You don’t must be an astute observer to note that hangars—these utilitarian steel bins that home planes however typically lack character or function past storage—haven’t actually developed very a lot since, effectively…the very daybreak of aviation.
And that’s an issue. You see, most hangars at US airports have been constructed a long time in the past, again when the “massive” jets of the day appeared positively petite in comparison with a contemporary Gulfstream G700 or World 8000. These previous hangars weren’t designed for in the present day’s bigger wingspans, taller tails, and beefier fuselages. Making an attempt to suit an Extremely Lengthy-Vary jet in a few of them is like squeezing a yacht right into a rowboat’s dock.
So once I heard about BLACKBIRD PARTNERS, a Greenville, SC-based actual property developer shaking up the aviation world with their progressive hangar idea, known as The Nest, I used to be intrigued.
Think about hangars with 140-foot clear spans, 28-foot-tall doorways, and the flexibleness to deal with something from a Imaginative and prescient Jet to the largest long-range plane you should purchase (wanting a BBJ or ACJ). No squeezing. No crossing your fingers each time you tow in. And no renting house in a shared steel field alongside 5 different airplanes.
However The Nest is extra than simply spacious. BLACKBIRD PARTNERS, the staff behind this idea, has mixed their backgrounds in jet gross sales, high-end actual property improvement, and concrete development to create hangars that match the best way jet homeowners truly reside. We’re speaking semi-custom interiors from 3,500–4,000 sq. ft that may be personalised to your style, whether or not that’s a glossy boardroom, a golf simulator lounge, a full bar and kitchen, or perhaps a personal foyer.
As BLACKBIRD co-founder Carson Fox instructed me, “If you happen to’ve bought one of many nicest jets on this planet, why on earth would you park it in a glorified steel shed?”
“If you happen to’ve bought one of many nicest jets on this planet, why on earth would you park it in a glorified steel shed?”
BLACKBIRD co-founder Carson Fox
That was all of the invitation I wanted to take a seat down with Carson and his enterprise accomplice, Ryan Bedford, to debate how they’re shaking up the hangar recreation and why they assume The Nest is the long run for jet homeowners who need management, consolation, and a spot they’re proud to name house base.
AvGeekery: Let’s begin from the start. Inform us the story behind BLACKBIRD PARTNERS.
RB: We’re primarily a multifamily actual property developer primarily based in Wisconsin. Flats are our bread and butter—we construct, develop, and handle our personal items. However we’ve additionally bought this offshoot enterprise: a concrete firm that’s now the nation’s largest insulated concrete type contractor. It’s a specialised type of concrete we use to construct our residences, and it’s extremely sturdy.
As that facet of the enterprise grew, we discovered ourselves shifting groups everywhere in the nation—South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Utah, you identify it. That’s when aviation went from being a comfort to being a necessity for us.
So, we determined to construct our personal hangar improvement at our native airport. And, being actual property builders, we weren’t about to settle for the standard, tin can, crappy-looking hangar.
Every little thing we construct goes by way of architectural evaluate boards. Aesthetics matter to us. So we got here up with a design that’s a lower above—two fashions, identical look, that make individuals cease and say, “Now that’s what a hangar ought to appear like.” That idea caught individuals’s consideration, and that’s how I bought related with Carson by way of mutual acquaintances. He liked the product, liked the concept, and jumped on board instantly.
It’s not only a hangar. First, it’s constructed like a fortress—all concrete, rock-solid. Second, it’s a way of life shift. It’s not only a spot to park your aircraft. In just a few weeks, I’m internet hosting a buddy’s marriage ceremony in my hangar for 400 individuals. We’ve had pickleball tournaments, birthday events—I’ve even bought a bounce home in there proper now for my children. It’s an extension of your life, not only a storage unit. We expect it could actually get extra individuals enthusiastic about aviation as a way of life, as a substitute of settling for a similar previous rickety, rusty tin can most planes get shoved into.
AvGeekery: So it virtually turns into a group heart in a means?
