Ryanair workers get a warm welcome to new hangar

When it came to specifying a state of the art heating system for Ryanair’s new Stansted Airport hangar, there was only one choice – Nor-Ray-Vac continuous radiant tube heating from AmbiRad. Already in use at Ryanair’s Prestwick hangar, it is a proven, highly efficient system that keeps night-shift workers warm in order to carry out crucial aircraft maintenance.

The new Stansted hangar is used for the maintenance of Ryanair’s fleet of 737-800 aircraft. Considerably larger than the hangar at Prestwick, which can house two 737’s at any one time, Stansted can fit in five at a time. The 189-passenger planes are brought into the building through 124m wide doors for repairs and servicing, before jetting off the following day to international destinations.

Since all work is carried out overnight and large doorways remain open for long periods, the temperature within the hangar can fall dramatically, particularly in winter. Nor-Ray-Vac continuous radiant tube heating from AmbiRad affords rapid response to changing temperature conditions within the hangar. It also promises considerable cost savings over its lifecycle.

“This is the second Nor-Ray-Vac system that Ambirad have installed for Ryanair – the first was in our Heavy maintenance facility in Prestwick, Scotland in 2003,” said Gary Adcock, Deputy Director of A/C Maintenance, Ryanair. “The system there has shown very good reliability and we were more than happy to specify it again for our new facility in Stansted.”

The Stansted hangar, measuring 124m x 58m, was fitted with 16 46LR Nor-Ray-Vac burners suspended at 19m in the 23m high tailplane section. The body section of the hangar – averaging 14m in height – was fitted with 10 38LR Nor-Ray-Vac burners and two 32LR Nor-Ray-Vac burners in four zones and suspended at 11m. One discharge fan was installed per two zones.

Offering blanket heat coverage, the Nor-Ray-Vac system ensures even temperatures, with rapid warm up time and low noise operation. Because the system doesn’t heat the air, the primary heat source is maintained whenever the vast hangar doors are opened. This ensures the hangar remains a comfortable place for personnel to work at all times, without the energy demands of heating the space after a sudden temperature drop.

Zone heating also allows the space within the hangar to be sectioned off, should a different temperature only be needed for part of it. This means using a fraction of the energy required to warm the entire hangar. With the system’s impressive 92% energy efficiency, it is a flexible solution that keeps heating costs to an absolute minimum.