Friends of Bellanca Airfield
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Friends of Bellanca Airfield |
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Bellanca AIRFIELD HANGAR RESTORATION New Life for an Old Hangar
Friends of Bellanca Airfield, Inc. (FoBA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving and restoring a 73-year-old aircraft hangar to honor the memory of pioneer aircraft designer Giuseppe Mario Bellanca. For over a quarter of a century the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation was on the cutting edge of innovative aircraft design, and a significant producer of quality American aircraft that set many performance and distance aviation records. This classic 1935 hangar, the last remaining structure of the once bustling Bellanca Airfield and manufacturing complex, is being restored to honor the memory of pioneer aircraft designer Giuseppe Mario Bellanca.
The Bellanca Airfield Hangar is an impressive structure, with a graceful arched roof that extends the length of the building. The original laminated wooden beam truss work survives and is in good condition. This intricate and impressive system provided a span large enough to accommodate the wide wingspans of aircraft. It housed Air Service Inc., the first full-service, public-use aviation center in Delaware, which operated successfully at Bellanca Field from 1928 until 1960.
Standing empty and receiving minimal maintenance, the impressive structure was in need of preservation and restoration. Friends of Bellanca Airfield, Inc. (FoBA) is active in restoring the Bellanca Field ASI hangar. The exterior restoration of the impressive Air Service hangar was funded by a grant from the U.S Department of the Interior Save America’s Treasures Program, and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDot). The hangar is nearing its final stages of exterior restoration under FoBA supervision, is listed on both the National and State of Delaware Registers of Historic Sites.
Trustees of New Castle Common, owners of the historic hangar, generously granted FoBA, Inc. a not-for-profit organization, a fifty-year lease on the hangar, located on Rte 273 at Centerpoint Blvd. in New Castle.
Listed on both the National and State of Delaware Registers of Historic Sites, it represents an important chapter in the history of New Castle, and will be developed as an Golden Age of aviation museum and technical learning center for youth as well as a gathering place for community events.
Interested individuals may contact FOBA by
email at contact@friendsofbellanca.org for more information
or membership data. Download a membership application here:
MEMBER APPLICATION Below are a number of photographs of
the 1935 Hangar, its 1928 predecessor, and the Bellaca Airfield: Original 1928 Air Services, Inc. Hangar Destroyed by fire in 1934 Regional Air Race 1928 with Numeruos Army Air Service planes New Air Services, Inc. Hangar Construction 1935 New Air Services, Inc. Hangar Air Service, Inc. Hangar, B.A.C. Factory and Airfield Current Hangar View Survey Drawing of Current Hangar Bellanca Airfield Delaware Historical Marker Map to Bellanca Airfield and Air Services, Inc. Site | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Friends of Bellanca Airfield, Inc. PO Box 267 New Castle, DE 19720-0267
Send comments about this web site to: webmaster@friendsofbellanca.org ©2004-2005 Friends of Bellanca Airfield, Inc. |
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