We have great full service parking at SBA, with two options. We also offer Self-Serve fuel for piston GA, on a large area near the control tower that could provide many “self-service” parking spots for small planes.
All the factors related to small piston aircraft at SBA are complex, and a focus for ongoing dialog. It’s not directly related to our historic hangars, but anyone interested in more information could start with this from AOPA, the leading aviation industry non-profit:
Santa Barbara airport defends its parking fee policy
AOPA asks city officials to intervene
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2020/january/13/santa-barbara-airport-defends-its-parking-fee-policy
For more history about the hangars, click on this link.-
https://goletahistory.com/two-hangars/
A small museum to teach visitors about Santa Barbara’s history here during WWII would be a great teaching aid!
Such a museum might also feature history of car racing at the airport.
Car displays and shows would be a great attraction too. I’d been living here for decades before learning about the car races here.
Yes! Our whole aerospace industry for that matter! That’s partly why I mentioned having transient GA parking there. The ability to fly in and visit the museum would be a big draw for pilots. It would generate extra income for the museum, Goleta, Santa Barbara, and the whole central coast.