Chuck Capps
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Year Arrived Rhein Main: |
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October 1985
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Year Departed Rhein Main: |
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June 1992
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Flight or Section Assigned. If you were part of the 362nd MXS, 626 AMSS, and/or 726th AMS, please also list. |
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D
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Will you be attending 2011 Reunion? |
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Yes
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Have you made your hotel reservation? Yes/No |
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No
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Residing In: |
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Erzhausen Germany |
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Occupation: |
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Aircraft Mechanic |
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Birthday: |
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November 29, 1958 |
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Comments: |
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I am working as a mechanic for Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd at Frankfurt Airport.
I got to see Rhein Main AB being demolished and I have to admit, it kind of hurt. |
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Your favorite Rhein Main Story: |
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Scott Brown and I were on a self imposed lunch break from our QA duties of zapping people on the flight line and we were sitting on the observation hill on Ellis Road watching the airplanes land. A Hungarian passenger plane landed and pulled off the hammerhead in the direction of the Quebec parking spot and the SP's were waiting for it with their M16's out. After a few minutes 2 guys jump out of the airplane and put their hands up and the SP's take them away. Later Scooter and I found out the airplane was hijacked and the two guys demanded to be turned over to the American authorities in Frankfurt. We both kind of wondered if we should stay or run in case they decided to shoot at people, both sides I mean. Ok not an actual Enroute story but it was close to where C-5's sometimes would park. It's kind of the same... |
Me and my Lovely wife Vera
Here is a computer overlay of how the airport will expand. If you remember the layout (look on Google Earth) you can see that where Rhein Main AB was will be the new terminal.
Hangar 38 Fuel Cell
Photo taken in 2007
A panorama from the Cargo City South Parking ramp showing the tower that was built in 87-88 and Hangar 8. Where I am standing is where EOD used to blow up the stuff they found on base.
Photo taken in 2004
This was the Engine Shop building. View is from ramp behind hangar 38
Photo taken in 2007
This was the building next to Engine shop. View is from ramp behind hangar 38
Photo taken in 2007
The 2 hangars near Enroute are being demolished, view is from Joker row.
Photo taken in 2007
This was a very sad picture on such a rainy miserable day.
Photo taken in 2007
The passenger terminal. The small building to the right was the fuel/oil lab.
Photo taken in 2007
The Radio mast hump being dug up.
Photo taken in 2007
The 37th flying squadron building and the AGE building.
Photo taken in 2007
Enroute.
Photo taken in 2007
The base chapel with the windows boarded up after the stained glass was removed.
Photo taken September 2005
I got this from the internet and it shows the ramp full of C-141's
The main gate to the base as it was. in 1996 or 97 this was removed and the main gate was moved down even with the entrance to the base exchange parking lot
The base Gym being viewed from the corner of the Security Police building. You can see one of the new freight handling buildings behind it which is covering the areas where the auto hobby shop were located and the vehicle inspection area.
Photo taken September 2005
In 1998 or 1999 the front 2/3rd's of the base theater were demolished. The part just behind the stage had to remain as it contained the heating plant for several of the buildings around there that were still being used, for instance the bowling alley which can just be seen behind it.
Photo taken September 2005
A view towards the CBPO building with the blast wall which was erected as a result of further bomb threats during the late 80's and early 90's. You can also see the backside of what used to be the Audio Club.
Photo taken September 2005
At the traffic light looking west towards the round house. The end of the VAQ is on the left and that building still remains standing today. It is being used by a freight forwarding company. On the right is the HQ/CBPO building.
Photo taken September 2005
Looking in the direction of building 140 from the corner of the Officer and NCO club parking lot. The main road you see going from left to right was built after this part of the base was returned to the airport and splits the large paking lot in half where the AAFES new car sales were located.
Photo taken September 2005
At the traffic light corner looking through a gate at the former location of building 140 and the post office.
