vluc Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Aircraft Graveyard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Looks like a little bit of everything over there in Tuscon... I wonder if one could get a pass to tour and take pictures somehow.... Hmmmm..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 (edited) saw this one as well going to vegas... http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...p;z=15&om=1 Edited August 13, 2007 by outerlimits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RacerX1166 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Kind of surprising to see B-1's in there already. Still think of those as 'new technology'. Guess I'm showing my age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 There is an airplane graveyard museum nearby Tuscon. Very cooll place, lots of planes including the Air Force One used by Johnson. Just think, there's a company that buys those old planes in particular the B-52's as scrap. Then they refurbish any parts they can salvage and sell it back to the military since the military can no longer acquire those parts. They are making a ton of $$$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Looks like a little bit of everything over there in Tuscon... I wonder if one could get a pass to tour and take pictures somehow.... Hmmmm..... It's been a few years since I was there, but AMARC (the name for it...or at least that's what it was back then) at Davis-Monthan did have a sort of tour, but you didn't get to go out amongst the planes. They had a row with one of every type lined up and they'd drive you along in a bus to check things out. Honestly, you can see a lot just from driving around the base...if you can get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 IIRC some of the planes are parked out where satellites can see and count them due to various arms-limitation treaties (notice the chopped-up B52s center-screen). Interesting how few of the Warthogs have wings left.. If you poke around the government auction sites, you can frequently find mass quantities of "irony aluminum", which is code for "big chunks of scrapped airplanes". Most anything that still resembles aircraft needs the buyer to sign a certificate promising to destroy it though. I've heard Boeing and the airlines parked a bunch of unsold/unused airliners out there for a while after the 9/11 downturn until they were needed again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 (edited) Looks like a little bit of everything over there in Tuscon... I wonder if one could get a pass to tour and take pictures somehow.... Hmmmm..... Dave, You pretty much have to have an official contact to get on the base but you can tour by bus with the Pima Air Museum (www.pimaair.org). They also have a retired Titan missile silo on display south of town. Google link to the Pima Air Museum Later, Chuck Edited August 13, 2007 by ChuckS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Looks like a little bit of everything over there in Tuscon... I wonder if one could get a pass to tour and take pictures somehow.... Hmmmm..... Dave, You pretty much have to have an official contact to get on the base but you can tour by bus with the Pima Air Museum (www.pimaair.org). They also have a retired Titan missile silo on display south of town. Google link to the Pima Air Museum Later, Chuck Good point.....the Titan Missle Museum is very cool. I actually had a commander that pulled alerts in that silo back in the early 80s (if I remember correctly) and then he was in charge of sourcing a lot of stuff for the museum (including the airframe)...really interesting stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Kind of surprising to see B-1's in there already. Still think of those as 'new technology'. Guess I'm showing my age. B-52s are going to be flying LONG after the last B-1 goes to the graveyard. Last thing I saw they were projecting B-52s in service til 2025 or 2030? That would make the newest B-52 over 70 years old before it retires. Best bang for the buck the U.U. Military has probably ever spent, with the possible exception of the M-1 Garand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 (edited) Bart, A guy I work with father was stationed in that tube. the son spent time doing navigation systems on Minuteman and Peacekeeper. I took him on the tour. He was telling stuff to the tour guide! Shaun The lifespan of the BUFF is now projected to 2040. The 1911 of Bombers... Later, Chuck Edited August 13, 2007 by ChuckS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 I didn't see any C-130's in the boneyard. That's another plane that will probably never die. FWIW dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 I didn't see any C-130's in the boneyard. That's another plane that will probably never die. FWIW dj Actually, the AF is either grounding or has grounded the C-130E for inspection of the center wing box. You may recall that CDF tanker that folded it's wings on a water drop a while back. While that was a C-130A, the whole fleet (except for the J, I hope) has issues with the airframe there). There may be some more at DM soon. One reason you may not see any there, I think they can be sold with little restiction since there is a civil variant (L-188) that has been available for decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Interesting how few of the Warthogs have wings left.. My understanding is that they tend to get a bit.... perforated.