About FOTPAM

"Is this a church or a cathedral?" That is a typical question asked by visitors when they catch a glimpse of this unique airplane hangar at the Gilmer-Upshur County Airport. The multi-use building not only houses an operations base FOTPAM Museum for Dean Lumber Company's business aircraft, but is also home to the Flight of the Phoenix Aviation Museum. The museum provides local school groups an opportunity to learn more about the diverse roles of aviation in their daily lives. Dean received the Texas Forestry Association Award for Best Design in Wood Buildings for 1997.

From a distance, the 6,000 sq. ft. structure looks like just another airplane hangar, with metal siding and roofing. A closer look reveals a showcase of Southern Pine products. One look inside and visitors notice a rich interior featuring laminated arches, wood roof decking, hand rubbed paneling and decorative molding.

FOTPAM Museum's overhead, roof decking is Wolmanized No. 1 2x6 Southern Pine, KDAT and patterned with a center-matched V-groove. The result is a decorative ceiling inside, spanning between the massive wooden arches. Treated 6x8 columns provide support for the laminated arches. The wall paneling inside the main hangar is Dricon fire-retardant treated pattern 117 drop-siding.

FOTPAM Museum's 1600 sq. ft. interior is devoted to living quarters and a flight operations center; both richly appointed using a variety of Southern pine specialty products. Kwik Way of Mt. Pleasant, Texas used shop grade material to fabricate the interior doors. High-grade flitches were used for all joinery and millwork. Finishing touches include 1x4 beaded ceiling material overhead and pattern 116 for the crew quarters.