Damage from Ike at Galveston Museum

[GAHorn]

Those of us who attended the Galveston Convention last year will remember the really fine Lone Star Flight Museum and all the nice aircraft and exhibits. Get ready for a heartbreak.

The Lone Star Flight Museum suffered horrific damage from Ike. Due to time constraints, pilot availability, and maintenance status, only a few aircraft of all those hangared were able to evacuate to safety. Here's a link to view the photos:

http://www.lsfm.org/ikephotogallery.html

To give an idea of how many aircraft have been damaged/destroyed, here's a list of those that were NOT evacuated and suffered :


TYPE MFG N # SER#/BUNO

AT-11 BEECH N81Y 42-37240
BABY GREAT LAKES GREAT LAKES A.C N15RF
C-1A GRUMMAN N81193 146052
D-18H BEECH N954 670 F/DISPLAY
DH-82A DeHAVILAND N9714 T7467
F3F-2 GRUMMAN N20RW 972
HURRICANE IIB HAWKER N96RW CCF-96
L-5 STINSON N68MH 1039
MOTOR GLIDER MONI N943M 143
N3N-3 NAF N3NZ 1974
PBY-5A CONSOLIDATED N68740 407
PB4Y-2 CONSOLIDATED N3739G 59819
PV-2D LOCKHEED N6655D 37634
SNJ-5 NO. AMER. N777WS 85053
SPITFIRE LFXVIe SUPERMARINE N97RW TE392
T-50 CESSNA N51469 6644
TBM-3E GRUMMAN N700RW 69329
TURNER T-40A H/B GENE DARST N585N
VP-1 VOLKSPLANE NA NA
VP-1A V/P-BINGELIS/HODGKINS N11VP VP-DH1
AD-1 DOUGLAS NX91945 126882
B-58A (TB) CONVAIR N/A 55-668
F-100 NO. AMER. N/A 56-3154
SPIRIT RENEGADE N427EK EK-1
MiG-21 Mikoyan-Gurevich
A-1 TRIAD (1911) CURTISS N/A
BLERIOT XI (1909) BLEROIT N/A
FLYER (1903) WRIGHT [1/2 SCALE] N/A
H-TRACTOR (1913) BURGESS N/A
HANG GLIDER (1804) CAYLEY N/A
HANG GLIDER (1893) LILLIENTHAHL N/A

The only aircraft successfully evacuated are:
B-17G BOEING/VEGA N900RW 44-85718
B-25N NO. AMER. N333RW 44-86734
DC-3A DOUGLAS N25673 2213
P-47D REPUBLIC N4747P 44-90368
F4U-5 VOUGHT N43RW 121881
F6F-5 GRUMMAN N4998V 94204
F8F-2*** GRUMMAN N68RW 1217761
SBD-5 (A-24B) DOUGLAS N93RW 42-54682
PT-17 BOEING N75272 75-8111
T-6


Here's their announcement:

September 16, 2008 6:30 p.m. - Galveston, Texas

A first site survey found damage from Ike as substantial. The hangars and Texas Aviation Hall of Fame had 7-8 feet of water in those areas. The gift shop and lobby area had 3-4 feet of water. The southwest side of both hangars appear compromised. The entire contents of the gift ship are lost. Every exhibit in the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame was destroyed although some artifacts may be able to be saved.. How many is yet to be determined.

The airplanes received major water damage. Most remain in good shape physically. All plumbing and electrical systems are inoperable. The roof is okay minus one skylight. The second floor appears to be untouched. All evacuated aircraft are ok.

Debris is everywhere as you will be able to see in these preliminary photos.

The response from our friends and supporters from all over the world has been gratifying. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

The damage to the museum is extensive. We anticipate that photos of the damage will be posted later today or tomorrow.

There have been numerous inquiries about specific airplanes, TAHF exhibits and when operations will resume. The preliminary assessment is in progress. The status of airplanes, exhibits, repairs and what our needs will be are being discussed. It is just too early to know when the museum will reopen since we don’t know what is needed. One thing we do know is that it is going to take many hours of work in the coming weeks and a lot of financial support to get the doors open. We will be adding a special donations button within the next 24 hours.

Thank you for support. Check back often for additional information.

September 14, 2008 10:00 a.m. - Galveston, Texas

All museum staff are safe following passage of Hurricane IKE.

Damage to the museum is substantial. The extent of the damage has yet to be assessed by LSFM officials and staff. As soon as the preliminary assessment has been made we will post information here. As soon as possible we will let you know about reorganization and reopening.

Prior to IKE’s arrival pilots were able to fly the following aircraft out of harm’s way/ B-17, B-25, DC-3,P-47, F6F, F4U, SBD, PT-17, T-6 and the F8F.

We want to thank all of our friends and supporters for their thoughts and prayers.

Larry Gregory, President

[edbooth]

Sure hate to see that George, that was a great museum. We wondered how it had faired....at least the building is mostly intact. How did you and Jamie make out??? Hope you didn't get much damage. How about your plane?

Ed & Mary Booth

[1SeventyZ]

That is heartbreaking.

[GAHorn]

Sure hate to see that George, that was a great museum. We wondered how it had faired....at least the building is mostly intact. How did you and Jamie make out??? Hope you didn't get much damage. How about your plane?

Ed & Mary Booth

Thanks, for asking Ed! We're just fine, as we are sufficiently distant from the coast that we got nothing more than a breeze.

[170C]

This is sickening Sure hope they can save most of the collection. While a tornado or fire can do horrific damage to any museum, hurricanes always seem to be worse unless a facility is totally destroyed by one of the other perils. Another good reason not to put such rare & valuable collections in coastal locations

[n3833v]

Yes, those pictures made me sick to think all that time and effort destroyed. I enjoyed all that happened there. I hope the clean up goes well for all in the area. My prayers are with all.

John