A New FBO Facility in New York
Seneca Flight Operations, a division of the Seneca Foods Corporation, was created as the corporate flight department for its parent organization in 1956. It is also the Fixed Base Operator and manager for the Penn Yan/Yates County Airport in the Finger Lakes country of Western New York State. The company offers aircraft management, executive air charter service and FAA-approved maintenance* and repair service to industries in the surrounding region.
“Most of the aircraft we manage are not owned by companies bases here,” says Paul Middlebrook, president of Seneca Flight Operations. “But we are centrally located in this region- easily able to serve citied such as Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca and Elmira." The company now operated from a bright new 27,520-square-foot hangar built by Butler Builder Chrisanntha Construction Corporation, of Gorham, New York. It manages seven jets and a twin-engine propeller aircraft: two Falcons, five Citations and a Baron. The new facility was an urgent response to the growing aircraft management activity in the company's service area even before the events of September 11th.
Seneca Flight Operations formerly was crowded into two interconnected facilities totaling 14,000-square-feet, which it still retains at the airport. “These buildings lacked the public amenities we needed and the smaller one was too small for the larger aircraft,” Middlebrook says.
During a recent expansion at the airport, Seneca Flight Operations decided that it wanted to be up and running in a new building as soon as the new infrastructure was in place. The company acquired the land, and began planning. “We knew roughly what we wanted,” says Middlebrook. “We drew up specifications and went public.” Chrisanntha Construction had the winning proposal for the design/build project. The builder was already well known to Middlebrook and his parent company.
Seneca Foods Corporation is in the vegetable processing business, and Chrisanntha had done quite a bit of work for them in the region, including a 312,000-square-foot warehouse. “Chrisanntha also built a number of hangars in our area, and I was familiar with the quality of their buildings,” Middlebrook says.
He and Chrisanntha's Kevin Bragg quickly got down to work. “We had numerous meetings during the design process- not only with Chrisanntha, but with some of their subcontractors,” Middlebrook recalls.
In the hangar, Seneca Flight wanted space for larger planes, doors that could open in either direction, and an all-white interior. For it's duties as an FBO and air charter service, the company needed an addition to provide public space for passengers and transient pilots, an operations area with offices and a pilot area, and workspace for it's maintenance department.
“We value-engineered the project to give Seneca flight the most for their money,” says Bragg. This involved using a Widespan structural framing system for an unobstructed interior, and consulting the engineers at Butler's Annville plant. The extra-wide track for the stacking doors required a uniquely designed endwall truss and extra framing.
The building also has a long-lasting MR-24 standing seam roof system and a Shadowall wall system, with 6 inches of insulation in both. To conserve energy, the hangar portion is heated with radiant gas heat.
Because Seneca Flight needed the new facility as quickly as possible, Chrisanntha worked closely with Yates County's Industrial Development Agency. “We were almost ready with the hangar before they had power to the building, but it was operational by the time the building was complete,” Bragg says.
The project was complete in just five months- on time, on budget and to Seneca Flight's satisfaction. Middlebrook says everyone is proud of the clean, bright hangar, which has made the pilots' and mechanics' jobs much easier. “We needed this building five years before we got it. It's made such as difference in productivity.”
The new building also helped the company increase business. While the private charter business peaked right after the terrorist attacks, there has been a continuing interest since then.
“People want to know who they are sitting beside” We're also getting more inquires because of the added delays on the commercial airlines,” Middlebrook says.
Although the new facility has been doing an admirable job answering the needs of Seneca Flight's clients, Middlebrook admits he's already thinking about adding more space. If he has another opportunity to build, he knows where he'll turn for help.
In a business that focuses upon saving time, Middlebrook appreciates Chrisanntha's efficiency. “If there was a delay on the job, it was waiting for the concrete to cure so they could apply the special white floor paint,” he says. “Chrisanntha was very good to work with. They did an excellent job, and this new hangar has been a godsend.”
Caption:
Seneca Flight Operations
Butler's Builder: Chrisanntha Construction Corporation, Gorham, New York
Size: 27,500 square feet, including 5,120-office/public space.
Butler Systems: Widespan structural framing system
MR-24 standing seam roof system
Shadowall wall system
*repair station #FFORO66I
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September 2002
