f86esabre Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Anybody heard if it survived? It looks like the eye hit it dead on. It's got to be bad. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiskey Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Winds recorded from systems at Tyndall AFB captured wind speeds of 130 m.p.h. https://americanmilitarynews.com/2018/10/wild-videos-photos-show-cat-4-hurricane-michael-ravaging-tyndall-air-force-base-and-surrounding-area/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 (edited) Playing in google found this from them, Quote Official update from the 325th Fighter Wing TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Oct.10, 2018 4:50 p.m. Tyndall Air Force Base took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael. The base has sustained extensive damage. The Ride Out Element will conduct initial damage assessments when it is safe to do so. Michael was a Category 4 catastrophic hurricane when it made landfall with catastrophic wind speeds. There have been no injuries reported on Tyndall at this time. Teams will work diligently to recover base in the coming weeks. The storm brought down trees and power lines. It removed roofs from buildings and caused significant structural damage. The conditions of the runway are unknown at this time. https://www.tyndall.af.mil/Hurricane/ Edited October 11, 2018 by southwestforests Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiskey Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Fort Rucker is getting nailed right now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 (edited) Oh, had forgotten about that installation. In 1970s we lived in Macon, Georgia, in middle of state, while Dad did 2 tours at USN recruiting area headquarters there. We used base facilities a bit south at Robins AFB. Saw earlier today that Macon was having 65mph gusts. Your mention of Fort Rucker connects with those thoughts to being up question of storm impacts, thankfully less than areas closer to the coast, at Robins. Edited October 11, 2018 by southwestforests Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiskey Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Yeah I remember when I lived there during my dad's UH-60 transition back in '89. Visited a few times after that, if you haven't been to the Army Aviation Museum there it is a MUST go to facility. One can only hope everyone is doing ok everywhere down there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
USAFsparkchaser Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 https://www.stripes.com/news/us/tyndall-afb-leveled-by-hurricane-michael-as-most-other-installations-avoid-major-damage-1.551072 I wonder if it will be worth it to rebuild. From the video in the link it doesn’t look like many facilities escaped damage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Dang, that's a mess. And yes I know that's obvious to the most casual observer. But, dang, that's a mess. Wonder what loss of all that tree cover is going to do to the landscape. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 2 hours ago, USAFsparkchaser said: https://www.stripes.com/news/us/tyndall-afb-leveled-by-hurricane-michael-as-most-other-installations-avoid-major-damage-1.551072 I wonder if it will be worth it to rebuild. From the video in the link it doesn’t look like many facilities escaped damage. Given the location, airspace, and mission (F-22 FTU, GCI training, and WSEP among others) I can't see them not rebuilding. What will be really problematic is keeping the two student pipelines going during the process. Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 If the base is that bad off, would it not make sense just to cut their losses and relocate all the operations to a base inland? If they rebuild, only a matter of time before it gets trashed again. Leave it functional for access to the nearby ranges but move the flying units somewhere further inland. Didn’t the AF do something similar when another base in FL got leveled back in the 90’s? On a related note, did all the aircraft get out of there before the storm hit? Hate to think some poor F-22 was down for maintenance and was stuck riding out that monster in a sheet metal hangar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiskey Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Yeah I watched a video last night of them flying EVERYTHING outta there either yesterday morning or Tuesday. Since the subject of relocating is coming up, why not move it all just west to Eglin? It would probably be cheaper to invest in infrastructure there than rebuild at Tyndall no? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wolfgun33 Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Looks like there were some QF-16's in a hangar that got damaged as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
USAFsparkchaser Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/24178/tyndall-air-force-base-in-ruins-after-michael-fighters-seen-inside-roofless-hangars Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Wow, Jake and I shot the QF-16s in that hangar a couple of years ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Johnopfor Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRealMrEd Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 This morning I saw some film on Fox news that says the base commander says that there is not one single habitable building on the base, including housing and hangars. I would think that the USAF might decide to let this one go, except where else could you put training and coastal defense for the Gulf? Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spectre711 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 (edited) Rebuilt Homestead after Andrew. If it survived the Base Realignment and Closure Commission it will be rebuilt! Edited October 13, 2018 by Spectre711 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Maybe it sounds silly, but I'm glad it was the display F-15 which got flipped and not the older jets -it is much easier to replace since there are a lot more surplused F-15 still around than there are of the older aircraft. You take what good news you can get at times like this, anything which might even halfway begin to look like it might potentially be ponderable as being good news counts as a bright spot within the overall loss. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Johnopfor Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 1 hour ago, TheRealMrEd said: This morning I saw some film on Fox news that says the base commander says that there is not one single habitable building on the base, including housing and hangars. I would think that the USAF might decide to let this one go, except where else could you put training and coastal defense for the Gulf? Ed McDill AFB is further south near Tampa....if they have the space...... https://www.macdill.af.mil/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Camus272 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Between 4 and 10 F-22s are damaged. That's going to hurt. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 (edited) 9 hours ago, TheRealMrEd said: This morning I saw some film on Fox news that says the base commander says that there is not one single habitable building on the base, including housing and hangars. I would think that the USAF might decide to let this one go, except where else could you put training and coastal defense for the Gulf? Ed The F-22's are a national asset. Stick them in the middle of the desert somewhere where they are safe from hurricanes and tornadoes. As far as "coastal defense for the gulf", were any of the units at Tyndall assigned an air defense mission in the first place? If so, maybe just stand up / relocate an ANG unit with F-16's at what's left of Tyndall or co-locate it at NAS Jacksonville. As bad as Tyndall is, I don't think they can full close it since it's right next to those live fire ranges and you can't have drones flying over populated areas to an inland base. That being said, it's a demonstrated fact that these storms are getting stronger and more frequent. Seems crazy just to blindly rebuild the entire operation in the same coastal location. If they do, they need to really take a look at hardening the base. Boxy sheet metal hangars don't cut it any more. It's embarrassing that for a such a unique aircraft, the ones that couldn't fly were simply left in hangars to get destroyed or seriously damaged. It sounds like a significant percentage of the USAF's F-22 fleet is now out of commission because of this. If nothing else, simply build some hardened aircraft shelters like they have at pretty much every base in Europe and if an aircraft can't fly when a storm approaches, just gotta tow it into a HAS and close the door. They don't cost very much, the USAF built hundreds of them back in the cold war days. I wonder what this will do to the F-22 pilot training? Even though it sounds like most of the aircraft got away, it's not like they can set up shop at another base next week and resume training. All those classrooms, simulators, hangars, etc need to be replaced. Not good. Edited October 13, 2018 by 11bee Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thegoodsgt Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Updates direct from Tyndall. https://www.tyndall.af.mil/Hurricane/ Steven Brown Scale Model Soup Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiskey Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/24204/setting-the-record-straight-on-why-fighter-jets-cant-all-simply-fly-away-to-escape-storms Quote Link to post Share on other sites
terrysumner Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Leave the politics out please... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Ok now I’m really concerned... CLIMATE CHANGE COULD CAUSE 'DRAMATIC' BEER SHORTAGE AND PRICE HIKES https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/climate-change-could-cause-global-beer-shortages-and-price-hikes-1170361%3famp=1 I read it on the interwebs so it must be true. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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