Hurricane Ike Update:
From Lone Star Flight Museum President Larry Gregory



October 4, 2008 - 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.

How Can You Help?
Less than 3 weeks after Hurricane IKE hit Galveston Island and flooded LSFM with between six and eight feet of water work is underway to get the few airplanes that could not be flown out back to flying status.  There is much to do throughout LSFM.  If you'd like to help, send an email to lsfm@rogwebs.com and we'll make sure you are added to the growing list of people wanting to not only restore LSFM to what it was before IKE but to make LSFM an even greater place to visit and learn.



Donate Online
The response to our request for online donations has been wonderful!  Thank you to all of those who have joined in Operation Recovery and Restoration.

As you can imagine, especially after seeing the photos on the website, www.lsfm.org, the financial cost or restoring the museum and Texas Aviation Hall of Fame is going to be huge.  We have set up a special page on the website, www.lsfm.org/donate.html where friends and supporters of Lone Star Flight Museum and Texas Aviation Hall of Fame can make a donation through PayPal. 

You don't even need to have a PayPal account.  Donations are accepted through credit and debit cards and also with a check if the donor so desires.  Your support is requested and we ask that you pass on this email to others to let them know of our status and needs.  Thank you!

Airplane Mechanic Tools Needed
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.

Contact Information
Telephones are still not working.  Staff emails are accepting emails but sometimes trying to find a way to access their  emails is a challenge due to the high demand on the Internet and lack of power in many locations.  Please feel free to email the staff as you normally would.  You can also send email to lsfm@rogwebs.com or webmaster@lonestarflight.org if you have any comments or questions.

We cannot adequately express our thanks for the many emails, thoughts, prayers and donations we've already received.  Spread the word!

EAA Warbirds of America encourages our members to help with the recovery efforts in any way they can.

  EAA Aviation Center
  P.O. Box 3086
  Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086

www.warbirds-eaa.org
Phone: 920.426.4800
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