When it's done, the new hangar at the Cheyenne Regional Airport will provide a secure home for the fleet of aircraft.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - By the middle of May, the state's four airplanes will have a new home.

"The floor is still curing," Division of Aeronautics Administrator Shelly Reams said.

When it's done, the no-frills hangar on Jerry Olson Field at the Cheyenne Regional Airport will provide a secure home for the aircraft.

"Security is so important," Reams said. "Think of the people we fly. We can control who's in and out of the hangar."

To fly into some airports, Reagan-National outside of Washington, D.C., for instance, some security checks have to be done before the plane even leaves the ground in Wyoming, she said.

The hangar provides other benefits as well; the Aeronautics Division now has its own fuel farm so it can buy fuel wholesale, which means savings for the state, Reams said.

"We'll be able to provide a better place to perform maintenance," she said.

That's why the inside of the building, including the floor, is bright white.

If any drips are happening, they will be seen immediately, she said.

Likewise, no bolts or other parts removed from the planes during servicing will be overlooked.

"The hangar project was a fun project to work on," Cheyenne Regional Airport Manager Scott Hinderman said. "It was great to work with the state and contractors."

The only kink in the system, Hinderman said, was the persistent winter weather that delayed getting the project done.

"There were many days where they couldn't work out there," he said.

On Thursday, the Aeronautics Division paid $2.2 million to the airport for the project.

And from now on the state facility will pay a monthly ground rent fee, Hinderman said, which will mean additional revenue for the publicly owned airport.

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