RB: Yeah–it may be. It’s actually simply an extension of your home, proper? Some individuals have a trip home or a lake home—this turns into your hangar, with a twin function.
As an illustration, our constructing has three hangars, and every proprietor makes use of the house in a different way. Mine’s all about household—we’ve bought a household room the place we hang around, host events, and play pickleball, volleyball, even basketball inside. It’s enjoyable for us.
One other man within the constructing has older children, so his is extra business-oriented. He’s bought a boardroom for assembly executives and even a golf simulator to interrupt the ice with shoppers. It is determined by the particular person, however you possibly can really make the house your personal. That’s what’s distinctive—it’s not only a hangar.
CF: My background’s a bit completely different. I got here from actual property, then jet brokerage, earlier than becoming a member of Ryan on the event facet. Ryan touched on it earlier, however I noticed the identical disconnect time and again working with high-net-worth shoppers: these individuals have unimaginable properties, vehicles, and workplaces, however their hangars? Often simply plain steel bins. It doesn’t match the remainder of their life-style.
And also you talked about innovation—that’s one thing Ryan actually delivered to The Nest at UES (Waukesha County Airport in Waukesha, WI). A few issues stand out to me: First, hangars are wanted all throughout the U.S., particularly within the ultra-long-range jet sector, as a result of a lot of the prevailing infrastructure merely can’t deal with these plane. Second, homeowners have hardly ever had the flexibility to actually management their very own hangar house.
We’re altering that. With us, you personal the house on a long-term floor lease, which supplies you the management and safety you need. And our sole focus is hangars—we’re not shifting planes, servicing them, or fueling them. We simply wish to construct the very best hangars attainable and make BLACKBIRD synonymous with high quality.
AvGeekery: Is The Nest your solely product in the intervening time?
CF: Yeah, it’s our solely product, however we may have a number of areas–two within the subsequent 2.5 years and not less than ten by 2030. Down the street, we would launch different merchandise, however for now, The Nest is our focus. It’s the kind of hangar house we develop—and can proceed growing—sooner or later.
AvGeekery: Why ‘The Nest?’ Inform us the story behind that.
RB: We moved away from the phrase “hangar” as a result of it carries a adverse connotation. Once you hear “hangar,” you image these ugly tin-can buildings. We wished one thing that speaks to life-style, not simply storage.
Blackbird was already our firm identify, and Carson got here up with The Nest. I believed it was genius—as a result of that’s the place birds reside. It’s their house base, not simply the place they take flight. Birds might launch from any department, however the nest is the place they return. It suits completely with our advertising and marketing and the tradition we’re constructing.
CF: It’s a really private, intimate house—identical to a chook’s nest or your personal home. Ryan’s hangar is designed for his household, with their wants in thoughts. One other hangar on the identical airfield is for a company, utterly personalized to their operations. Each displays the proprietor.
AvGeekery: You’re concentrating on personal and enterprise aviation, proper?
CF: Sure. For now, we’re specializing in premium websites—main airports the place demand already exists, not second- or third-tier areas. From an funding standpoint, we’re not right here to invest whether or not site visitors will come to an airport or not. For the bigger plane we’re concentrating on, we go the place the demand is already confirmed.
Most of our areas might be at massive worldwide airports, however some might be at choose native airports with extra accessible land. Land is an enormous problem—it’s one of many fundamental constraints on this house.
We additionally prioritize airports that provide on-site US Customs amenities. If you happen to’re flying internationally, you shouldn’t must land some other place simply to clear Customs after which reposition your plane. With our developments, you land, clear, and go house—multi function cease. No detours. No delays.
Our hangars can accommodate the whole lot from a light-weight jet, like a Imaginative and prescient Jet or TBM, all the best way as much as ultra-long-range plane. Every improvement contains hangars sized for various classes, and whereas I’m positive some piston plane homeowners will purchase them, that’s not our main market from a advertising and marketing perspective.
AvGeekery: How do you stability the lifestyle-driven enchantment of The Nest with the sensible wants of plane upkeep and possession?
