MCAS Tustin - Reduced to rubbil without firing a shot.

Self ^ | 22-Mar-2007 | William Burke

[null and void]

Tustin? Don't they mean El Toro?

[null and void]

What is 'rubbil'? :-)

Rooski money...

[null and void]

Oh MCAS LTA (Lighter Than Air)

[So Cal Rocket]

Unless there's a half-pipe inside.

You're going to get your wish... the North Hanger is going to be converted to a Sports Complex, which will include a professional skate park with a half-pipe.

[verity]

A rubbil is the slob offsping of a gerbil.

[null and void]

Or was that the cross of a rat and a gerbil?...

[rottndog]

I lived there for 5 years in the early '70s, when my dad was stationed at El Toro. The place has changed significantly, even in the last 10 years. It's so built up you would hardly recognize it, except for the hangars. One of the hangers, the one they are planning on keeping, has been maintained and is still in use for various functions (It's rented out for events).

Still, I lived there when there was literally NOTHING around it but farm fields. I miss that, but this, and El Toro, is some of the most prime real estate in the world. As much as I savor my memories of the place, the development was inevitable.

[rabidralph]

I'm sure the folks who move into the McMansions are readying their environmental lawsuits for the day they settle.

[Not A Snowbird]

I know what you mean. It broke my heart to see it abandoned, but the encroachment was getting ridiculous.

The last year I was at El Toro one of the things I had to do when I had base duty was to take a drive over to Tustin and check on it. It was eerie driving around a nearly deserted base.

Did you ever do the Volkslauf there? I did one year, and nearly drowned in the Trench of Death.

[rottndog]

I was only there when I was little. We moved away when I was 9. I remember I used to go to the gym at El Toro with my dad--there was a jogging trail across the street from the gym that went around the part of the base and up to one of the tarmacs....my dad would let me go on my own (you could do that in those days), and it was quite the adventure, at least for a little kid.

I know what you mean about that eerie feeling...I remember so much activity there....the old base housing was right in the flight path of the helicopters taking off (actually it was slightly off to the side), and at all hours of the day and night we had to listen to them coming and going. We got used to it, and it's a sound I actually like.

It's a shame...most people won't ever know what a neat place that was.

[verity]

lol

[norton]

"I'm not sure I'd like a McMansion with that ginormous hangar in the backyard."

So far those hangars are the only positive attribute.

I still don't know if either or both is coming down (or already has) but there will never be another one built & they're pretty impressive structures.

(Lots of pigeons in 'em however)

[Not A Snowbird]

(Lots of pigeons in 'em however)

Not just pigeons! Entire ecosystems live in those things. Hawks, rodents, stray cats, you name it.

I went through the Whittier earthquake inside one of those things. It was like being inside a shaking jello mold.

[rottndog]

Both Hangars are still there. One will be demolished for sure, and one will be kept for sure. There are some salvage companies licking their chops over the one that's coming down. It's a timber structure, and the timbers in there are worth a fortune. It will be put to good use in it's demise.

There's actually bigger hangers than the one at Tustin:

This is Moffet Field near San Jose, CA. The two hangars in the backround are identical to the ones in Tustin. The one in the foreground is much larger. You have to be next to it to appreciate it's true size.

Here's a close up:

[norton]

I know there are larger hangars - I just hate to see 'mine' go away, even one of them.

Despite the bowl of jello effect, I'd bet that these things would ever fall down on it's own unless the earthquake fault ran down the centerline.

PS: I knew a guy who's job at one time was to drive the doors open and shut - as I remember it was from a little cabin atop the door and took LOTS of time.

[Not A Snowbird]

That was the beauty of their construction. They shook and swayed, but held together just fine.

Scared the living daylights out of me, though. Just before the quake hit all the birds living in the rafters shrieked and took flight out the open hangar door. I was just saying "what the...?" when the building started to shake.

Wild ride!

[rottndog]

I know the footings and foundations for the Tustin hangars are 12 feet thick concrete. Methinks whoever is tasked with the demolition of the one hangar is in for quite a lot of work.

Huell Howser did a show on the hangars a few years back--he got a full tour, including going all the way up to the top of the inside. It's remarkable in there--there is a healthy population of owls, in addition to all the other critters. I'm surprised the Eco-nazis aren't suing to have it declared a bio-diverse wildlife sanctuary.

Boy, there's an internal conflict--to protect the wildlife they have to protect a monument to war---LOL!

[Not A Snowbird]

Gosh, what happens if they begin demolition and find an endangered species thriving in the rafters?

That would be fun to watch!

[A.A. Cunningham]

The Corps never operated Tustin as a blimp facility. The Navy did, designated LTA, until it was closed in June of 1949. It was redesignated Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana when the Corps reactivated it in May of 1951, Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter) Santa Ana in September of 1969 and finally Marine Corps Air Station Tustin in June of 1985.

We don't use blimps in the military anymore.

That is about to change.

Military Blimps Report for Duty