HAYDEN - They have none of the comforts of home, but the bare tin walls will make a Beechcraft blush, a Piper purr, a Cessna croon or a Mooney swooney.

Aircraft alliteration aside, they may be spartan, but the 18 new hangars at the Coeur d'Alene Airport will feel just like home for most single-engine private planes and some smaller twins.

The T-hangar building style was chosen to maximize space efficiency, said Daryl Foreman of Foreman Properties, builder of the new units on an expansion of Pappy Boyington Field.

"The package is made by Erect-A-Tube. All they do is airport hangar buildings," Foreman said. "We chose them for their quality materials and design."

The T shape allows an airplane to be backed into the hangars, which are offset with adjoining rear walls, with nine units per side, back-to-back.

And that's about it, at first glance. About the only option is gas heat. Water at each end of the building, concrete floors, and one restroom are included, as are the utilities, with the exception of the gas. Units range from 1,082 square feet to 1,469 square feet, with leases starting at $300 per month. Access is through a coded gate.

"What is unique is the electric bi-fold doors," Foreman said, which prevent issues with debris, snow and ice typical of sliding doors. Each is equipped with a man door for access when the aircraft is not being taken out.

Built entirely of steel with insulated walls and ceilings and two-hour firewalls, each hanger is equipped with a heat sensor, tied to a central system on the building that alerts the fire department via cell phone for rapid, specific response, he said.

Units are 42 feet wide, with two larger ones at 63 feet. The hangars are on a new 10-acre expansion to the airport on the east side at the end of Miles Avenue. This is the first new construction project of what is expected to be more.

There are more than 170 unhangared aircraft at the airport, said Greg Delavan, airport manager, and more are seeking hangars.

"A lot of hangars are holding two or three aircraft," he said. "It is kind of crowded."

The airport leases the ground to private developers, a more viable option than building themselves, he said.

Pappy Boyington Field, as it was renamed several years ago, has made a significant economic impact in the past dozen years, Delavan said. In 1998 it was responsible for $30 million in the local economy, and last year that had grown to $130 million, he said, largely due to about 1,000 jobs.

A new master plan will be developed in coming months, as required by operating rules. The new hangars will fit nicely with that plan, Delavan said.

"They are well built, nicely done," he said, even if not equipped with luxurious amenities. "A place to protect your airplane."

Tenants are permitted to perform usual maintenance and repairs, "anything ecologically safe," Foreman said, but are not allowed to operate commercial enterprises. One of the six tenants already signed up is using his hangar to build a kit plane.

Each is required to provide a certificate of $1 million in liability insurance, an airport provision and their own insurance for their contents.

Information: 755-1199