Aug. 22--GULFPORT -- The Brown Condor Association wants to save one of the last World War II airplane hangars in the country, but they're going to need $7 million or more.
Hurricane Katrina's winds skinned the old hangar at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. The Airport Authority has $3.2 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for repairs, but commissioners said the total cost is estimated at $10 million to $11 million.
Francisco Gonzalez told commissioners his group hopes to raise the money. So far, he said, they have $250,000. The association's goal is to create a museum that would honor Mississippi's pilots and astronauts.
Gonzalez said a museum at the hangar would also be a boon for tourism.
"To think of letting go of a beautiful museum . . . Why?" Gonzalez asked commissioners.
Commissioners said FEMA rejected the airport's request to use the federal money for mothballing the hangar until it could be saved. The building is unrepaired and continues to deteriorate.
"It's an eyesore," Commissioner Travis Lott said.
Gonzalez said he hopes to arrange a meeting between officials at the airport and The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, which might be able to help.
The airport must return the FEMA money at the end of 2014 if it is not spent.
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