McConnell Air Force Base reported four aircraft remaining on the base as of Tuesday evening, following strong thunderstorms that caused wind damage that led to the cancellation of the second day of last weekend’s open house and airshow.
The aircraft that remain are a Kansas Highway Patrol Cessna 206, a Commemorative Air Force Cessna UC-78 Bobcat, and two Stearman Model 75 biplanes. Each aircraft had damage from a “wet microburst” that affected the base early Sunday morning.
The base’s chief of public affairs, John Van Winkle, said in a press release that a privately-owned Cessna 150 that was seen upside down on the tarmac in photos after the storm was turned upright by Airmen from the 22nd Maintenance Group at the base (photo above). The Cessna 150 was painted to look like a Civil Air Patrol aircraft from an earlier era. It was placed on a flatbed truck and taken to its home airfield for repair work.
A Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182 from the Civil Air Patrol’s Kansas Wing also left McConnell on Tuesday.
[ photo: Airman 1st Class Gavin Hameed, 22nd Air Refueling Wing ]
