Airport Building Repairs

In that dumpster is a layer of ancient cedar shake shingles and the
 multiple layers of asphalt shingles which were applied by several previous owners. 

What's going on with rebuilding?

During the extremely cold winter every structure with plumbing had pipes freeze and burst. Most critical to keeping the field operating are the pipes in the airport house and the “outhouse” restroom.  Therefore, before mowing could begin we had to get them fixed.  Fortunately, we are pretty well versed in plumbing matters so that only took a day and a half.  And on the positive side, the picnic tables seemed to come through it all just fine.

Obviously, the hangar has yet to be rebuilt and work on it has been progressing slowly.  We ran out of energy last year due to many reasons, and since a thorough internal cleaning is required and it must be emptied before construction can begin, we decided to put it off until spring.  As the weather warms up, this should accelerate the process.

The good news, at least for us, is that repairs have begun on the red brick house at the north end of the runway.  This structure is believed to be the oldest building in the bottom.  Built in the 1800’s, it was once part of a community that held a population of over 5000 people! Today though it stands as a rare reminder to the substantial population which once called this bottom home.  And since our goal is to save and rebuild it, a few things had to be done to stop the deterioration which was accelerated by the storm.  The first part of that process required a new roof and the removal of some really poor additions.  Included here are some of the photos of the work.

When it comes to the house we once lived in, or “the airport house” as most people call it, we still are undecided which direction it will take.  Here are the three options.  One is to offer it as a place for aviators to spend the weekend, stay for a night on cross countries, or just have a quick get-a-way.  Another is to turn it into an airport club house/office.  And finally, it could be the perfect place for someone who wanted cheap rent in exchange for mowing and doing general airport work.   Personally, I prefer the later but finding a reliable person who can do the work might be difficult.  So, who knows what will happen?  If you like one idea or the other, let us know.

This gets us to the little log cabin.  When the tornado hit it it broke everything inside. It was very disheartening.  When you look at the exterior it appears mostly undamaged but in reality the storm grabbed it and shook it pretty hard.  A few boards pulled loose, the roof was damaged, and it moved off its foundation. Some of that damage has been already been fixed and the rest will be completed over the next few months. Meanwhile we're planning on doing something different with it.  Look for updates on that in the future.

That's pretty much it for the post winter structural updates.  With the warmer weather at hand, we hope everyone is ready to get out and fly. That's why the airport exists and we encourage you to get out and enjoy it.

Finally, there's that question everyone has been asking...