Renovation Of USAF Hangar May Lead To Air Taxi Service... It May Not, Too

A remnant of the Cold War may soon give way to the future of general aviation, as ground was broken this weekend on a $2 million "ground-breaking, skin-changing" renovation project at Westover Metropolitan Airport.

Under the program, a hangar used in the 1950s to house Strategic Air Command tanker planes will become an aircraft maintenance facility. The hangar is one of several such buildings at the facility, which shares space with Westover Air Reserve Base -- now home to C-5A Galaxy transport jets.

According to The Republican newspaper, city officials are attempting to lure POGO Jet, Inc, a Connecticut-based air taxi service with plans to begin service in the next few months. The company intends to fly a fleet of VLJs for corporate customers hoping to use smaller airports to avoid the hassles of commercial air travel.

There may be a problem with that plan, however. While POGO has opened a small development office at the airport, the company has not yet announced a firm startup date. The company also announced last month that airline veteran Donald Burr, who founded the late People Express, had left the company.

POGO officials were unavailable for comment, according to The Republican. The renovation work should be completed by June 2006, and will include the installation of fire suppression systems, new heating and lighting, and a chemical recovery system.

While admitting the renovation work began with hopes of luring POGO Jet, officials maintain the future success of the project does not hinge on that company's plans. "If not POGO, then somebody else will be here, we're convinced of it," said state Sen. Michael R. Knapik. "We're going to have a 21st century, state-of-the-art facility."

"It's a ground-breaking, skin-changing project," said Allan W. Blair, CEO of Westover Metropolitan Development Corp.

The FAA will foot $450,000 of the bill for the project over the next three years, utilizing funds normally used to improve airport security. The Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission will contribute more than $1 million, with the balance financed by the privately-held Westover Metropolitan Development Corp.

FMI: www.airnav.com/airport/KCEF, www.flypogo.com