The Twin Bee featured in the March issue of AOPA Pilot was damaged by a storm in Bartow, Fla., during a day of bad weather March 31 that wreaked havoc at Sun ’n Fun in nearby Lakeland, Fla.
Repairs are started and should be completed in 30 days, although the aircraft will not be available for the Tavares Inaugural Seaplane Fly-in on Saturday, April 16. Tavares is the aircraft’s home base, where it is operated by the Jones Brothers and Company Air and Seaplane Adventures.
The amphibious aircraft lost its left landing gear and left sponson. The pilot’s windscreen was broken out. However, its tank-like build by Republic Aviation in the late 1940s apparently spared the aircraft further damage.
Alton K. Marsh
Freelance journalist
Alton K. Marsh is a former senior editor of AOPA Pilot and is now a freelance journalist specializing in aviation topics.
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