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Follow-up story: Friday, May 8, 1998 Orange County Edition Section: Metro Page: B-2 FOCUS: ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY NEWS CENTRAL: FOUNTAIN VALLEY Damaged Plane Takes the Long Way Home - By: Lesley Wright A Cessna plane that made an emergency landing in Mile Square Regional Park on Wednesday shed its wings and made its way home to Riverside on the back of a flatbed Thursday. Riverside pilot Mike Gorman, an aerial photographer, had hoped the plane could be repaired on the spot, but his mechanic said damage from a broken valve was too extensive. Gorman, 36, landed his 1959 Cessna on an abandoned airstrip in the park Wednesday morning after the engine started bucking and he realized he would not make it to John Wayne Airport. The strip has been the source of controversy between model airplane hobbyists who use it as a launching pad and county supervisors who want to expand the park's golf course. That dispute has moved into the courts. Gorman's plane caused another flurry of activity Thursday when model airplane enthusiasts heard the pilot was giving away 40 gallons of gas that had to be drained from the craft before it could be moved. Gorman said seeing the salvage crew dismantle the wings was like watching sausage being made: "There are some things you don't want to know. These wings are put on with just four bolts. I would have used duct tape, cable ties and string too." Actually, cables and other hidden devices help keep the wings up, said Bob Sprouse of Long Beach's National Aircraft Salvage. The dismantling operation took more than four hours.