Scioto Valley Chapter paints new Compass Rose at Marysville's Union County Airport.
Our chapter originally painted a compass rose at the Marysville Airport in 1992. It served well for more than ten years, but it eventually disappeared during a subsequent ramp expansion and re-paving project. In autumn 2007, we finally were able to schedule a project to recreate their compass rose, and the airport management chose a very prominent location for this showpiece, directly in front of their main entrance.
The weather forecast for our chosen day, Saturday, October 26, called for rain late in the day, so we tried to get an early start by gathering at the Marysville airport about 8:00 AM. However, the winds were so strong that we had some difficulty holding the chalk-line strings straight during the layout process on the airport ramp. After someone pointed out that we'd surely see lots of paint spattering and spillage if we tried painting in that wind, we collectively decided to pause after completing the layout, and re-convene on the next morning for the painting part of the project.
The Saturday-evening rain was light enough that the chalk-line layout survived the weather, so the plan to delay painting until Sunday morning was a good one. Not only did the wind and weather cooperate, we had a good turnout of painters for the Sunday morning effort.
October 28, 2007
Jann does the detail work, with a 1/4-inch (6 mm) brush on a 70-foot (21 m) diameter circle! Connie, Ray, Mary, and Jim are in the background, all painting different areas of the compass rose.
October 28, 2007
Some people work to the very end. Mary, George, Connie and Paula.
October 28, 2007
Lest we forget who created this wonder to behold, we always add our signature to our compass roses. Hey, a little publicity for the chapter's benefit is always good, right? The date of survey is to alert future users to be mindful of the changes in magnetic variation with passage of time.
October 28, 2007
As always, Ray works even while others look on. (He claimed he just had a little extra white paint left over in the bottom of a paint tray, and he didn't want to see it wasted.)
November 25, 2007
A month later, Paula Rumbaugh yielded to that irresistible urge to burn some avgas, so she tried to justify it by snapping this aerial view of the compass rose during a low pass over the Union County runway. (Thanks, Paula; we know you did it just for us. <grin>)