on 10/04/2008

Hurricane Wilma Gave Us a Spankin'!

Well, Hurricane Wilma tore through South Florida and really gave us a lickin'!  With 118mph winds, the storm charged through our area on October 24, 2005 leaving wreckage over Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties.  The eye of the storm passed right over us and it was eerie how calm it got with just half the hurricane over.  After just 30 minutes though, it was time to get back in the house as the winds started howling again.  The backside of the storm turned out to be stronger than the front side.  The wind and rain was so intense, it created 'white out' conditions and we couldn't see across the street.  This is a cool link to the video of the hurricane as it passed over our area.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/events/wilma/AMX_200510240301_1910_high.gif
 

Below are some pictures from our house and aircraft damage at Lantana airport where I fly.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

 

The top of this black olive snapped off and was blocking the road in front of our house.  It went into shock and was dying so we cut it down.
Our bottlebrush tree split in half and it was destined for the chainsaw tool
A large pine and kapok tree came down behind the house.  Notice that there's no fence in the back now.
That's what's left of our fence.  Used to be about 140' long.
The start of our debris pile.
This kapok tree toppled over in the back yard.  That's Bobbi standing by it.
As you can see, the root ball of the kapok tree is quite large.
Aircraft Damage at Lantana
This is the J-3 Cub that I fly for fun.  R.I.P. 1949-2005.
The Cub was my favorite.  A total blast to fly!
The Cub was actually in a hangar when the door blew in and crushed it.
Even though this Cessna was tied down, the wind pushed the side of the fuselage so hard that the plane was forced sideways until it broke the wing.
Check out the broken wheel and stab on this Cherokee.	`
Looks like a wounded bird, doesn't it.  There were almost too many broken wings to count.
Even though planes were tied down, they still sustained serious damage.  If Wilma couldn't break the wing off, she just broke it outside of the tiedown.
Better replace that missing fin before you try to take off!
I can't even tell what kind of plane this was.
Planes needing wings can just look in this pile.  There has to be 1 that matches.
Broken nose gear and crushed cabin.
You're suppose to do aerobatics in the air, not on the ground.
The strut held, but the outside spar couldn't take the wind stress.
Nice Skylane with a broken fuselage.
This Yankee had something land on it's canopy.
Cherokee stabilizers seem particularly vulnerable.
Another bent Piper stab.
This old Stinson lived for about 58 years before Wilma finished him off.
Another beautiful but wrecked Stinson.
Packed up and ready for restoration in a hangar somewhere.
The twins got hit just as hard as the singles.
There's not a straight panel on this one.
I guess this twin wasn't tied down adequately.
This v-tail Bonanza suffered just some minor damage to an elevator.
Hurricane Wilma decided that this Cessna 150 needed a fancy wingtip.

Wilma damage at home.

Aircraft damage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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