Megadoor cold-weather entrance solution for Continental Airlines
When Continental Airlines needed a larger hangar door solution for access control to a hangar at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio, Megadoor came through with a 42 meters-wide door system, a five-year extended warranty and a preventive maintenance program.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport was Continental Airlines’ third-largest hub before its merger with United Airlines in 2010. Aircraft maintenance at the airport is performed in a complex of three hangars. One of these hangars was dedicated to line maintenance and overnight phase checks on Continental’s fleet of Boeing 737-300/500 aircraft. This old hangar was originally built to house two small regional jets, and then expanded for a corporate tenant to accommodate a 737-classic.
When Continental originally leased the hangar, it was able to fit its older 737s through the door. However, its newly acquired 737 Next Generation aircraft would not fit because the opening of the automated entrance was to narrow and serviced by a bottom rolling door, stored in a pocket on the front of the hangar.
The hangar-operations team realized that if the need for the door pocket could be eliminated, the hangar – which is confined by other hangars on both sides – could be opened up along its entire width, which would create plenty of room to accommodate the new wider aircraft. That is when they called hangar door provider Megadoor.
In addition to ensuring that the new 737 Next Generation aircraft could fit through the hangar door, Megadoor was tasked with conserving energy and minimizing costs by providing a solution that would keep the hangar warm during the cold winter months, thereby maintaining a comfortable working environment for Continental’s technicians.
Megadoor provided center and side doors, to accommodate the 737’s tail and wings respectively. This solution minimizes the total square footage of the hangar door system without losing any operational flexibility. In addition, the vertically operating doors enable the user to open each door just enough to allow for aircraft or vehicle movement.
Originally developed in northern Sweden, Megadoor solutions are well suited to cold-weather applications. Unlike bottom-rolling doors, the vertically operating Megadoor does not require floor tracks that commonly fill with ice in cold climates, hindering operations during winter months. And since Megadoor systems operate vertically in the same plane, it is not necessary to plow the snow in front of the door prior to opening it, as is required in the case of bi-fold or canopy doors.
Furthermore, ice does not accumulate on the Megadoor exterior surface, as it does on conventional doors. As the door fabric flexes in the wind or folds during operation, the ice just flakes off. Lastly, the Megadoor will not freeze to the ground like other door systems that can be severely damaged if operated while locked in ice.
With more than 100 Arctic and Antarctic installations in 30 years, the Megadoor has proven to be the most energy-efficient hangar door in the world. Eighty percent of energy loss on a closed hangar door is attributed to air infiltration around the seals. The dramatically superior seals on the Megadoor reduce this air infiltration to a minimum.
With its unique combination of cold-weather and energy-saving features, the Megadoor solution provided was the perfect fit for Continental’s hangar doors at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
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Video about hangar doors and other industrial doors from Megadoor