WESTFIELD – On Monday, a group looking to restore the second hangar at Barnes Regional Airport went before the city of Westfield’s Historical Commission to gain support for the project.
Renovating the hangar is of great interest to Westfield Vocational-Technical High School’s Aviation Advisory Board, which includes Barnes Regional Airport Manager Brian Barnes and Westfield Vocational-Technical Principal Stefan Czaporowski, as it would serve as the home for a proposed Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) maintenance program at Voc-Tech.
“We’re seeking some funding from the Community Preservation Commission to restore hangar two, which was built in 1939. It has fallen into disrepair and needs to be fixed,” said Barnes.
He added the board is composed of over 20 city business and education leaders who are lobbying hard to make this a reality.
“I’m on the subcommittee for property, and we’re taking a look at that.” said Barnes, who feels the hangar can fill multiple roles. “We can restore it historically, give it a tie to the past, and allow it to provide a function for the school. If we leave it like it is, it’s either going to be torn down or just sit the way it is till it deteriorates.”
As to the historical commission’s reaction to the proposal, Barnes is confident that they are behind it en masse, which he said is of the utmost importance.
“We can’t go forward unless the historical commission deemed it a historical hangar, which they did,” he said. “Without their support, it would be hard to go to the preservation committee and say ‘this is a really good idea.'”
Barnes desribed the commission as “very receptive, warm, and positive” about the group’s presentation.
“I haven’t seen an official reply – they were going to write a letter and let us know – but I completely anticipate that they’re going to support us,” he said, adding that he’s preparing a presentation for the next preservation committee on July 10.
Ken Dromgold, a corporate pilot for Bradley International Airport who has flown with Barnes in the past, has been selected to chair the board that is leading the charge to bring an A&P program to Westfield Voc-Tech.
“We’re hoping to introduce it (A&P) into the curriculum, and then there would be a lot more added to it. The idea is when a student graduates, they’ll have their A&P licensing.” Dromgold said of Westfield Vocational-Technical High School’s Aviation Advisory Board’s plans. “We’ve got some extremely talented folks on this board, with Brian (Barnes), Joe Mitchell (City Advancement Director), Sean Peterson from Embraer (Executive Jet Services), and Fran Ahern from GulfStream, among others.”
Dromgold said the board has subdivided into finance, real estate, and technical committees, handling the project’s fundraising, building, and curriculum needs.
“The real estate side is moving along at a lightning pace, finance and technical are doing the same.” he said, adding that the board is now searching for a consultant to ‘take charge, embrace it, and run with it.’ “We had our initial meeting with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) about 10 days ago. We’re having another one on the 24th and one shortly thereafter.”
Dromgold said that, as these meetings proceed, there are certain goals and steps which will need to be met, but that the project’s Principal Operations and Maintenance Inspector Jim Edwards has been ‘a guiding light’ for the board thus far.
“It’s up to us to step up to the plate, get a consultant on board, and get the program going,” he said.
“Brian Barnes and I looked at hangar two initially and it looked like it might be a lot of work to get it up to speed,” Mitchell said. “But through the pursuits of Don Nicoletti (of the city’s Airport Commission) bringing it before the historical commission, and next to the CPC, they’re going to apply for a grant and there may be some funds there.”
The grant would go towards fixing up the exterior of the building, namely it’s roof, windows and doors, which Mitchell said would go a long way towards achieving the board’s lofty goal.
“If we get it started from there, then maybe we can make up the rest and make it a viable place for the shop,” he said. “It’s a very large hangar and there’d be plenty of room for the students and other aircraft projects.”
Czaporowski is ecstatic about the speed with which the project is progressing.
“The FAA has approved our preapplication statement of intent to operate this Part 147 maintenance and technical school, and could you ask for a better shop than at the airport?” he said, adding that he doesn’t know much the project will cost at this time. “We don’t have an exact dollar figure yet, but we’ll have a proposal for CPC on the 10th for renovations.”
“We’re going to need to build classroom space based on what the FAA tells us. We’re openminded to using our own kids if necessary, but this is pretty exciting stuff and we’re pretty pumped about it.” Czaporowski added. “There’s a void in this industry they need workers in it, we’re hearing that from our business partners, and if we can create employees for them, you can’t ask for anything more. These are good paying jobs.”
Czaporowski said he envisions a program which he will be able to connect with Westfield State University”s Aviation Management concentration.
“We’re looking at if kids go into our program and they want to go into the management side of aviation, they would get right into Westfield State.” he said. “We’re trying to make good, positive connections that will have positive impact on the city.”