RB: Individuals in aviation—whether or not they’re owner-pilots or simply experience within the again—see it as a time machine. Time is their most precious asset, they usually wish to take pleasure in it. It’s like somebody who’s ultra-high-net-worth and loves boating—they don’t simply personal a ship they take out from time to time; in addition they have a lake home. They wish to be round it, even when they’re not on it. Aviation works the identical means. When you’ve got the house, the life-style and the plane facet naturally mesh.
The issue is, till now, nobody’s constructed a facility good sufficient to assist each. Our hangars have dwelling areas—golf simulators, pickleball courts, and even basketball courts for the youngsters within the winter or on wet days. And proper there in the identical house? The aircraft. It’s multi-use by design.
We’ve additionally made positive the day-to-day expertise matches the luxurious of the plane itself. Each unit features a totally geared up kitchen with top-tier Wolf home equipment, plus spa-like bogs with full showers, so homeowners can clean up after a flight in consolation that rivals house. The Nest offers homeowners flexibility, and there’s merely nothing else prefer it out there.
CF: Even with a lake home, some persons are there each weekend, others simply a few instances a 12 months—it’s the identical with The Nest. Some homeowners will use the house consistently; others would possibly solely cease in to bathe earlier than or after a flight, or have a staff member prepare dinner within the kitchen, which we outfit with premium home equipment like Wolf.
It’s about flexibility and management. House owners determine how a lot or how little they wish to use it. Both means, they’ve bought a premium, personal house for his or her plane—no sharing, no compromises.
Proper now, shared hangars are an enormous problem. We see “hangar stuffing” on a regular basis—packing 125 to 150 p.c of capability. That’s once you begin seeing hangar rash from overcrowding. Having your personal house considerably reduces that threat. It’s about management, and about defending what’s typically a multi-million-dollar asset from pointless harm.
RB: Considered one of our present clients is a fractional constitution firm about to open two of our hangars. They’re utilizing the very same constructing design—however as a terminal for his or her shoppers. It has the identical architectural enchantment and construction, simply personalized with workplaces, a boardroom, and consumer facilities. It’s a very completely different use, however that’s the purpose—The Nest adapts to what the proprietor wants.
AvGeekery: How are you making ready for the rise of electrical and hybrid plane into The Nest?
RB: As electrical plane turn into extra widespread—and I imagine they’re coming, even when we’re not fairly there but—our hangars are already ready. I used to be simply speaking to somebody about an electric-powered glider, which is wild. It’s taking place.
Proper now, for those who’re a piston or turboprop proprietor, you don’t want a lot energy in your hangar. However as quickly as you get into mid-size or super-mid jets, you want that further energy for floor begins. Since we’re designing The Nest to deal with these bigger jets, the infrastructure is already in place to assist electrical or hybrid plane.
You’ll be capable to cost an electrical plane utilizing the identical energy techniques we’re putting in for beginning jets. In different phrases, when that shift comes, we’re prepared.
AvGeekery: What’s probably the most shocking or forward-thinking thought you’ve mentioned for future developments?
CF: Truthfully, in relation to how we might make our product stand out, we’ve talked about nearly the whole lot. We’re critical about pushing boundaries. Sustainability is an enormous one—particularly with SAF (sustainable aviation gasoline), electrical planes, and eVTOLs on the horizon.
One venture we’re taking a look at is including inexperienced roofs over the inside areas. They’d look unimaginable from the air once you’re coming in to land, they usually’d even be good for the setting. That’s an enormous one for us.
We’re additionally consistently refining the interiors. Ryan’s Waukesha web site is already actually spectacular—it’s completed extremely effectively—however it’s nonetheless the primary iteration. As with every product, there’s all the time room for enchancment. Waukesha is our launch web site, however each airport we develop after it will profit from what we be taught alongside the best way.
RB: I’d add that our hangars, as designed and constructed, are LEED-ready. If a buyer desires LEED certification, we will ship as a result of it’s already constructed into our system. You possibly can’t do this with a tin-can hangar until you wrap it in 12 inches of insulation and seal each inch—and even then, it’s not the identical.
