Doors Meet High Expectations for Airport at High Altitude

(Telluride, CO) – Once known as "Colorado's best kept secret," the ski resort town of Telluride is certainly not the easiest to reach, but it is a prize for those who take the trip thanks to its breathtaking mountain location, it's historic designation and it's reputation as a skiing Mecca. Tucked in a Rocky Mountain box canyon in San Miguel County, Telluride's population of around 2,000 swells as wealthy skiers pour into the community when the ski season opens in November.

Telluride plays hard to get. Though the town is just a few miles from US 550, drivers have to take a 26 mile swing west and then east over roads that offer some mountain hairpin curves that can get tricky in winter snow and ice. So to get there, many of the ski enthusiasts fly into the Telluride Regional Airport (TEX). At 9,078 feet above sea level, TEX holds the distinction of the highest commercial airport in the US, putting the downhill skiers, Nordic skiers and other winter sports enthusiasts right in the middle of the action.

Propelled by steady growth in resort traffic, TEX recently added three new hangars. "Considering the ruggedness of our environment," says TEX Airport Manager Richard Nuttall, "we need heavy-duty doors and so our new hangars have Wilson doors on their doorways."

The town has a colorful history, being the site of the Butch Cassidy gang's first bank robbery. Fortunes were built on silver mining, but by the 1970's, just shortly after the last of the local mines shut down, the first ski lift was installed. Following a disastrous season in 1976 due to poor snowfall the skiing industry strongly rebounded and hasn't looked back. Changes were in store for this small town as trendy restaurants, boutiques and ski lodges opened up in Telluride and up in the nearby mountains. By the next decade it was clear the area needed a professional airport to replace the grass landing field.

Now, between the heavy private and corporate aircraft traffic, Great Lakes and US Airlines run regular schedules into TEX. US Airlines' flights are in and out, and some Great Lakes' planes stay overnight.

For the recent addition, airport management hired the concrete, electrical and heating contractors as well as selecting the doors. They brought in Ridgeway Valley Enterprises Inc., a local contractor based in Montrose, CO 60 miles from Telluride. The firm worked with Tim A. Risley Associates from Phoenix to design the structures.

Ridgeway erected the Varco-Prude pre-engineered steel hangars and installed the Wilson doors. The hangars were ready for aircraft in February, the middle of the 2006-2007-ski season.

The three connected 60' x 60' hangars for base pilots have 60' x 18' Wilson Valu-Tec™ vertical bi-folding doors. The 120' x 148' hangar is for transitory pilots – used mainly in winter – and has a Wilson 105' x 29' six panel Roll-Tec™ bottom rolling door assembly. Both styles are all steel.

"We went with Wilson because of their reputation as a quality door and we needed this kind of hangar protection in our rugged environment," notes Nuttall. "We've used other brands of hangar doors here at the airport," Nuttall goes on "but we needed a door that was not only large enough for the doorway on the big hangar but heavy-duty as well."

The Roll-Tec door is made of heavy gauge steel, yet its well-engineered smooth rolling hardware ensures dependable operation and low maintenance. To keep the Colorado winter weather out each panel is fully weather-stripped with rubber weather seal and nylon brush seals.

The door is actuated using a simple two-button (open/close) control box, located on each of the door panels. The drive locks the door when stopped in any semi-open position. The door's AC-Drive provides for smooth opening and closing and reduces wear and tear on components.

"We looked at the Valu-Tec door and concluded that for a bi-fold it would do a good job of handling our winds," points out Nuttall. This door has framing made of steel tubing and cold formed steel structural members that can hold up to the high winds. As the name implies, the Valu-Tec door offers the three hangars reliable protection for years to come at a price that fits within the airport's budget. Wilson engineers worked closely with Nuttall, the contractor and the architect to provide doors to fit the needs at TEX. The doors were delivered on a Wilson truck that gingerly made the trip through the mountains up to the plateau and the Telluride Airport.

The business strategy of the Telluride Regional Airport is as unique as its location. Not relying on government support of any kind, and through good management, TEX is one of the few self-supporting small airports in the country.

The higher incomes of their clientele are not a factor. TEX charges rent and fuel prices that are competitive with other airports in the region.

"We don't build unless it makes business sense. We sink or swim based on how we project out our revenues and expenses," says Nuttall.

"Thanks in part to the minimal maintenance and reliable operation of the Wilson doors we can meet our numbers."