Quite a fearful blowing, gusting wind last night. I would write more, but the roaming charges from Oz are unbelievably high.
Really interesting video from the eye showing the stadium effectâŠ
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Some pretty amazing images here:
Some new post-storm satellite imagery has come out. This is the house we stayed out down in Port St. Joe a couple years ago:
After the hurricane, it looks like sand goes all the way up through the community, and the roof is partially torn off the house next to it. I donât know what happened to the house to the rightâŠit is completely gone (pulled out to sea?)âŠbut I donât see the debris from it.
Thatâs crazy. I donât get subjected to much like that up here - the odd winter storm that can know out power for a couple of days. I know that with climate change it is only a matter of time before that becomes more of a reality here. Need to get my kit together before that happens!
I wonder how many F-22s got damaged or destroyed beyond repair⊠Wowza⊠(some âsourcesâ are reporting as many as 17 might have been at the base)
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âMaintenanceâ, OK. Not much you can do with a jet without engines. âSafety reasonsâ??? I wonder what that means. One would think that some timely waivers would âfixâ that?
Still, if it was a clunky pilot seat locking latch or a weight-on-wheels override switch that might acute weapons systemsâŠOK, I can see that.
(Did you see how I tied in two other completely different threadsâŠ
)
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ooh look whoâs had enough coffee today!
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Some crazy footage of the damage hereâŠ
That is surreal. Wonder how many of the structures that survived will still end up being razed because of structural damage?
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Powerful video. Very reminiscent of Andrew.
Some interesting footage taken from a hotel just north of Tyndall. I donât know how smart it is to stand next to those huge glass windowsâŠbut it shows how ridiculous the winds wereâŠ
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That was some scary winds. 
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I know these articles arenât the favorite of some of our readers here at MudspikeâŠbut they do shed a little light here and there.
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Interesting article Beach. As they get older no matter what they do with the F-22âs regarding operational availability it is going to continue to decline. The loss of the ones at Tyndale wouldnât be anywhere near the issue if they had bought the 750 they initially planned.
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Conversely, also increasing the total program cost. For something that hardly gets any use. And costs a fortune to keep in the air. So while itâd be nice to have more of them, the past 20 years have kinda justified why we didnât get more â not to mention how hard the USAF has pimped the F-35, which was a huge reason why the number got capped to begin with.
So, likewise, this most likely wouldnât have been an issue had they stationed these aircraft in a slightly less volatile area, like Nevada or Idaho. Thatâs what they did with the F-117 and I donât recall any natural disasters taking those out, despite the incredibly small number of aircraft built. Iâll add the caveat that itâs not all the USAFâs fault, as decisions like that are often politically motivated by Congress rather than practical or rational decision making.
Not faulting the USAF. They always ask for more and end up having to do with less because of the public outcry over cost and Congress always sides with the public. 750 was probably overkill but 187 was definitely never going to be enough for the long term.
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USAF Had Faulty Data About Whether Hangars Full of F-22s Could Survive Hurricane Michael
WellâŠthat is a MOTO statement if Iâve ever heard one. Obviously if somebody said, âHey Wing Commander, you know this hangars where our new shiny airplanes are parkedâŠyeahâŠum, they are not rated for the winds we are expecting.â, Iâm pretty sure he/she would have gotten the ones that could fly (duct tape) out of there.
A Navy guy sticking up for the USAFâŠI knowâŠone of the seven signs of the apocalypse
True enough. Have you ever been to Tonopah? I drove through it twice. If Fort Huachuca hadnât already claimed the title of In the middle of nowhere", Tonopah would have had it hands down. I think they were more concerned with secrecy than unlikelihood of natural disasters. 
triggered
Those guys at 2RCC can kiss my shiny metal ***.