European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday August 12,1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 my Moi Mommi Mem  of i you May like it or not Spain s a real hot spot b v1ncecrawley staff writer Torrejon a Spain those lured to the iberian Peninsula by visions of sunny Spain some times gel More Sun than they bargained for. Some Guys on the flight line claim that just for kicks they la take an egg out. And put it on the Wing of an f-16 and watch it Fry said sol. Buz Ritchie of Torrejon a on the outskirts of Madrid. At Zaragoza a i so Miles East of Madrid ground Crews this summer began requisitioning cases Olga Torac from the commissary and passing out the drink Gratis to visiting pilots who Aren t in Spain Long enough to adapt to the heat. They take two to three weeks to get acclimated then leave and go Back to the fog and Damp of West Germany again. The Sun especially is a big Factor Down Here said capt. Morris Reich Man of Zaragoza s 406lh consolidated aircraft Maint so. In july and August Madrid thermometer routinely wander near and above 100  highest officially re corded july temperature was 106, but maintenance people say that out Between the runways and hangars where there nothing but a military haircut and a Tan to Shade them from the Sun the Mercury climbs much higher. Tech. Sgt. Terry  Pentecost of Torrejon s Torrejon a s facilities Energy manager 1st  wham says summer is a real Drain on Spain s Energy resources. The wild sounding claims arc mostly True said master sgt. Paul Church a Torrejon Weatherman who figures that flight line temperatures run 15 to 20 degrees higher than the surrounding air because of radiation and reflection from All the Concrete. It May rain in Spain but less than one Inch of precipitation Falls in july and August said Church s Boss 1st it. Norman Gonzales. The rest of the time the often cloudless sky is full of almost relentless Sunshine. That s probably Why people notice the heat so much Gonzales said. It just seems to go on Day after Day. From what i hear from All the pilots it s great flying weather. And we re not even the hottest area in Spain. That s Down in the Seville area where they reach 110  inhabitants of Europe s cooler less sunny climes might be heartened to hear that it did Snow at Torre Jon one Day last Winter it lasted three or four hours Gonzales said and then was gone. Monotonous Sunshine is what brings vacationers and Jet fighters to Spain. Pilots Don t like Clouds because Clouds usually mean the weather is changing. We the air Force need a place where we can Fly in Good weather rather than in the inclement weathering Germany said col. Lee r. Mazzarella Deputy Over Here and when running their the air shimmers off the Dight line at Zaragoza As Crew members sen ice a plane in 100-plus temperatures commander for operations at Zaragoza. The flying weather in Spain permits us to use the whole Day every  Zaragoza an air Force version of West Ger Many s Grafen Wahr tank and infantry ranges is where . Fighter pilots in Europe go to shoot real bullets and practice dropping bombs. It s expensive to rotate combat pilots in and out every two or three weeks but Zaragoza s meteorological records almost guarantee that they won t get weathered in for More than a few hours during their stay. Torrejon though is the Home base for a Fleet of f 16s, the 401st tac fighter Wing whose pilots and ground Crews live there More or less year round. For them summer Means a Strain on local Energy resources. The base experiences frequent brownouts when All the air conditioners Are up and running. Water conservation is rigidly enforced to help fend off the is million annual water Bill. Spain a dry country forces customers to pay dearly for their water. Engineers just spent $10,000 to replace every Shower head on base and in the housing areas. This move alone should save at least si00,000 a year said 1st it. Benjamin wham the base facilities Energy manager. He pronounces his name to rhyme with  Power incs and plumbing Aren t the Only parts of the base under stress. Heat has a tendency to mess with pavement wham said. Because of the change in climates things expand and contract so much they just get worn out. It can get Down to 20 Here in the Winter. And in the summer it s like a desert climate 55 at night to i  base engineers Are in a sort of limbo because the can t make Long Range plans to replace worn out and outdated facilities. In negotiations with the Spanish government the United states agreed to move the 401st out of Spain Early next decade. However the House and Senate seem set to slash funds from the 1990 defense spending Bill designated for the Wing s proposed new base at Croton on the sole of Italy Boot. In Torrejon at least there will be nothing new under the Sun. At least not next year.  chemical arms talks resume tuesday Geneva a .-soviet negotiations on chemical weapons will re sume next tuesday an american Diplo mat said thursday. A soviet official said new agreements could be reached in the 10-Day round but the . Assessment was More cautious. The talks Are aimed at setting joint inspections of each Side s chemical arms Sites and settling disputes Over How to Monitor stockpiles. Both superpowers say such moves will help Speed the Geneva talks on a global ban of such weapons. Verification or Ami cheating measures has Long been a main Point of disagreement.  talks were expected to re sume in the fall. Now the new round precedes next month s meeting Between Secretary of state James Baker and soviet foreign minister a Duarl Shevardnadze in the United states. In the round the soviet delegation intends to Complete the development of an agreement on those areas where positions of the .s.r. And .a. Are close Moscow s chief envoy Sergei Bat Sanov told the 40-nation conference on disarmament. The conference has been debating a worldwide ban on the production Stock piling and use of chemical weapons for 21 years. . Envoy Max Friedersdorf said superpower negotiators will make every Effort to build on the last round s Prog Ress and to finish draft agreements in the new session set for aug. 15-24. But he said some big divergences remain and refused to predict whether work could be completed. After the last round both sides reported agreement on principles governing on the spot inspections