Airport dedicates new hangar, conducts Fly-In

By Melissa McCaghren

Slatonite GM

The historic airplanes at the Texas Air Museum won’t be quite as crowded anymore, thanks to a generous donor building them a new hangar.

The John Beck Hanger was dedicated Saturday morning (June 13) at the Slaton Municipal Airport.

It was part of a Fly-In lunch and sale that was conducted at the airport.

Malcolm Laing with the Slaton Municipal Airport said the project came about last year as he was searching for sponsors for the biennial Air Show.

“I approached John Beck of Beck Steel about if they would consider being my sponsor,” he said, adding that he was one of his students and taught him to fly.

Beck then looked at two of the hangars at the museum airport. “He goes, ‘There’s no room.’ I said, ‘Well’s that’s part of why we’re doing air shows, trying to raise money for a hanger,” said Laing, saying at the time Beck picked up the paperwork for sponsorship and thought on it. “About a week later he said ‘Well, we’ll sponsor the Air Show and we’ll build you a hangar.’”

For more information, please read the Thursday edition of The Slatonite.