New private airplane hangar being built at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport

Pilot Allan Jones said the hangar is being built now. Jones said he’s a flight instructor for Air Transport Services Group at Wilmington Air Park.

He declined to say what he’s investing into the hangar.

“We have a great team of people putting it up,” he said. LJB Engineering and Level MB Construction, of Troy, are involved in the project.

This summer, Miami Twp. approved the proposal for an 8,500-square-foot airport hangar, a plan that included the building, minimal parking and an access drive. There is no connection to a public roadway.

The property is just over an acre, located along Springboro Pike, south of Austin Boulevard.

Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport is leasing the property to Jones’ company, Swift Air LLC, which has the same Kettering address as Jones’ Moraine Ridge Lane residence. Jones said the company is not a business.

The airport has about 530 acres in all.

“We have a light twin (engine plane) and a little single-engine antique 46 Swift,” Jones said in an interview. He said he flies them about 75 to 100 hours a year.

Jones said he needs the hangar for his personal airplanes, but he’s open to leasing the space to others, possibly a corporate client, if that opportunity arises. Township documents specify that the hangar is meant for private use.

Construction crews have been battling cold and high winds in recent days.

“Right now, it’s a little rugged obviously,” he said. “We have the structural steel going up, but it’s tough working out there, I have to tell you. It’s brutal.”

Construction is expected to be complete in June 2025.

The airport is no stranger to development. Alex Carlson, Miami Twp.’s community development director, said the township’s 2018 airport layout plan provided an area for smaller hangars along Springboro Pike (Ohio 741) in the area the current Swift Air hangar is being built.

Buildings for real estate investment company Connor Group have been prominent near the increasingly busy intersection of Ohio 741 and Austin for years, including the company’s $18 million headquarters.

In 2019, the township heard plans for two small hangars at the city of Dayton-owned airport. A hangar built by Dayton in 2017 cost about $1 million while one built later by the Connor Group was valued at about $5 million, township records show.

The Connor Group’s 17,000-square-foot hangar includes business and storage space and boasts an exterior similar to the headquarters building.

The airport has also served as the home of Wright “B” Flyer, Inc., a nonprofit that maintains a hangar museum honoring the Wright Brothers.