New Hangar to Better Accommodate Air Force’s C-5M Galaxy Fleet

A/Z Corporation

In 2006, the Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts, was chosen as one of the three bases in the United States to service the entire C-5M Super Galaxy fleet of jets. To keep technicians out of the elements while conducting maintenance and to expand the base’s capability to fit a whole C-5M cargo jet, federal officials approved a new $46 million indoor hangar. In September 2021, Cianbro and A/Z were awarded a joint-venture contract for constructing the new 105,000-square-foot hangar, projected to span two years.

In addition to demolishing the previous building, the team is installing concrete foundations, floor slab, and metal sandwich panels on the hangar area, electrically operated hangar doors, fire protection and alarm systems, and utilities. Due to the size of the C-5M Galaxy cargo ships, which are 65 feet tall and have a wingspan of 222 feet, the hangar doors are roughly 70 feet tall, and the project requires more than 300 concrete piers, each made up of 600 cubic yards of concrete. Similarly, the building’s trusses weigh up to 98,000 pounds, are almost 300 feet long, and are placed roughly eight stories in the air.

“This is the greatest single-span truss facility we are building as a joint venture,” says Mark Caccio, A/Z Senior Project Manager. “Coordination is one of the biggest challenges on this project, which involves massive structural steel, metal-panel siding, and roof components. These pieces must be modeled before you even start erecting the building.”

Once completed in 2023, the hangar will be a state-ofthe-art facility at the Westover Base, which is the largest employer in Chicopee.

“This team, made up of Cianbro and A/Z team members, is a well-oiled machine right now,” adds Caccio. “The collaboration between team members has been great, and one of the best parts of this job is just watching the steel go up. It’s amazing because of its massive size. It’s not something you see every day.”