Well, before I give y'all the planned photo update on the waistgunner's door (which will come after this update), I thought I'd let y'all in on today's "extracurricular activity" that has kept me busy today, up to this point.
Last night, around midnight-thirty, a major storm blew through the Midland-Odessa area. Wind speeds recorded at the Midland International Airport (where the CAF HQ is), were at 93 mph. And although my mail order meteorology degree hasn't arrived yet, I'd venture to say that at least one small tornado was spawned from this storm and made it's way across the CAF grounds.
The new hangar being built had some loose pieces blown around and the parts warehouse had a small portion of the roof that was peeled back (along with some of the smaller out buildings). However, it was what I found in the main hangar when I got here this morning (0300 hours) that got my attention. We now have a nice skylight here. And other than lots of insulation stuck to the airplanes in the hangar, not a single one received so much as a scratch! I've said it before, and I'll say it again...It's better to be lucky than good, I reckon.
It blew so hard the props were moved on the Shackleton (except for #3 engine, which is
really hard to turn...but that's a whole other story). But there was absolutely no damage to the airplane.......
Which of these Airsho ticket booths do you reckon passed the wind tunnel test?.......
Portions of our new hangar scattered throughout.........
The C-97 nose section got blown off it's trailer. Fortunately, it was "caught" by one of the engine hoists I have on either side of it........
This one really sucks. This trailer contains parts for the B-29 and B-24. I'm not even a little bit looking forward to rummaging through this mess when we upright the trailer........
And here's a few more views from around the main hangar.......
Oh, and I know some of you may be wondering......the cats made it through the deal just fine. They both had the big eyes and fluffy tails going when I found them, but they were unharmed...........
We just got our electricity turned back on recently, so we're back in business. We certainly dodged a bullet with this incident and feel very fortunate that nothing more was damaged.
I'll have a "real" update for y'all soon, probably in the morning.
Gary
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Gary found some neat circular vents that are almost invisible after being painted and installed. They should move a goodly amount of air on those hot afternoons to come.
Elly says hello.