Photo taken September 2005
The education office had several small classroom cubicles here located across from the post office. as you can see the German border police were using the spot to train their working dogs.
The orange dumpsters are sitting where the post office used to be.
Photo taken September 2005
This is the corner where the community bank was located before being moved to the Finance office building.
Photo taken September 2005
The hotel formerly known as "Base Hotel". View is from north end of BX parking lot
Photo taken September 2005
Looking from the north end of the BX parking lot, the BX was being used by the state department until approximately (not sure exactly when) 2003. The small white roof to the right is the main gate guard shack.
Photo taken September 2005
A view back towards the main gate. Bare in mind that now all of these buildings and trees are gone.
Photo taken September 2005
Looking from the main road across to the Tower. It went the way of destruction in 2007.
Photo taken September 2005
It is hard to see it in there, but this is the Officers club. It was taken over by Lufthansa and used as a conference center for a long time. I don't know if they are still using it now.
Photo taken September 2005
The parking area between the base chapel and the morale, welfare and recreation building looking toward CBPO.
Photo taken September 2005
The last old crappie building on the right as you came past the BX. I thought the sign was rather poignient.
Photo taken September 2005
The traffic light. I thought of stealing it as a keepsake, but I didn't know how to get it off the base in my VW without raising certain unavoidable concerns. View once again toward 140
Photo taken September 2005
The Apollo Club, later renamed the Rocket Sports Bar. It was in business right to the bitter end and served up some fair fast food and offered the ever popular slots.
Photo taken September 2005
View to the west on Alpha Row. To the rear you can see the cargo parking ramp which used to be woods. The blue hangar doors you see in the center are on Hangar 9. Hangar 8 is gone and they are parking pallet dollies on it's foundation.
Photo taken March 2009
Behind the Air China are two (then) new hangars that were built end of the 80's and leased by the Air Force. They were used by Condor until sometime last year.
Photo taken March 2009
At the west end of the flightline looking at dirt that used to be the auto stripping yard the 7th SOS, the old nose dock would have been right at the end even with the nose of the Air China.
Photo taken March 2009
A bit further east shows dirt that used to be the Age building, and the 37th Flying Squadron.
Photo taken March 2009
Enroute and where the two airplanes are parked would have been in front of the two large hangars I think 436 and 437, correct me on that if I am wrong please.
Photo taken March 2009
The large orange silo in the background is sitting where the fuel farm used to be. It is cleaning out the ground water of fuel that leaked all those years.
Photo taken March 2009
The large cranes are sitting in the vicinity of the Round house i believe, but without landmarks out there anymore it is hard to say.
Photo taken March 2009
A view looking straight east from Alpha row.
Photo taken March 2009
The heating plant between the two light poles that used to be between the two hangars next to enroute. The light pole on the right was in enroutes back yard
Photo taken March 2009
Ok I might have overdone it a bit but here is that silo again, someone today said it could also be for mixing cement. I don't think so because it looks like a a smaller version of a rig that stood next to the pax terminal that was removing a nine inch puddle of fuel from the water table back in the late 80's and early 90's.
Photo taken March 2009
For gosh sakes! Did I take all these pictures of the same stuff!! What an idiot. Same cranes around the round house area, just like the first one.
Photo taken March 2009
This taxiway entrance was blocked for many years by the fire departments aircraft model. You can still see the rust imprint in the shape of an airplane there.
Photo taken March 2009
An extremely bad picture of the base hotel through the cockpit window. Sometimes the camera wanted to focus on the smudges on the window.
Photo taken March 2009
Can anyone remember how the airport and Frankfurt Skyline looked back in the old days?
Photo taken March 2009
Looking back west again from Alpha row, in the old days you would have seen trees. Now you can see the big hangar Lufthansa has built and on down to runway 18 west.
Photo taken March 2009
The old cargo area with what used to be the biggest hangar in europe. Now behind the hangar in the previous photo is one big enough to hold 4 Airbus A380's. I will try to post a photo of it later.