We’re additionally engaged on eliminating conventional sprinkler techniques. Our roofs and partitions are fire-rated, which reduces prices and avoids liabilities like water harm from sprinklers or foam techniques—each of which have destroyed plane prior to now.
AvGeekery: What’s probably the most compelling motive for personal jet homeowners to spend money on BLACKBIRD PARTNERS’ merchandise?
CF: The product actually sells itself as a result of it’s to date forward of anything on the market. First, it’s about management—plane homeowners wish to personal their house, and that’s precisely what our developments present. Relying on the airport, we’ll usually construct eight to 12 hangars, so homeowners can safe their house for the long run and use it nonetheless they need.
Second, it’s the life-style. Whether or not you personal a Cessna 172 or a World 8000, most homeowners are enthusiastic about aviation. Sure, they use their plane as a timepiece, however in addition they genuinely take pleasure in being round it. The Nest lets them do extra than simply fly—it’s an area for occasions, charity features, or just making ready for a visit in a premium, upscale, and personal setting. It’s a bit of house on the airport.
Third, it’s location, location, location—the golden rule of actual property. We’re growing at prime airports, so homeowners get a spot precisely the place they’ve all the time wished to be.
RB: And placement isn’t simply in regards to the airport—it’s about the place you’re on that airport. We wish to accomplice with high FBOs to service these plane.
Take two homeowners for example: one would possibly personal a CJ4 and tug and gasoline it themselves. One other would possibly personal a Falcon 7X. They’re going to need the FBO to deal with all of that: towing, fueling, upkeep, the whole lot an FBO usually does in a shared hangar. We would like these companies accessible of their private hangar.
That’s why proximity to the suitable FBO issues, and why we’re taking a look at creating service agreements with them for dealing with, fueling, and extra. It’s about constructing the very best product, partnering with the very best service suppliers, and creating a real aviation group.
We’ve already applied this mannequin at our Waukesha location and can proceed to take action in any respect future websites. In instances the place land is accessible however no present FBO is adjoining to us, we plan to accomplice with an FBO operator and co-develop the amenities in tandem. It’s all about making certain that plane homeowners not solely have top-tier hangar house but in addition seamless entry to elite FBO companies proper subsequent door.
BLACKBIRD PARTNERS: Constructing Hangars Statements
Carson and Ryan aren’t within the enterprise of constructing hangars. They’re within the enterprise of constructing statements. The Nest isn’t simply the place a jet sleeps—it’s the place possession begins to really feel like possession, and possession turns into expertise.
And as Tremendous Midsize and Extremely Lengthy Vary jets dominate the skies because the fastest-growing segments in personal aviation, BLACKBIRD PARTNERS is designing particularly for them. Greater bays, smarter layouts, and interiors that blur the road between flight prep and residential life aren’t simply luxuries—they’re requirements for plane that demand extra from the bottom up.
Boardroom or golf simulator. Pickleball court docket or personal lounge. If you happen to can dream it, they will home it…proper alongside your jet.
For BLACKBIRD PARTNERS, sq. footage isn’t a very powerful side of a hangar. Moderately, it’s about management, privateness, and an area that displays the plane’s proprietor as a lot because the plane itself. As Carson instructed me, it’s “a bit of house on the airport.” A spot the place a visit to Tokyo begins in your personal kitchen, and your hangar key unlocks greater than a door—it unlocks a way of life.
In a enterprise aviation world racing towards larger, quicker, extra superior plane, BLACKBIRD is making certain the bottom recreation retains tempo. The Wright Brothers might have invented flight, however The Nest is reinventing the place it lands.
For extra info on The Nest and BLACKBIRD PARTNERS, please go to blackbirdpartners.com.
AvGeekery extends honest gratitude to Carson, Ryan, and the staff at BLACKBIRD PARTNERS for his or her time and openness in sharing their imaginative and prescient with our readers in the present day.
