Vought looks to move out of West Dallas Historic Plant

[51fixer]

Historic Vought Plant In Dallas May Close
BOB COX
SOURCE: FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
CREATED: AUGUST 23, 2012

Triumph cannot profitably continue to operate at the Dallas facility under lease terms being demanded by American Brownfields, which is acquiring the 425-acre site from the U.S. Navy.



Found it here-
http://www.aviationpros.com/news/107640 ... -may-close

[bdk]

The only thing that WAS keeping the plant open was the C-17 program.

[The Inspector]

No work, sentiment don't pay the rent

[eagle21]

Today, the company that is buying the plant is beginning to back pedal.

JMC

[hang the expense]

Thats a shame.Publicity can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing.Both affect the company image.The company might want to rethink their position.

[The Inspector]

Thats a shame.Publicity can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing.Both affect the company image.The company might want to rethink their position.

The FORD Model T plant in Seattle (that made all the T's for Oregon, Idaho, Western Montana, Washington and Alaska) still stands at the South end of Seattle's Lake Union just blocks from the original site for Pacific AeroProducts. The T plant was repurposed decades ago as a covered storage facility and the original Boeing site reverted to covered boat storage when Boeing moved to Plant 1 ( a boat shop that Bill B. took over to get his yacht finished) on the Duwamish River before being moved up river to become the focal for the MoF. Boeing tore down Plant 2 last year and is spending huge bux to restore the shoreline and remove contaminants. And is having regrets about selling off all the parking lots @ the Renton Plant for development several years ago when they thought they were going to do a Nixon and leave Renton, not crank up 737 production rates.

[Ztex]

The whole property adjacent to the plant..ie. Hensley Field/NAS Dallas is rather shabby as is...it's used as a parking lot for the city of Dallas and Oncor or some electric utility uses the old Marine hanger. The old Navy hangers have been gutted and are really just frames. The East side is being used by the Army and Ari Guard...

Closing the plant would certainly put further blight on an already ugly part of Dallas/Grand Prairie.

Notice none of the stories mention that NORTH AMERICAN built the plant?

[67Cougar]

Local newspapers are reporting today that the new owners are offering the current tenants the same lease conditions as they've previously had, with a contract for 3 years. No word from the tenants yet as to whether they will take it.

The purchase price for the huge facility and the land is reported to be 482,000 - which seems like a paltry sum. However, the agreement also includes the new owners performing the environmental cleanup needed on the property and adjoining side of the lake. After decades of aircraft building and renovation, most of it with less than proper attention to the environment, the cleanup is expected to take a decade or more and cost tens of millions.

The environmental mess at this base is the primary reason no really good use for it has come up - anyone buying the land is responsible for cleaning it up, and with all the other land and facilities that are available in the area now, it doesn't make any sense for a company to do that. The cities involved certainly don't have the money for a cleanup, or renovation of the existing structures, so they just sit there, rotting away.

NAS Dallas was not exactly a bright, shiny, state of the art facility even when it was in operation!

[DouglasJockey]

Is this not the plant where the P-51C models were made during the war? Then after the war, it was closed but then the navy decided that with Grumman and Vought being mere air miles from one another and one nuke could take them both out, that they better move one of them so vought loaded up 80 freight trains of 100 cars each and moved to Texas - specifically the shuddered North American plant - while never even taking the last of the Corsairs out of production.

Trivia....every Corsair aileron is made out of what material?

cheers

[airnutz]

Is this not the plant where the P-51C models were made during the war? Then after the war, it was closed but then the navy ......



Trivia....every Corsair aileron is made out of what material?

cheers

Yep, North American Plant A.

I didn't know(CRS) about the Corsair aileron's, but the Cutlass used various parts of balsa aluminum sandwich....Alumalite?

[51fixer]

Trivia....every Corsair aileron is made out of what material?

cheers

Wood with fabric covering.

[bdk]

Vought (Actually a division of Triumph now) has broken ground in Red Oak, TX for a new facility. They should be out of the Grand Prairie facility in the next year or two.

http://www.redoaktx.org/

[steve dickey]

[quote
Trivia....every Corsair aileron is made out of what material?
cheers[/quote]

Specifically isn't it Mahogany?

[flightsimer]

Not familiar with the sight at all, but could this be a good place for the CAF to move to, IF they move their HQ? Close to a large metropolitan area and with WWII history.

Just from reading, it sounds like it very well could be with some clean up and facility restoration.

[bdk]

They couldn't afford the infrastructure maintenance costs. It is a very old plant and much of it has been unused for some time. Besides, the property was sold some time ago.