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 You pretty much have to have an official contact to get on the base but you can tour by bus with the Pima Air Museum (www.pimaair.org). They also have a retired Titan missile silo on display south of town. Sounds like cool stuff... I wonder how to get an "official contact"... hmmmmmm.... tours may not go at the time of day that's best for photos.... hmmmmmm.... Something to look into, anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intel6 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Drive by that place all the time. The road (Kolb) that splits it is the one I use to get into that part ot Tucson from I10. Neal in AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 --- snip --- Interesting how few of the Warthogs have wings left.. --- snip --- The Air Force just let a $2 Billion contract for the A-10 Rewing program for 242 A-10s. Those hogs may be waiting for new wings. Interesting story: A guy affiliated with Pima had noticed a C-118 that was going to be sold for scrap. There was something familiar about the tail number to him. It turns out that A/C was the last piston engine Air Force One. When it was taken out of executive service, it was returned to the utility fleet and the fancy paint was stripped. They stopped the scrapping and got it for the museum. The really amazing thing is that they found the executive interior in a warehouse and were able to restore the plane. Some of you older folks may remember that photo of JBJ being sworn in after the Kennedy assisination? That photo was taken in that aircraft! Or so I was told... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 You pretty much have to have an official contact to get on the base but you can tour by bus with the Pima Air Museum (www.pimaair.org). They also have a retired Titan missile silo on display south of town. Sounds like cool stuff... I wonder how to get an "official contact"... hmmmmmm.... tours may not go at the time of day that's best for photos.... hmmmmmm.... Something to look into, anyway... You might just want to call the base and ask for the public affairs office and tell them you are doing a book or something. You might just get in. They just do not let folks wander around without a guide. Base website: http://www.12af.acc.af.mil/ Public Affairs: 520.228.3204 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcic Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I didn't see any C-130's in the boneyard. That's another plane that will probably never die. FWIW dj I drove by there on Friday and there are a couple in there now. I don't know when the satellite image was taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Here is a gallery of images from when my wife and I walked through the Pima Air Museum near Tucson back in 2001. http://www.glinder.com/galleries/index.php...pima_air_museum It's a really cool place and you get to walk around and get right up to them. Can't climb on, but you can get up close and touch em' The only one that I couldn't touch that I really, really wanted to was the SR-71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I didn't see any C-130's in the boneyard. That's another plane that will probably never die. FWIW dj I drove by there on Friday and there are a couple in there now. I don't know when the satellite image was taken. I zoomed in on the image and went all over the place and I found a couple of rows of them, with various amounts of engines on the wings. I also found what looked like Condors (!) and T38/F5s and A4s and F4s and F105s. No F104s - they must have all crashed before they got there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murkish Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I spy a couple of Blue Angel F-4s. Yippee!! Myopia sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgary Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 It turns out that A/C was the last piston engine Air Force One. ...Some of you older folks may remember that photo of JBJ being sworn in after the Kennedy assisination? That photo was taken in that aircraft! I'm pretty sure that photo was taken in a 707-based Air Force One. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was this one: http://www.museumofflight.org/Collection/A...C9-1087DA0DD65B B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 (edited) It turns out that A/C was the last piston engine Air Force One. ...Some of you older folks may remember that photo of JBJ being sworn in after the Kennedy assisination? That photo was taken in that aircraft! I'm pretty sure that photo was taken in a 707-based Air Force One. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was this one: http://www.museumofflight.org/Collection/A...C9-1087DA0DD65B B B, That's why I added the "or so I was told". The docent was a older guy who had been out in a hot airplane all day. I wasn't real sure about the accuracy of the information. I did get insulted though when he called the teletype machine (TT-264) like I used in the Navy an "antique" edit: yup, it was the 707. Edited August 14, 2007 by ChuckS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Yes, it was an Air Force VC-137C (707), [special Air Mission] SAM-26000. It was used by Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon regularly, and was Air Force 1 on Nov 22nd, 1963, for the hop from Ft. Worth to Love Field in the morning, and then the long sad flight back to Washington with the late President and new President both on board. It carried Nixon to China in 1972. It was joined during the Nixon administration by SAM-27000, another 707. It carried then-VP Geo. H.W. Bush along with former presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter to Egypt for Anwar Sadat's funeral in 1981. SAM-26000 looks like it was used off and on through to 1998. The story goes there that in 1998 Clinton's regular 747 AF1 got stuck in the mud (according to wikipedia, ....mud?) at Champaign, Illinois and they brought in SAM-26000 from Indiana, where it was sitting as backup, to get him wherever he was going. Lot of history in that old lady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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