Update as of 10/4/08
Things continue to move forward as we now have electricity and A/C in the upstairs offices. The building contractors have cut away the lower 12 feet of siding around the entire building. Ventilation is not a problem and the project may be completed in less than 2 weeks. Our electricians are checking what we need to do to bring the lower floor online and the usual gang of drywall, A/C and other contractors are doing their thing. I do not have a target date to reopen, but we are making great progress. It will definitely be faster than I imagined 36 hours after the storm.
The Spitfire and F3F will be on the road to Breckenridge, TX on Friday. I passed the Spit on the causeway last night as it was leaving the island. After talking to our mechanics and the Ezell crew, it appears the airplanes faired the Gulf of Mexico very well. We have not found any significant areas of concern. We continue to clean out some of the airplanes and engines along with the other rolling stock in the hangar.
Our curator and her gang are in the middle of preserving many of the objects and artifacts damaged in the storm. It is a slow process and they are making excellent headway. Just like the airplanes, dealing with some of these items can wear you down mentally, but you have a good feeling when you find something that made it through untouched.
We'll have a workday this Saturday and will concentrate on cleaning out some of the last small areas in the museum. We tackle some of the vehicles and probably have some folks work on an airplane or two. Bring some tools, brooms and other associated items that we may have lost. Wear appropriate shoes and bring a lunch. Some restaurants are open, but lines are long. We'll have some coolers of water and soft drinks.
I can't thank my staff enough for their efforts throughout the ordeal. They have held up remarkably well and have put in some long hours. Our volunteers have been there as well and have played an important role in our recovery. All of our friends throughout the warbird community have been more than supportive, not to mention all of the donations and kind notes from people who just want to help. We're doing our best to make every day a little better around here. Thanks to everyone for your support.
Airplane Mechanic Tools Needed
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Maintaining aircraft from WWII is not an easy task. There are many specialized tools that our mechanics used that were damaged or lost during Hurricane IKE.
If you have, or know of anyone who might have some of these special tools that you or someone you know might be willing to loan us or sell us, please email
lsfm@rogwebs.com with what you have. Someone from LSFM will contact you regarding this. Your help is greatly needed in this area.