Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
July 20, 2018
Work on the unique Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport terminal appears to be heading for a smooth landing. Photos taken this morning show that the decals have been added to the tail section, and it appears that work on the canopy is about to begin.
Atlas Obscura here we come!
I think this is so cool. An airport welcome center that looks just like a plane! I love driving by it every day going to our Nassau Humane Society and seeing it develop. Once this is done, I sure hope the City focuses all their energies on repairing our marina to look just as nice and attractive.
Well, this “airplane” will be airborne with the next hurricane that comes along…….bye bye birdie?
Sorry but, it looks ridiculous. It’s a working airport, not an amusement park. Still, not my money so I have no say.
To paraphrase Lady Marmalade: Itchi Kitschy Ya Ya Da Da
You do know this insignia was not adopted until 1947! I believe that was after the war ended. Sorry guys, this design is in no way professional and looks like a cartoon. Too bad actual aircraft were never based at Fernandina. It was an OLF. So we are celebrating touch and goes at an extensive expense?
Was there a historian involved or consulted on the embellishments? And was there an architect for the structure/ design?
Please search the Fernandina Observer for all the articles documenting the origin and development of the design. Yes, there was definitely an architect on the project. The building was never intended to be an exact model of a Corsair, but to suggest the airplane. A large scale model of the Corsair will be displayed inside the completed structure. With respect to the markings, we learned this from a knowledgeable source: There were a lot of different insignia used on military aircraft. This just happens to be the current Navy insignia that was chosen for the building. A red outline was added in 43 and the red strip came in 47, however there were all sorts of colors and insignia over that time period depending on the squadron.
Thanks Suanne, for your detailed and informative reporting on such a variety of issues.