You can also see the airport fuel farm which is just like it always was.
Photo taken March 2009
Forget about everything obvious in this photo and concentrate on the small building behind the tail of the Thai -400. If you could read it you would see on the front of that building T-56 Test Cell. That's for the C-130 engine guys.
Photo taken March 2009
A really crappy picture of the taxi way going in to the ramp behind hangar 38
Photo taken March 2009
I remember now what this is, and this will be interesting for the APS guys. This is where the loading ramp and the main offices for Aerial Port Squadron were located. The second fence in the background surrounds it.
Photo taken March 2009
Ok Ok this is interesting, the road you can see there is the one coming up past the base ball diamonds and going to the pax terminal as well as around to the fire department and tower.
Photo taken March 2009
This is part of the parking area next to the control tower and the empty spot where the fire department and the 7th SOS Flying Squadron building used to be. The 7th SOS building (Bldg 30) was one of the oldest on the base and was part of the original Hydrogen plant for the Zeppelins.
Photo taken March 2009
Never mind the old Sikorsky the buildings in the background now belong to the fire department and the large one with the garage doors is new. However, behind that one is the hangar the 7th SOS stored there small approach instrument test plane in(wink wink). Anyne who can refresh my memory on what that airplane was would help me not to feel old and forgetful. In QA i had to weigh it a half dozen times because it was nose heavy. It took 6 tries until I had found all the stuff the crew chiefs were hiding in it. The best was all of the Scrounge hardware (nearly 80 pounds) stashed to the brim in the honey bucket of the toilet. I wish I could remember what aircraft it was???
Photo taken March 2009
The FAA building which is now occupied by a security company. They provide personnel for standing out in the cold while the airplanes are parked on the ramp.
Photo taken March 2009
Another view of the Frankfurt Skyline from Sierra taxiway where it used to be called Quebec row. Remeber when the Henninger Turm was the tallest thing on the horizon?
Photo taken March 2009
Back in 200 the airport built this house on Ellis road directly behind the Berlin Airlift memorial. they had a TV show that they broadcast from it that was a complete flop. They would bring German celebrities that were passing through the airport to the house and this dork would interview them for 10 minutes or so. Now they just use it for catered events from the airport. Just a week or so before this picture was taken they cut down all of the old trees along Ellis road to make way for progress!
Photo taken March 2009
Ellis Road and the viewing hill. I sat there one day with Scott Brown and watched a Hungarian airlines aircraft that had been hijacked pull up to the end of the hammerhead. The two hijackers jumped out and were taken away by the SP's never to be heard from again....
Photo taken March 2009
Did you ever have the feeling you were being watched? I was riding along one day thinking, how nice it was to scratch my nose (mostly inside it) and noticed several guys over there with those hyper-telephoto lenses pointed right at me. I decided to quit scratching.
So far I haven't seen my face on any website with my finger 2 knuckles deep in my nose. It was just itching though, really!
Photo taken March 2009
Back when I arrived at Rhein Main there was a small recreation area on Ellis Road just before you went under the Autobahn bridge to Gateway Gardens. My wife (then my freshly found girlfriend) and I had picnics there and there were softball fields there as well. Sometime around 87 or 88 they gave that back to the airport and the small airplanes and all of the buildings you see over there were built on top of it.
Photo taken March 2009
And how many of you remember the Recreation area on the other side of A5. As you can see it is still intact. The last I heard, it was going to be returned and reforested. i just remember a big guy named Tony at the Jägerstübe, that would get any piece of crap car through the inspection for you if you left him 2 large bottles of Jim Beam in the floor board. Didn't work for me.
Photo taken March 2009
The large gray building in the background is the newest Lufthansa (LSG) catering building and displaced a very large portion of the Gateway Gardens housing. you can still see some of the housing units from the A3 autobahn as you drive past, but I am sure they don't have long to live.
Photo taken March 2009
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