If you’re driving by the AASF today, you may have noticed out of the corner of your eye that something seems a little off with the Huey on display at the entrance. You’d be right.

Sadly, it appears that last night’s storm – and I was the first one to use the term derecho when I recognized it early on – has done some severe damage. Notice that the tail boom is barely dangling, having been torn nearly completely off.

Only a cable or two hold this in place…sadly, I don’t think that’s the kind of thing which can be repaired in the field, or which would be deemed fiscally possible. You know what that means.

Every time I get a glimpse under the skin of an aircraft, I marvel at how little is there. They’ve got to be lightweight, after all. Sadly, that means sometimes they’re unable to withstand exceptional force.

The force of the incredible winds last night probably tore this wide open like a Mountain Dew can. Like the one on my desk right now, as a matter of fact.

Here’s the cable holding it in place and what’s left of the rotor shaft. Yikes. that must have been some wind…although we all experienced it, and it was NASTY.

This truly is a sad day. I know there are North Dakotans who have lost much more – including their lives – due to last night’s storms, and I don’t want to minimize that. We’ll be talking about June 20th, 2025 for decades. At the same time, I grieve for one more part of my community which seems to be changing lately. I have a fondness for this facility, as I have ties to it I won’t get into here, and I love seeing the Huey on the pedestal when I drive by, albeit infrequently. It’s one of those local landmarks which I love to know is there, so to see it damaged by last night’s storm is saddening.