An airplane’s engine buzzes as it gets ready to take off from the runway, however, those on the ground don’t take notice.
They are too busy exploring one of the Vernon Airport’s newest buildings, known as Hangar 44.
With its slick industrial dark blue steel exterior, Coldstream Helicopters’ new home is even more impressive inside.
Through the front doors into its foyer is a new cut-tile mural of a helicopter flying over a mountainous vista.
“It is something you have to see,” said Coldstream Helicopters’ president Robert Gallagher, who with his business partners Kris Oakden and Don Friesen, held a grand opening party at the facility May 24.
The mural, styled in muted blues and beiges and made from industrial-strength porcelain tile takes up the whole floor of the foyer and was designed by local artist Wendy Penner and cut by tile layer Brian Chard.
It is just one of the added touches of the state-of the-art building on Tronson Road.
Construction on the hangar began last June, and it is now being used to house the company’s growing fleet of helicopters, its maintenance shop, as well offices, a meeting room, and a “tech” room with security equipment including video cameras.
The hangar was built in particular for a hydraulic crane that sits on the ceiling of the maintenance area and can handle up to five tons.
“It’s now so much easier for us to disassemble a helicopter as our company was built on a maintenance foundation. We still do a lot of third-party maintenance and repair work,” said Gallagher.
Originally from Banff, Gallagher is also a helicopter pilot. He started in the business with Oakden, originally from Coldstream, as a mechanic. In 2011, the men partnered with Calgary businessman Friesen and bought their first helicopter.
“It was initially used for firefighting,” said Oakden, adding the two men had to learn quickly about putting out forest fires when they were called to the a blaze in the Creston Valley a few years ago.
“We had three to four hours to get down there and by then it was full on. We went from two people to 30. It was an exercise in patience learning the ropes,” added Gallagher.
Besides providing emergency services, Coldstream Helicopters now operates transport services from its bases, including Vernon and Golden, daily, and has also grown to accommodate the heli-skiing, film and tourism industries.
“We now have 13 pilots and spend our winters doing contract work, mostly for the heli-ski industry. Our summers are still spent firefighting, but now we are Canada-wide, and we still do custom work,” said Gallagher.
With a number of varying sized helicopters, from the Bell 212, which can seat up to 14 passengers, to the Eurocopter AS 350 B2, which seats four, the company is about to add to its fleet with a new chopper that is being shipped from Japan in pieces and will be assembled at the hangar.
“Our customers are looking for different options,” said Oakden. “Safety is our main factor. We were built on a safety foundation. We now have a full avionic shop and we can now even do radio repair work for the flying club, which is helpful for local flyers.”
“When we first started, we didn’t think it would grow like this. It’s been an incredible journey,” added Gallagher.
