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Smithsonian Roof Collapse (minor)
We've had a number of days of heavy snow here in the Washington area. The depth is something over two feet [60 cm] many places. Remember that we are in the South and this is rather unusual. Public transport isn't running except for the underground parts of Metrorail.
from AP SUITLAND, Md. - Part of the roof and a wall at part of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum Support Center in Maryland has collapsed. No artifacts are thought to be damaged. The collapse was discovered early Wednesday morning at the Garber Facility in Suitland, Md., which houses artifacts from the National Air and Space Museum. |
At least they fared better than one of the Bizjet hangers at Dulles. Rumor has it that a brace of Global Express', a G-V and several others are all write-offs after snow loads broke the rear roof/wall junctions and crushed them.
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I've been in some of those storage facilities at Garber, and they're more like garages than anything else, and have nothing to do with the main facility and restoration center. The photos I've seen of the damage indeed show it to be minor, and I doubt anything got seriously hurt.
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The Paul Garber NAMS storage centre at Silver Hill, Maryland simply has to be one of the most amazing places in the world for serious aviation affictionados to visit.
It used to be pretty well impossible to get into. I first got in there when I was flying Belfasts for Mrs Windsor in the 1970s and arrived one day at Andrews AFB. We were able to fix up a visit through the USAF. We all had to turn up next day in RAF uniform. The next four or five hours was totally amazing. The storage centre consisted of upteen storage hangars (there is no airfield there). Every single one is just like Ali Baba's treasure cave. There must have been over 200 aeroplanes in storage. In other words, aeroplanes that had not been touched since the war and which were waiting to be restored. I started going back to Washington when I became a civilian (in 1979) and discovered many years later that you could have a tour of the Garber Centre from 1000 to 1300 daily with a booking. I did a lot of return visits with my pupils (I was teaching simulator at Dulles at the time). Each visit was led by a volunteer "veteran" who explained that he/she knew a lot about some of the exhibits but knew nothing about others and if any of us on the tour knew something about anything, then they would love to hear about it. As luck would have it, I was able to give them some history about why the Hurricane that they were trying to restore was such a heap of sh*t (sorry - a bit of a challenge) (One of my mates ran the Colerne collection an they used bits of barrack furniture in trying to make LF753 look resonable). I also gave some them advice on the Grunau Baby glider that they were re-covering in the workshop (I had already done one of those before). It is truly a fantastic place - if you can get in. |
If I'm not mistaken, Paul Garber found those tin sheds at a military base which was closing and begged for them. He somehow got them moved and erected at Silver Hill.
There is, or will be, a restoration area at the Udvar-Hazy branch at Dulles. I fear that one will no longer be able to get as close the restoration work - just look from a balcony. Maybe connections could solve that problem for some people. |
The snow fall has a devastating effect in all the part of world
The snow fall has a devastating effect in all the part of world even during the time of Christmas people suffered a lot
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