The facility’s storage and restoration building suffered severe damage due to the storm surge, but fortunately the jewel of the collection, a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair was undamaged having been stored at a height that was unreached by the floodwaters. Less fortunately, the museum lost a great deal of historical documents and photographs which were irreparably water damaged or destroyed by the mold that inevitably followed.
While there was a great deal of cleaning to do the teams of dedicated staff and volunteers found that for the most part the aircraft in the collection once cleaned had suffered no significant lasting damage. The CASC’s eclectic collection of historic craft with an emphasis on local significance includes several Sikorsky helicopters, a Northrop T-38 Talon, a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, an Aviat Christen Eagle II, a Cessna O-2A Skymaster, 150 and T-37 Tweet as well as a reproduction Whitehead No. 21 that one can safely assume is a non-flyer.
The CASC’s collection is intended to go on display within a historic hangar, dating back to the golden age of flight in the late 1920s which once housed a branch of the famous Curtiss Flying School. The hangar which still bears the now-ghostly “Curtiss” logo emblazoned across it has been an ongoing, long-term project to restore to its former glory.
Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
I’m glad to hear that ol’ 86 survived Hurricane Sandy.