Government

Whiting Field Maintenance Hangar

The Temporary Maintenance Hangar at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field, Florida, is a new 65,544-square-foot design-build complex for Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast, built to maintain and repair the Navy's new training helicopter. Three buildings make up the complex. The maintenance hangar is a 54,168-square-foot tension fabric structure (TFS) with 38 positions for helicopter maintenance and repair. A 9,216-square-foot administration building is assembled from 12 modular trailers, and a 2,160-square-foot shop and parts building is made up of three modular trailers set on grade. The hangar structure is designed to be dismantled at the end of five years, and its concrete slab is designed to remain and become helicopter storage.

The Jenkins Group was lead design professional, design manager, and designer of record on the design-build team. The firm prepared construction documents for architectural, interior, and civil design, and its team handled shop drawing review, consultation, and site visits during construction. The site drove much of the work. The civil design had to fit a limited area for stormwater retention and for storage of fire protection water, and the site required relocating utilities, including the flight line lighting systems. The hangar has a specialty foam fire protection system (AFFF), with a prefabricated fire pump house, a fire detection system, and trench drains and piping that divert and store fouled water after a triggering event. Low-velocity, high-volume fans and radiant heaters serve the hangar, with specialty electrical and compressed air systems for maintenance. Design was completed in mid-2020.