American Airlines Hangar 2 Relocation

Project: American Airlines Hangar 2
Client: American Airlines | W.E. O’Neil Construction
Services: Mechanical Construction
Industry: Transportation, Aviation
Location: O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL

Autumn Construction Services, Inc. was prime mechanical contractor for the relocation and replacement of American Airlines Hangar 2 at O’Hare International Airport. This project was constructed for AA Corporate Real Estate under contract through W.E. O’Neil Construction Company of Chicago, IL.

The 11-story facility consisted of a 165,000 SF dual entry aircraft hangar, the largest at O’Hare Airport, which can accommodate both narrow and wide-body aircraft including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  The facility also includes 65,000 SF of maintenance shops, training rooms and other shop spaces.

Autumn was responsible for mechanical construction of the facility including HVAC, mechanical piping and building controls.  The mechanical equipment included eight massive 85,000 CFM direct fired heating and ventilating units for make-up air and heating of the hangar.  These units are able to quickly recover building temperatures during the Chicago Winter as soon as hangar doors are closed.  Autumn also installed various piping systems including compressed air, aircraft air start and natural gas in the facility.

Overall, this project was a challenging build with piping, HVAC and air moving equipment installations located over 100 feet off the floor. The general contractor used LEAN construction scheduling methods to maximize communication and coordination between various trades to achieve the Owner’s schedule for occupancy and use of the hangar.