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  • Escalator repair. Brake shoes needed to be replaced and one of the many wheels responsible for keeping the chain in place. Once the shoes were replaced testing showed that they didn't release when the escalator started and the pads began to smoke. A slight adjustment of the mechanism took car of that problem.

    Throw in a shot of our aircraft parts compartment now organized. At the bottom left you can see four rebuilt pistons for the wings of the S2 Tracker.
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    • Island in silhouette
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      • I have a burning need to reorganize your aircraft parts compartment. It's one of my specialties.

        Also this is a test to make sure we can post on this thread.
        “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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        • Most all the volunteers aboard the ship from restoration, to air group, to security, and to docents are veterans. A large number of docents are brown shoes and flew in Vietnam. So it seems the Hornet is creating a Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome Resource Center as I have learned. It is not for vets only but also 1st responders as the last guy in the video shows. Both Willie and John I have known since they started on the ship maybe a decade ago. Willie has had a bad last three years from shoulder replacement surgery that later got infected and gave him sepsis. Infected hip, infected kidneys, lost kidney function, on dialysis but function did returned, toe infection moving up leg, resistant to the ultimate in antibiotics, so he made the decision to amputate his right leg above the knee so he could get on with life. The shoulder injury was from ejecting over Haiphong Harbor when his Crusader was hit by a SAM in late 1966. Yesterday he was down on board and we had a nice talk about his medical issues. Being a doctor, even if an O.D., everybody still thinks Doc and will talk about medical issues with me. So Willie showed me his new prosthetic leg with micro-processor. He needs a walker now but told me he will be coming down and sitting in front of the Crusader for visitors to talk to. He was busy Saturday.

          John is one of the very few non-Navy wets on board and was always on the flight deck on Wednesdays when I was there. A very calm demeanor and told me some of what went on with him in Hueys and Cobras which I won't go into. Now I haven't seen John since Covid and as he has a home way up the peninsula from Bremerton and one down here since his mother is here by herself. We are only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday instead of seven days for all the docents. I do like John's 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 with four speed.

          Last edited by tbm3fan; 10 May 21,, 17:05.

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          • Painting the S2 Tracker, Part 1

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            • Now Part 2

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              • As the plane sits now. Stencils for marking arrived this past week.

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                • Stoof!
                  “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                  Mark Twain

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                  • Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                    Stoof!
                    Now they need one with a roof!
                    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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                    • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post

                      Now they need one with a roof!
                      We are still awaiting a retiring but functional F-18A Hornet. After that the ship maybe done with planes as the hanger deck is getting full. Plus, Tom, isn't happy that the ship now has a 3.5 degree list to port since all the planes are on that side. However, I have heard that the Marine Air Museum at Miramar may have to close because their $460,000 budget is going to be eliminated. They have planes that will need homes and most likely their Corsair will be hot property. They do have a F9F Panther fighter that flew in the Korean War which would interest some on board the Hornet.

                      https://www.military.com/daily-news/...rmanently.html

                      https://flyingleathernecks.org/aviation-gallery/

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                      • Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                        Stoof!
                        The Stoof is done as the tail got finished just before July 4. Couldn't get a clean shot of it because too many people around it on the following Saturdays. The Hornet has done well this month. 1500 people visited July 4th. Another 1500 visited on July 17th as there was a huge car show (benefit for the Hornet) around the ship with about three dozen cars on the hanger deck. July 24th had the 52 anniversary of Apollo 11 with former crew members from that time aboard talking about that day. That drew 607 visitors. We also had our first overnight since January 2020 which was out bread and butter. Almost everyone was let go last year and so far Admin has not gone overboard and bloated Admin yet.
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                        • On the 11th the docents mentioned to me that Pri-Fly was locked, because of a cracked window, till who knows when. I asked if there was a plan to address the issue and was told no. Well then I am going to deal with it if the ship isn't. A senior docent, who flew the A4 during the 60s and 70s volunteered to help me get it out. I went up and saw two cracked windows looking aft and thought those? When I arrived on the morning of the 17th Alan was already in Pri-Fly removing the inside nuts at 0915. Only room for one person under, even though Tom was there, so I went up top by climbing down the Island from O11. Once all the inside nuts were off, and the large screws pushed out, it was time to separate the frame from the opening. I had to lift the frame, with glass, from the outside with one hand while the other held onto to a post. Window about 40 lbs, so we cleared the flight deck under in case it slid away from me. Lugged it up and around the searchlights to the forward end of Pri-Fly to lower down to O7. From O7 it was then lowered to the flight deck. The glass is green tinted laminate at about 1/4" thick. I have to see if I can locate glass. The lower part of the frame is a mess so repairs will be needed. The whole process, including plywood in place to stop birds, took from 0915-1845 with a 45 minute lunch break. Click image for larger version

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                          • A visitor caught me out on the edge of Pri-Fly at the O8 level.
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                            • This past Saturday, the 24th, I walk on at 0929 and Security pulls me aside to ask if I recall seeing the hatch window to Pri-Fly shattered? WTH! No! Apparently between Sunday and Tuesday then. Being at chest level I got this one out and took the frame home to soak the bolts that keep the two halves together. Once out and fully cleaned I'll paint and use all new bolts. This glass was tempered. Whereas I want glass on the overhead window I am thinking maybe plexiglass with a UV and abrasion coating. Thought I was making good headway painting O6 with the great new paint donated to us with catalyst. Good prep, good scratch, surface rusted dealt with and then two coats of the new haze gray. Then ships crew had to come up and think they could pick up where I left off the last Saturday and paint with no prep and one coat of paint incorrectly used with debris all over it. Now I have to remove hundreds of square feet of paint. Do not let them paint your house. Now this glass issue which will distract me for several weeks.

                              One delay will be to restore this exterior entry to Pri-Fly as it is a mess. It will get my treatment and end up pristine top to bottom.

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                              • Looks like some great work being done...despite the "helpers"!

                                Any idea how the glass is getting damaged?

                                That said you guys have made great strides. And I love the carshow idea.

                                You mentioning about groups coming aboard being your bread and butter reminds me of the Civil War battlefield where I am a volunteer docent.

                                https://pamplinpark.org/

                                We got hammered by COVID. Me were making a strong comeback after the Great Recession then COVID hit. We would get 180-200 school groups annually to the park as well as tons of groups coming to our adventure camp. From MAR 20-JUN 21 we had 0. That was a full 45% of our revenue. They had to cut paid staff in half...if not for we volunteers they couldn't open the park. We lost all our momentum we had built up. We were dur for some badly needed capital improvements but with the losses we are back at square 1.

                                Well, here's hoping all .orgs can make a comeback!
                                “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                                Mark Twain

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