Photo by Simon Hackett
A new steel hangar revolutionizes the aviation storage on an 80.9 ha (200 acre) property at the Vale, located in northwest Tasmania at the base of Mount Roland.
The property features a grass runway that spans a 1,300 m (4,265 ft) swath across the land, making it the largest private runway in Tasmania. The runway has been part of the Vale for over 50 years, and when Simon Hackett, an Australian technology entrepreneur, purchased the property, it came with two small hangars. However, the hangars weren’t big enough to house the fleet of planes Hackett owns, including multiple motor gliders and a Pilatus PC-12 NGX. A larger structure was needed.
Photo by Simon Hackett
The new Vale hangar, built by Bison Constructions of Scottsdale, TAS, is 32 x 24 m (105 x 78 ft). The steel hangar is covered in a shiny steel cladding on the exterior, has a white epoxy-coated floor and includes a single window looking out to Mount Roland and the surrounding landscape.
“The whole environment is really ‘clean,’” says Hackett. “It is a wonderful space.”
The hangar also includes a 20 x 6 m (65.6 x 19.7ft) hydraulic door. The door was installed offset across the front of the hangar, without blocking the door, so the larger plane could be moved in and out easily.
Ease of use was the main reason Hackett when with the hydraulic door. Over the years he had struggled with many hangar doors and wanted to avoid such issues with his own hangar at the Vale.
“I wanted something that let me just press a button and have the door open, no effort on my part and with no issues about maintaining door tracks on sliding doors,” Hackett says.
Hackett says, “The door has done just what we wanted. It is outrageously big and yet operating it is just super easy. It transforms the utility of our hangar.”
Someday, Hackett hopes to use the hangar for more than just aircraft storage. The hangar could also become a great events space.
“One nice aspect of our choice to use a single panel door is that when it opens, we get a six-meter-deep shade veranda over the opening, making it ideal for that potential secondary use as a wedding/music venue. We have a glorious view behind the hangar and a lovely open area for crowds to gather to watch a band play inside that door opening as a stage.”
