Photos by Chris Whelan
February 24, 2018 10:13 a.m.
Construction on the new Fernandina Municipal Airport Terminal is moving forward. According to previous reporting by Suanne Z. Thamm, the design is to “suggest an F4U Corsair, which flew out of the Fernandina Beach Airport when it was a Navy facility in the 1940’s.”
One photo shows a recent completed foundation that will hold up the tail. Our thanks to photographer Chris Whelan for sending us these recent photos of the progress.
Editor’s Note: Chris Whelan joined the United States Navy straight out of college in 1975 and served for 22 years as a Navy Aerographer’s Mate – the Navy’s meteorologists and oceanographers. Chris earned the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Broadcast Seal of Approval in 1994 and was an on-air meteorologist for the local television station WTLV starting in 1986 until he retired in 2004. Chris came to our island in 1991 and spends his time photographing the sights of our wonderful island, collecting and restoring vintage cameras, and being involved with local environmental issues, and enjoying his family. We thank Chris for his contributions to the Fernandina Observer.
Great photo essay provided again by Mr. Whelan documenting the buildout history of our newest civic endeavor. Thank You.
However, the exterior design continues to befuddle. If the building is to represent a F4U Corsair, when did this airplane model become asymmetrical?
Thanks, Christine! It’s been fun documenting the process and I believe it’s going to be a stunning terminal that evokes the feeling that it’s an F4U – it’s pretty close to symmetrical based on counting the “wing” trusses. I think it looks like it’s not because of the structure under the left wing and from the angle that I took the images from.