Aerial History Showcased At Paine Field Hangar

Paul Allen’s new Flying Heritage Collection of rare, restored warbirds at Paine Field in Everett is appropriately housed in a restored 1949 hangar that shelters the 15 priceless aircraft and the thousands of people who visit each month.

On display since the museum opened June 6 are planes that represent dramatic technological changes during 1935 to 1945, a decade when aviation matured worldwide as the demands of wartime spurred innovations in aircraft design, engines and weapons.

Over the past 10 years, Allen’s teams from Vulcan Inc. have discovered, recovered and restored millions of dollars worth of historic aircraft now displayed in his collection, including a P-51D Mustang, British Spitfire, Japanese Zero, P-40C Tomahawk, Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat, Me-109 and P-47 iThunderbolt. The 51,000-sq-ft, barrel-roofed hangar, where the planes are exhibited, was used by Alaska Airlines decades ago as a maintenance facility, and later by the Air Force and various other tenants.

Seattle architect Owen Richards says that when he first saw the building, it was “pretty run down.” He says it took a lot of planning and a $5 million renovation to turn it into a bright, comfortable display area for the new aviation museum. “Our challenge, working with Bayley Construction in Seattle, was to revitalize the hangar to meet the functional needs of the Flying Heritage Collection,” Richards adds. “There were no dramatic changes but many things had to be upgraded.”

The most noticeable problem was that all of the windows were covered with corrugated plastic sheets, which blocked most of the natural lighting.

Installing large new windows, along with new overhead lighting for the displays, solved that problem, Richards says.

“For the aged concrete floor, which was in bad shape, we found a way to grind the concrete to smooth it and create a polished looking surface,” he adds. “The hangar floor also slopes from end to end, which was a challenge for the contractor and the people putting up the displays.”

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The worn metal roof was upgraded with a protective poly-membrane coating on the outside and the installation of heavy, white-coated insulation on the inside walls and ceiling.

Another challenge was finding a way to accommodate the lobby and administrative offices for Executive Director Adrian Hunt and his staff along one side of the hangar. Richards was able to upgrade the existing entrance area for a reception desk, gift shop and wall displays of historic aviation photos.

On another side of the hangar, Richards had large windows installed so visitors could look at the hangar’s aviation displays as they drove in, particularly the German Me-163B Komet just inside the windows.

The hangar was selected not only for displaying the aircraft in characteristic surroundings but also because most of Allen’s planes have been meticulously restored to flying condition and the hangar’s giant doors still roll open whenever aircraft are scheduled for their periodic flying time.

“It’s hard to believe that this old hangar could ever look this good,” says Bill Dolan, deputy director in charge of operations at Paine Field. “They’re made great use of it.”