Story ID: 
Hawker Beechcraft moves into Arizona facility 
By: David A. Lombardo
Caption: Hawker Beechcraft has moved into a new facility at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz.
Word Count: 191
Hawker Beechcraft has moved into a new facility at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz. The company will close its Van Nuys Airport facility on March 31. Reasons for the move, according to Hawker Beechcraft Services vice president Andy Plyler, include the supply of talent from the local Chandler-Gilbert Community College technical school and the airport’s growing support infrastructure and eagerness to welcome new businesses. “The overall economic conditions in California made it very hard for a service business to compete,” he said. 
The opening marks the completion of the first of two phases of a state-of-the-art factory service center. Phase two, scheduled to be completed by November, includes an additional hangar, customer amenities and administrative offices. 
The newly constructed 26,000-sq-ft hangar is located on 5.1 leased acres at Mesa with an option to expand to 10.7 acres. A second 26,000-sq-ft hangar is scheduled to open in November, as is 22,000 sq ft of back shops to include a spacious lobby and administrative offices. 
The new location is a full-service MRO facility offering airframe, avionics, engine and AOG support for the company’s entire aircraft line.