User Panel
Posted: 10/9/2004 6:06:27 PM EDT
The Museum IS UP IN SMOKE! SAVE THE B17!!
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Dear Lord make the skies open and shed Your tears as never before and save these Earthen angels for the reverance of future generations to the sacrifices so many of Your children made for freedom.
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Link nothing, I can see the smoke from my front poarch, this totally SUCKS!! Man I hope the planes are saved.
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Just saw the local news. They said that the members of the YAF saved a B-25 and a C-47 by pushing them out of the hangar. Saw what looked like an F-102 outside the hangar lit by the flames, so presumably all the aircraft weren't in the hangar at the time. Guess we'll find out in the morning what planes were lost.
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I saw the smoke for a while, and thought it was the hippies in Ann Arbor doing some more stupid crap. I got home and turned on the radio and about had a heart attack. Man I hope the planes are ok. THe Yankee lady is awesome, my buddy got to ride in it when he had cancer. They let him stick his head outside while in flight for a picture. This really, really, sucks.
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holy shit batman, those are national treasures, hope they all survive!!
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The airplane that looked like an F-102 wasn't burning, just lit up by the flames. |
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TV reported that the B17 was safe and that a B25 and C40 had been hand pushed from the hanger. The hanger and other contents(not specified) were lost. Short video clip showed a couple of jets outside undanaged.
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museum director was quoted as saying that workers noticed smoke in the rafters and started pushing aircraft out. The hanger was a wood construction and a known fire hazard. It was going to be replaced in a year or 2.
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DUH!
Wooden hanger, spring for the deluge fire suppression system.
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I hate it when pieces of our history are lost. Friggin shame. Hell, kids barely pay attention to our past now, and without reminders of our history its even harder to teach them. I hope the museum recovers. Watch for donation links.
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That sux.
I see an F-4 Phantom in the 2003 pic. Hope that survived. |
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I was driving home and saw the smoke all the way from Fenton. |
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I drove by this morning and my favorite glider that was being restored got killed, and a bunch of other stuff that was impossible to move. The Yankee lady was there and she's OK!! Thats Awesome. I love it in the summertime when I'm mowing my grass and she flies over my house. Its so awesome, it looks like you could reach up and touch it.
I can't even tell you how bummed out I am, I hope it wasn't some dumb hippie that started this. I know that they had problems with vandals before with the Bush signs out. |
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Damn.
They are AT AN AIRPORT@?#@$ Airports have lot's of firefighting equpment. Crap. |
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When I used to drive long-haul,I used to sleep next to that G.M. plant.The plant was closed,but the parking lots were used as a G.M. junkyard. Cadillac STS's,Corvettes,everything smashed up.Amazing that Kalitta flew DC-8 streches out of Willow Run,as it has rather short runways.BTW,everytime I tried to get to the Yankee museum,it was closed,bummer that this happened.The wood in those hangers is so lod and dry,it does'nt take much,(think an old barn or the old barracks we used in the Army).
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PRESS RELEASE
October 10,2004 The Yankee Air Museum at Willow Run Airport suffered a disastrous fire last night that destroyed the historic hangar that housed the museum. The museum staff was able to move the historic B-17, C-47 and B-25 aircraft out of the building, thus saving the heart of the collection. In addition, all the historic aircraft on display outside of the main building were untouched by the fire. While many irreplaceable artifacts, photos and books were lost in the fire, the Volunteers at the museum are thankful that the aircraft collection remains largely intact. Only a small number ofnon-flyable aircraft that were in restoration inside the hanger were lost. The Yankee Air Museum members, staff and volunteers are determined to rebuild the museum facilities and continue the great work that was begun in 1981 by a small group of visionaries who were dedicated to preserving this important piece of aviation and Southeastern Michigan history. The Michigan Aerospace Foundation, the sister organization of the museum which was formed to plan and fund future expansion of the museum facilities, will now be working hard to raise the necessary funds to re-build the museum as soon as possible. Working with Willow Run Airport and the Yankee Air Museum, the Foundation will be seeking funding and other help from Foundations, Corporations and Individuals as it works to replace what has been lost. The Yankee Air Museum and the Michigan Aerospace Foundation would like to ask that anyone with an interest in helping to rebuild the museum, please contact the Foundation. A help hotline can be reached at 734-483-4030 The following people can be contacted to offer your support: For the Museum, contact: Yankee Air Museum President, Jon Stevens 734-637-2117 Yankee Air Museum Vice President, Dick Stewart 734-637-8878 For the Foundation, contact: Michigan Aerospace Foundation President, Dennis Norton 734-971-2750 Michigan Aerospace Foundation Treasurer, Uary Brown, 734-316-2216 Donations may be sent directly to the Michigan Aerospace Foundation: Michigan Aerospace Foundation Yankee Air Museum Recovery Fund P.O. Box 8282 Ann Arbor MI, 48107-8282 Thank you for your help, Dennis Norton President Michigan Aerospace Foundation I was never there but am sad to hear of the loss. Colt_SBR |
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Well, it could have been worse. The loss is devastating but it sounds like the most important pieces in the collection survived.
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A devastating loss , I hope the YAF can recover from such an awful setback...that's so tragic!
Thank goodness someone was there to save a few, I bet they never pushed so hard in their lives! Damn! |
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Already I'll say it... these guys are entrusted to preserve our heritage... what is this fucking bullshit about storing something like that in a wooden hangar? If they needed money why wasn't an appeal made? A year or two? A fucking year or two... a known fire hazard and priceless unique and irreplaceable treaures do not mix. Hell I would have sold a gun to donate money for that. These gentlemen used to pring some of those beauties to Commander's Day at Griffis. I always stood in awe of them, especially as Grandpa pointed out the B17 and B25 and told me Papa flew in those in the War... damn, just damn!
