Warbird Information Exchange

Hurricane Florence is heading straight to the coast of the Carolinas and is going to cause destruction. While I hope that lives are not lost and property damage is kept to a minimum I can't help but to think about the A-26 Spirit of NC. She is currently sitting outside at the airport in Wilmington NC. Right now it looks like Wilmington is right in the center of the Cone of Uncertainty and could take the brunt of the hurricane. I was there a couple of weeks ago dropping off some passengers and she is still in good condition. However it looks like it has not flown in awhile. Hopefully someone will get her into a hangar there at the airport.

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Kevin Orr
https://b-25history.org/index.htm

I suppose that DC-7 will be lost as well. Personally I can't understand having what they do in those areas that are prone to the constant barrage of bad weather, especially since there is no high and dry areas to avoid it.

How about the USS Yorktown, what preparations will be made there to secure the planes on deck. Does the elevator work so the planes can be moved to the hangar deck?

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Looking at prior hurricanes, they chain all aircraft on the deck down using the required foul weather anchoring plan as designed for the aircraft when they were in active service. Most people forget that CVs usually go THROUGH hurricanes instead of around them, so they have plans for how to arrange the aircraft not below decks and secure them for such conditions. I think when Matthew went through the only aircraft with "damage" was their SH-3 which has fake blades that can't be folded.

Sisters new home in NC perfectly in line unfortunately. Fingers crossed. Fires in my woods hurricanes in hers. Ugh!

Wishing all the very best to those in harms way. Get out of the way and somewhere safe. Material things mean nothing right now.

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45+47=Psalm 92:6

Spirit of NC has been sitting outside / not flown for about 4+ years now.

The owner is a super nice guy but isn't ready to sell it yet.

Currently the props are off of and it's strapped down outside and that's how it will ride the storm out (exactly 7.8 miles from the beach).

How about the OS2U aboard the North Carolina? Of all the artifacts in the storm's direct path down there, that's the one I'm most concerned about... not a lot of good ways to secure her on the catapault, from what I recall.

Lynn

Hurricanes can occur pretty much anywhere on the East coast, which is a massive population concentration. It's not reasonable to say you should keep [insert cool items here] anywhere n that area.
Then, once you head west, you run the risk of tornados, which will for sure kill a plane if it hits one. Can't put old planes there, either, right?
Doesn't leave many places otherwise.

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

So, there's this thing called probability, which is the difference between "can occur" and occurs regularly. Some areas of the east coast, indeed some parts of the Carolinas, are much more at risk for serious hurricane and tropical storm damage than other parts. Coastal NC and SC might get a really bad storm once every 10 years that New York, Boston or DC might get once every 100.

Generally, warbird owners and must "museums" don't treat their aircraft and other assets the way you would if you wanted or expected them to be around in 50 or 100 years. They're exposed to higher than necessary risk in order to be convenient to the owner or to visitors. This is not a complaint; that's just the way it is. Luckily, with rare exceptions these storms only do repairable damage.

August

For high winds the best place would be a very well built hanger in a mountain and at a minimum of 500 feet above sea level. Or a place that doesn't have huge storms like maybe southern Idaho that is I think about 4k msl.

Read an article this summer that talked about all these "100 year floods" and "worst disaster ever" events that keep happening far more frequently. The 100 year hurricanes are now happening about every 10 years. The Federal government is studying and proposing reclassifying most coastal areas . Maybe the government and the insurance industry is getting tired of paying out billions only to have companies come back and rebuild the areas even bigger.

Deleted by KB.

Then the Yellowstone Caldera finally blows and the tremor reduces your collection of Warbirds to a historic jumble...

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Isn't it supposed to be a Cat. 2 when it makes landfall?

A 4+