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Images (from top left): McLeod1.jpg; McLeod2.jpg; McLeod3.jpg; McLeod4.jpg; McLeod5.jpg; McLeod6.jpg (Photo Captions available at the end of the release.)
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Mike Schweiss - 507-426-8273
Owner, Schweiss Doors
British Columbia hangar matches beauty of nearby Kootenays
FAIRFAX, Minn., February 2, 2020 – Dr. Robert McLeod of Creston, British Columbia, should be pretty proud of his new 44-foot by 30-foot hangar. It features a beautifully designed exterior, highlighted with Douglas Fir log posts and beams and three large 3-foot by 6-foot Douglas Fir accented windows to retain a nice view outside and bring natural light into the hangar.
The hangar, with a grass landing strip located adjacent to his home, has a 42-foot, 6-inch by 12-foot, 6-inch Schweiss Doors bifold liftstrap door. It’s equipped with an automatic latching system and remote opener. McLeod built the steel-sided hangar to closely match his home and other buildings on the property.
With a shortage of veterinarians and a large, sparsely populated territory to cover, McLeod uses his Maule M-5-210C plane to bring veterinary care to remote clients. He and his plane also serve as an ambulance for veterinary related flights to specialists in Calgary or Vancouver. He’s been a practicing veterinarian for about 30 years, starting out after graduation in Saskatchewan and later moving to Creston in 1993.
“I started flying at age 16 when I received a flying scholarship as an air cadet,” McLeod says. “I got my pilot’s license just after my 17th birthday. I actually still have a hangar that I share with another person at our local Creston airport. I use my home hangar from spring to fall, about eight months out of the year. The main Creston Regional Airport is open all year.”
Creston Veterinary Hospital was established in 1973 by Dr. Dave Perrin, the author of the “Don’t Turn Your Back in the Barn, Adventures of a Country Vet” book series. It’s a full-service veterinary clinic located in the heart of the Kootenay Valley, nestled between the Selkirk and Purcell Mountain ranges region of beautiful southeastern British Columbia, approximately six miles north of the Idaho border.
Creston Veterinary Hospital has grown from eight employees in 1992 to where they now have two full-time and two part-time veterinarians and a skilled staff of about 20 technicians, assistants and client care representatives to ensure that all pets’ needs are met.
McLeod was born in Victoria, British Columbia and grew up in Victoria, Ottawa and Whitehorse, Yukon. After completing high school at Spectrum Community School in Victoria, he attended University of Victoria and University of British Columbia, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology. He became inspired to be a veterinarian while working on a dairy farm in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, and graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1990.
McLeod says he thinks he initially found out about Schweiss Doors from an ad in the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) magazine, but noted that he has seen a Schweiss 70-foot hangar door at the Creston airport.
“Schweiss seems to be the door to have,” he says. “I love the automatic latching system the best – you just hit the remote button and open the door. It works beautifully. With help from a couple of friends and a little clarification on a couple things, we installed the hangar door ourselves. We started looking at a couple of other door manufacturers, but the Schweiss bifold door was beautiful because of where it hinges; it tucks in nicely. Some of the other doors don’t do that.”
Schweiss Doors is the premier manufacturer of hydraulic and bifold liftstrap doors. Doors are custom made to any size for any type of new or existing building for architects and builders determined to do amazing things with their buildings, including the doors. Schweiss also offers a cable to liftstrap conversion package. For more information, visit www.bifold.com.
Completion Date: August 2019
Photo Captions:
McLeod1: This beautiful 44-foot by 30-foot hangar located at Creston, British Columbia, is in view of the Kootenay Rocky Mountains. It has a Schweiss 42-foot-6-inch by 12-foot, 6-inch bifold liftstrap door.
McLeod2: The Douglas Fir log posts, beams and window trim match those on his home adjacent to the hangar.
McLeod3: The hangar and large 3-foot by 6-foot Plexiglas windows that bring in ample natural light are highlighted with Douglas Fir log posts and beams. The red metal roof and metal siding matches McLeod’s adjacent home and other buildings.
McLeod4: McLeod says he likes the automatic latching system and being able to open and close the door with his remote opener. He is shown here with his Shelty, Jessie.
McLeod5: He utilizes this hangar about eight months a year and flies his Maule out of the Creston Valley Regional Airport during the winter months on pleasure and remote air ambulance veterinary related flights.
McLeod6: McLeod’s Creston Veterinary Clinic is located in the Heart of the Kootenay Valley nestled between the Selkirk and Purcell mountain ranges approximately six miles (10km) north of the Idaho border.