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Show LOCAL STANDARD-EXAMINER SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1991 CITY EDITOR: 625-4220 TV LISTINGS SPORTS CLASSIFIED U.S. 89 stoplights Rt eet6 F-16 Fighting Falcon Modifications to the F-16 have added additional weight, Causing more stress on the aircraft. Reconfiguration requested for Oakhills Drive | Cracks found where | wing is attached to | the body of the plane \ Great Salt Lake Source: Air Force Siandard-£ xaminer Cracked F-16s found at Hill Standard-E xaminer U.S. 89 changes sought In addition to repairs on wings, structures will be ‘beefed-up’ By DO DOnN BAKER By PAT BEAN Standard Examiner staff He also said upgrade modificaions to the plane have added additional weight, causing more stress on the aircraft. Hesaid no Air Force planes had Standard-Examiner staff HILL AIR FORCE BASE — Cracks have been discovered on several F-16s flown by 419th Tactical Fighter Wing reservist pilots ai Hill, the Air Force's F-16 systems program manager said Friday. The cracks in the jet fighters were discovered during routine maintenance checks, but at no time were they ever big enough to create a flying hazard, said Col. Gary Austin as he escorted the news media through the base’s F16 maintenance buildings. Most of the cracks have appeared where the wing is attached to the body of the plane, which is a critical stress area, said Austin. Although cracks in the F-16 fleet only became public knowledge this week, Austin said the Air Force has been aware of the problem for several years. “The cracks you heard about lately are ones the Air Force has been tracking for some time. Whenever we.found one, we would determine what steps needed io be taken to correct it, then repair it,” said Austin. “Most of the cracks,” he emphasized, “are not even big enough to be seen with the naked eye.” He said the cracks have occurted because the F-16, which was developed as a single-mission lightweight fighter plane, has taken on multiple roles and been flown harder than original specifications called for. TOOELE — A delegation of Layton citizens toid the Utah Transportation Commission on Friday they want additional improvements at the intersec- tion of U.S. 89 and Oakhills Drive that could add as much as $400,000 to the cost of planned construction on the highway. Scott Priest, a Layton developer been grounded because of the cracks but that eight Navy planes, which experience much heavier work loads, had been grounded earlier this year due to cracks in the airframe. He said the Navy only has about 12 F-16s. In addition to ongoing repairs to the pianes, which are completely checked over after every 150 hours flying time, a general “beef-up” of the wing structure on who said he represents residents who live east of U.S. 89, told the commission he believes the intersection improvements on the Utah Department of Transporation planning boards are “inadequate” to meet traffic flow and safety needs of the area. ie urged the eipeanes commission to replace the proposed all F-16s will begin in 1993, said the F-16 program manager. “An engineering analysis says we should do the beef-up to prevent future problems,”” he said. “If we don’t do the beef-up work,it may mean wewill have to replace a wing, which we don’t want to three-waystop at the intersection with a full four-way stop, providing an additional section of road east of U.S. 89 that would tie in the frontage road that runs east of the highway. Priest indicated that his estimates of between $300.000 and $400.000 are rough figures based on his experience happen. “But the cost of that work is nowhere near the $1.3 billion reported in the article in Jane’s,” said Austin. Jane’s Defense Week!y, a British journal that covers military operations worldwide, reported Tuesday that almost all General Dynamic’s F-l6s had cracks. A U.S. Department of Defense jCSg SEen as a developer. AUGUST MILLER/Standard-Examiner Col. Gary Austin, F-16 System Program man- modifications done to prevent or repair cracks ager at Hill Air Force Base, points out the wing on F-16 fighter jets. work. But he said Hill mayalso send some of its repair personnel to other bases to do minorrepairs. And ae of the work might be General Dynamic’s faci wing structure at the site of the stress area to help prevent future cracking. The same method will be used to repair cracks that have already appeared, he said. The U.S. Air Force has about Hill’s 388th Tactical Fighter Wing has 72 of the $16 million UDOT officials have already opened the bids for the Oakhills and two other intersections on U.S. 89, and has awarded the contract to Gibbons & Reed Co. Work on the three intersections is to begin next month. The transportation commissioners planes, and the 419th has 24, said a base spokesman. spokesman said earlier this week done at that the repair work would run about $250 million. Austin said Hill, because of being the major repair and modification depot for the F-16, will probably receive much of the ties in Ft. ‘Worth, Texas, he “The contractor is naturally 1,800 F-16s in its inventory. Other nations, including Belgium, the experienced cracks, but their planes are all the new model