Spring Storm Damage at Folks Field · · PAGE 301. 

April 18, 2009:  It is Saturday morning and time for a visit to Folks Field for the storm damage status.  The view inside the hangar has changed since last week when we evacuated the airplanes.  As you can see, the hole in the roof is now four panels wide and covered with a blue tarp.  The lower part of the wall has been pulled/pushed back into position above what remains of the block wall foundation.  As for Wendell's Champ, it is still at the paint shop hangar undamaged.  The owner put the hangar doors back on the building.

The wayward roof panels have been rounded up and pinned down by some concrete blocks.  You can see the wall is still deformed inward at the top of the lower panels.

A pair of insurance agents are assessing the damage to the property.  They first checked out the roof of the main residence, then climbed up on the hangar and warehouse buildings, which are all tied together, although built at different times.   Wendell told me the whole area was covered with even more of the yellow insulation materials that you saw last week.  He had all that stuff removed earlier this week before I arrived today.

The concrete blocks and bungee cords secure the blue tarp.

This wide view shows the hangar and the storage area all under the metal roof.   The warehouse is the smaller attached building at the right side of the photo, which has a more typical wooden roof with shingles.

Standing on a sloped roof puts some strain on the lower legs.  I know, I have been all over the tops of some of my houses over the years.  These two insurance agents sit down atop the hangar for a break to discuss what they have observed.

This wide shot from the ramp in front of the hangar puts things in perspective.   Our three local ATP-rated pilots are discussing flight management systems as Wendell and I went off to do other things.  This photo has a reminder why this site has the domain name you see in your web browser web address line above.

And just to show you how calm the weather is today, this colorful moth is resting on the sidewalk directly in front of the hangar door.

The first repairs will begin on Monday when a mason will come to restore the concrete blocks to their proper locations.  The wall will be strengthened with steel rebar and filled with concrete in the now empty cells of the blocks.  Wendell hopes that all the repairs will be complete within two weeks.  At that time, we will head out to get our airplanes and bring them home.  I will then have a chance to pull off my left elevator and do a permanent repair to the trailing edge.  I am thinking about taking one side of the elevator skin completely loose from the ribs during that repair.   That will allow me to pound out the wrinkles in the skin before putting all new rivets in the AEX trailing edge stock and the skins.