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On November 27, 2006, our giant-scale aviation wind vanes were finally installed atop our three-story sign.

It was a long haul getting to this point.  In early 2006, we commissioned Morris Jorgensen, an artist in Northwestern Iowa, to create the vanes for us in early summer, with the original intent of placing one atop our tower "steeple".  Unfortunately, after the first vane arrived -- and its massive size and weight was honestly assessed -- it became obvious that the old steeple structure could not bear the wind loads that would be imposed upon it without major modification.

So, we looked at our big sign out front.  With massive steel girders buried deep in the ground, structural wind loads would not be an issue.  However, we would need another vane for the second upright -- and getting it up there would require major work and expense.   But we decided to forge ahead, and Morris got back to work on the second vane.

This also required a major redesign of the vane bases and brackets, so that they would mate properly with the steel girders.  Jeptha Rudolph, owner of JR Construction (and long-time friend of the hotel), volunteered to take a look at the top of the uprights, and -- after considerable effort -- was able to draw up rough plans for mounting brackets that would work.  

We forwarded these specifications back to Morris, who fabricated the massive brackets out of heavy gauge steel.  We picked them up, and then....we waited.

JR Construction is very busy throughout the summer, and Jeptha was unable to work this somewhat bizarre job into his schedule until November 27th.   Luckily, we were in the midst of unseasonably warm -- but rainy -- weather, so he was able to do the installation without freezing to death!  

The results, as you can see by the photos, below, are quite striking.  The vanes, which each weigh 27 pounds, are cut from extremely heavy-gauge steel, and sit atop ball-bearings, so that -- despite their massive size -- they delicately rotate in the wind.   We opted to leave them bare steel so that they will eventually rust to a light brown patina that should match the color of the uprights.  Morris (AKA: "WeatherVaneMan") did a fantastic job -- you can see more of his amazing creations by clicking here.

Silhouetted against the sky, these vanes truly tell the world that "aviation" is our passion!

Click a thumbnail to see a larger photo...

May '06 - Morris Gunderson & Jay in Fairmont, MN	May '06 - Another shot of Morris & Jay	Nov '06 - Six months later, ready to be erected...	Here's the Piper Cherokee that Morris made especially for us!
Jeptha getting started...	Soon the rain began to fall...	And it got ugly up there...	The first one goes up!
Then it started to get dark...	Jeptha and his son didn't finish until it was totally dark...	The next day...they look great!	A close-up of our Cherokee silhouetted against the sky!