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I saw this last night on the news... what a huge bummer. I am SO glad they saved those planes they were able to... I've seen a B17 a few times in the air recently... I don't know if it was theirs but there aren't too many Flying Fortresses around... I guess they lost some others as well as their library.
I haven't been there in probably 10 years. This really sucks. |
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I'll try to get some close up pictures of the damage later this afternoon. I have a few friends that should let me get close enough to get digital pictures of the smoldering heap. There were some super cool displays that are gone forever now. If you guys can, please send some money. I am now going to post a link in all of my Egay auctions so more people can see this and donate. Later...
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Massive fire destroys Yankee Air Museum
No cause identified; artifacts, 2 airplanes lost Sunday, October 10, 2004 BY EMMA JACKSON News Staff Reporters The Yankee Air Museum, a popular air history attraction at the Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, burned to the ground Saturday evening when a fast-moving fire swept through the building, destroying priceless aviation artifacts and two airplanes. Three of the museum's most prized aircraft - a C-47, B-25D and B-17G restored to flying condition - were saved because the crew of the B-25 had just returned from a flight and was able to move the planes out of the burning hangar. The fire was reported at about 6:30 p.m. and soon had engulfed the 50,000-square-foot hangar, which was built in 1941 by Henry Ford for the production of B-24 Liberator bombers. No one was injured and no cause had been determined Saturday night. Jon Stevens, president of the Yankee Air Museum,said the hangar and its contents were a total loss. He estimated the loss at $5 million to $7 million, but said that was a preliminary estimate. Smoke from the fire could be seen for at least 10 miles and soon traffic on nearby Ecorse Road slowed to a crawl as spectators gathered to watch. Fire departments from Van Buren Township and six other departments responded but could do nothing to stop the blaze. By 8 p.m. only the concrete slab and a few burning pillars remained of the hangar. An outdoor display of about 20 historic planes next to the hangar was not damaged by the fire. The 23-year-old museum, which hosted about 100,000 visitors a year, was filled with historic aviation displays, including uniforms, equipment and medals from World War I and World War II, along with a library and displays on Korea, Vietnam, Women in Aviation, and the B-24 Liberator Bomber. One of the planes destroyed in the hangar fire was on loan from a Dayton, Ohio, air museum; the other was a rare "Bronco" airplane that was days away from being fully restored. Brian Higgins, marketing director and board member of the Yankee Air Museum, was celebrating his birthday in Plymouth when he got the call about the fire. "I've aged a little bit more tonight," said Higgins from the site at mid-evening. "The reaction of the (museum) members out here is that we're sad but we'll come back, better than ever." He said the museum was in the midst of a $55 million capital campaign to build about a dozen buildings, including a new hangar, buildings for storage and restoration of the original 1941 hangar that has housed the museum since the Yankee Air Museum was started by volunteers as a non-profit organization in 1981. The museum has about 3,000 members from around the country, according to its Web site, and depends on thousands of hours from volunteers to operate the facility. "Volunteers restore, maintain and fly the aircraft, administer the daily business of the museum, keep the facilities maintained, publish periodic publications and conduct fund-raising events and give museum tours," according to the museum's Web site. Stevens, the museum president, was attending a social event in Auburn Hills when he got a call from one of the B-25 air craft crew members that the hangar was on fire. His first reaction was, "Oh, my God!" "In some ways we'll start over, but starting over with a lot more than the original founders," said Stevens. "I have too much sweat equity in that place, as do a lot of other good people. We'll figure a way to rebuild it." Stevens said the crew of the B-25 had just returned from an aerial fall color tour early Saturday evening when they caught a whiff of smoke. Their quick actions to pull the three functioning planes out of the hangar saved the aircraft, which are flown around the country to air shows during the year and as a fund-raiser by selling rides to the public. "God bless the people who helped get those air crafts out," said Higgins. "They are heroes." In addition to Van Buren, firefighters from Belleville, Romulus, Pittsfield Township, Ypsilanti Township, Sumpter Township and the airport fought the fire. At dusk, the hangar was still fully engulfed in flames, which lighted the black, billowing clouds from beneath with an orange glow. The skeletal frame of the hangar stood for a while before finally collapsing by 7:45 p.m. and the ghostly outline of vintage World War II planes parked near the hangar stood out against the fire. "We were out in the yard messing around, and my husband said 'Oh my God, Kim, look up at the sky!"' said Kim Ion, who lives on Ecorse Road a three houses away from the airport property. She and her son Matt stood in a neighbor's yard and watched the fire burn as the sky grew darker. The spectacle slowed traffic to a near-halt on Ecorse and other nearby roads. Motorists pulled off on the shoulder to point and stare. Some fished cameras and video cameras from their cars and others talked on cell phones, pointing and staring. Police lit flares to help guide the crawling traffic. Sam Pfeiffer of Farmington Hills got a unique view of the fire, as he flew in to the airport from a visit in Traverse City. He was able to land safely around 7 p.m., but said the air space was closed after he landed. Tanina Foster of Riverview shook her head as she watched the fire. "The museum," she said. "That's what's heartbreaking." http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1097403595299010.xml |
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OMG!! I hope they don’t mean an OV-10!! |
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Think so. They had one there. |
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Easy there big fella....a more appropriate question might be: "With all the money we can dole out to |
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