Hanscom AFB (Mass.). Hangar 24.

Massport's Hangar 24 was erected in 1948 at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts to support defense- and space-related electronic navigation testing conducted first by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Instrumentation Laboratory and later by the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory and MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The labs developed and tested groundbreaking inertial navigation and flight guidance systems. A 39,840 sq. ft., two-bay steel structure, Hangar 24 was built at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA (ca. 1930s), where it was later disassembled, transported north, and reassembled at Hanscom Field in 1948. In addition to the pioneering work of MIT and Draper Labs, in 1986 the hangar was the site of the construction of the human-powered Eagle, an aircraft with a wingspan of 102 feet, but weighing only 69 pounds. Loosely based on the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus, it successfully completed a flight between Crete and the Greek mainland. In 2001 MIT established a new flight facility at Hanscom Field and all operations at Hangar 24 ceased. It is currently Massport's desire to raze the building, while various area organizations are seeking to preserve it for its historic value. The structure is designated as eligible for landmark status by the National Register of Historic Places.