F- working with us to correct the problem,” said Austin. He said Nether nd Turkey, have an additional 1,200, said General Dynamics spokesman Mike Hat- __16C or the two-seat D model, and are less than twoO years old, said 388th spokesm “apt. Jennifer Fay. referred Priest, Layton Mayor James La ton ~~, Layton citizen Dwight None of the 388th’s planes have ; to project. “It's not too late to do some modi- fying,” Commissioner James Larkin said. By STEVE GREEN was using to spray “Two years ago, they built up a pesticide resistance, so we had to change to a chemical that 1s costing us more,” he said Because of that change, combined with a higher influx of the insects this year due to a wet spring, Ipson said it has pecome harder and more costly to keep the insect in check. ipson said of the $127,000 budget the abatement office received for chewed up ~ahey in increased chemical have spent their budget on purchasing chemicals,” said Davis County Commissioner Gerald Purdy So mosquito abat ement district officials are requesting a tax hike mn the mone from county residents A public hearing will be held Aug. the Dav Chambers in 4 unkempt Elsewhere in the Commiussior genis detaiied their probiems = — Sheryl hz ve \ d in Davis ¢ ment headqu Speci ACT VICE thal baseball for- of the Weber County Babe Ruth Baseball] Association, her husbar of Oreai Salt must Ki ry un er rds who re nronerl F ad d r - : Wa r Avenue and between tc 1 29th g sed nclud next $ I ow g Pnes id n fughway, he saic WU consider, tha Tse 7 ISi GON be bd 0 poss Tre rs. “Wew ul me ng t . se and rema r : hi a Z operate as usual, but ca i if th t : bp ihe We'd © ¢ f : ngior \ - ‘ layed rez nA » heir member Bu Kathy be Ort a ds 1 r D r 7 ++ purchase d and near and her sons play on < Pf baseba n Weber County and a lot of talent, but few fo she decidec s this season, al loca besides used by Ogden one wi ) ; ; on r) 5 i and “ a nd three to f tor Cif } ar-oids and 4 K a ot ‘ a ; ‘ + on & . si : ! would t like baset } H . ; : ¥ , “ ’ ; : ' _— Grant ; ; i : , al ! ‘ mot f dona nish week p +} : ‘ tt packs T . sn i : } a get nity " itaguc A ¢d a field i the he ; i The local Babe Ruth associat associatior n the works. Harrisville Citv was great : \ : : the y day for ani saic “ said t worked The : the¢bases, bringing in sand, creating the pitcher's n d, etc. TI <j ve the City Recres 4 out and meas of ; only majo baseball diamonds in ble = nh Bab r high and high schools unty ne 20 ~ $aid pent hundreds hours digging aA ' lol because r Pa, ee ; loca $ and mond before sion, s0 we t ee : F : lenin Of amter- po uit ng — — © 2een u py =~ « ae hase! unique mosquitoes because Lake oOasiline sprayed 30th § She volunteers as vice president league with their the na Uno anth ° Ss aerente 199 of the large acreage m Grant ever because “they have the Probie They. said numerous profession5 . says she and her husband, Doug, WE SALUTE Before a — 2Rtt eas enged the assertion thal a 1s less desireable than a home Volunteer organizes renovationof basebal field inHarrisville Farmingtor has ] east-central baseball teams | said there 18 @ 13 at 7:30 p.m. in County | yards if approved, the increase would increase taxes on a $100,000 home 160 $3.20 in 1991 from $2.35 ir Davis. crime neighborhood, blocks are marred by boarded-up buildings and vacant lots And throughout the district, the character of residential blocks has been altered by the establishment of businesses in commercial build ings and converted homes City council members on Thursday listene<d for four hours as resi- coaches on that mecrease County aboul parking, noise, uncleanliness and been cost down complaints The Layton reside of renovating homes Monroe Bivd County Mosquito Abatement, said mosquitoes in the Davis area a few years back started to become immune to the pesticide the county with made in vacant conkibencial Duild- Washinaton Bivd Keith Ipson, manager of Davis ry land-use problems The neighborhood runs from 20th to 30th streets, between Harnson and Washington boulevards. Part of the area is marked by Drive in South Weber. The cost of the project, bid at $944,000, would increase almost by half if the suggested improvementsare ‘sDiscouraging homes into bu ments the east-central district, a neighborhood with serious and contradicto- crowded housing, where neighbors often get on each other's nerves or tenant would have to comp]ly neighborhood, including provi- OGDEN — The city council has adopted new zoning regulations for cials. has mission’s zoning proposals for the East-central area Standard-Examiner staff FARMINGTON — The cost of handling the influx of super mosguitoes in Davis County is starting to bug mosquito abatement offi- $55,000 signals and intersectior alignments on U S. 89 where it imtersects 200 North in Kaysville, Oakh Crowded housing causes friction among neighbors in Ogden's east-central district Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau about The three-intersection project ca for traffic Drive in Layton and South Weber By BRYON SAXTON 1991, determine ial recommendations can be included in the Oakhills whether Mosquito Council adopts new zoning Sadadens fighting costs bug Officials trict One UDOT Direc- ‘ ? ap |