Tornado Rips through Sun n Fun

mike newall · Post by **mike newall** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:15 pm

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/s ... hp?t=70385

Not good at all.........

mike newall · Post by **mike newall** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:15 pm

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=19 ... 22&theater

Brian Hope · Post by **Brian Hope** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:32 am

The bad weather has certainly been a factor at Sun n Fun this year. It rained heavily all day on Monday, the day before the show opened, preventing many aircraft from getting in, but it was OK for the Tuesday and Wednesday. The very bad storms were forecast for Thursday so I decided not to bother going to the show. TV reports and then hearing first hand from those that did attend consider that a tornado could have gone through. The international tent collapsed and several people were taken to hospital, fortunately nobody is reported as being seriously hurt. The damage to the aircraft seems to have happened over a very short time rather than throughout the day, and many aircraft were turned over and blown into each other, including many show planes belonging to exhibitors. The show is opening as usual today and the weather is forecast as typically hot and sunny for the next week.
The show is being held a couple of weeks earlier this year to avoid a clash with both Easter ( which is usual practice) and AERO Friedrichshafen but that is not really a factor. This extreme weather is not typical for late March, which up till a week ago had been very warm and dry. In the last few days of the month it has now become almost the wettest March in Florida since records began.

Ian Melville · Post by **Ian Melville** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:51 am

The first report from the weather boffins has been released with details and track of the tornado.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/tbw/TopN ... ar2011.pdf

Some of you will be aware that I am building a Thatcher CX4. Dave Thatcher was at Sun and Fun. He was off the airfield at the time and thought his aircraft was a gonna. But it survived with only a small dink to the fibreglass wingtip. He later posted this.

I was told by two people who saw it that the CX4's cork screw tie downs just pulled right out of the ground and the plane just levitated a moment in the air, and then flew right over the plane behind me and landed on its feet and rolled into the back fence about 200 feet away.

This is the second time the prototype has faced strong winds, in 2004 the metal hangar was ripped from over the aircraft by a hurricane Ivan. Though damaged it was repaired an few within 6 months.