Boneyard, Tucson
Wow – there are a LOT of planes in Pima Air & Space Museum. It looks like they’ve got at least 10 of each plane, all laid out in very neat rows. Also of note is the plane scrapheap – they should do an episode of Scrapheap Challenge there. (Via)
Update: From the comments David points out these pictures aren’t actually from Pima Air & Space Museum (which looks like this).
This is actually the “boneyard” of the US military at Davis Monthan Air Force Base. It’s refered to as the world’s largest air force, as there are more planes parked here in various states of disrepair, destruction or stasis to out number any active air force in the world, including the Pima Air and Space is just next door but, while incredibly cool, does not have nearly as many airplanes. There are monthly tours available through the base’s boneyard.
and Yorkie points us to a collection of ground level shots.
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Link to some great Flickr shots of the same place taken with feet firmly planted on the ground:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/sets/32971
Brilliant, thanks Yorkie – they’re excellent. Can’t quite get my head round the change of perspective though…
God’s-eye view
I’ve already wasted more time than I’d like to admit with Google’s new satellite map feature, looking up local landmarks, my house, work, etc. Now Google Sightseeing gathers all sorts of interesting places together in one spot for easy browsing.
This is actually the “boneyard” of the US military at Davis Monthan Air Force Base. It’s refered to as the world’s largest air force, as there are more planes parked here in various states of disrepair, destruction or stasis to out number any active air force in the world, including the US’. Pima Air and Space is just next door but, while incredibly cool, does not have nearly as many airplanes.
There are monthly tours available through the base’s boneyard.
This is the Pima Air and Space Museum.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
This is another boneyard, but for commercial planes, in Mojave, CA.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Oh… and another in Kingman, AZ
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
And another!
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Ack… one more
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Regarding Davis Monthan AFB, it’s interesting to observe the dismantling of the plans between Terraserver’s 5/16/1992 satellite photos, and Keyhole/Google’s more recent sat snaps. Swords into plowshares?
There is a stitching problem northeastin this photograph.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Notice the incomplete and “ghost” plane that you can see through.
I’m assuming that this is a manufacturing plant, not a graveyard.
Pretty trippy though.
If I remember correctly, the B-52 bombers that are cut in pieces were done that way so Soviet/Russian satellites could verify they had been dismantled as part of strategic arms treaties.
Here’s a naval “mothball” fleet near San Francisco (there aren’t nearly as many as when I was growing up…). Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Found a picture of a plane flying in Mid – Air. I know where this is, as I live nearby, and there is definately not a plane lying on the ground. Also, look at the size of it!
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Odd – when I looked yesterday there were planes everywhere. Today they’re not there anymore – eh?
They’re still there for me!
Interactive arial photo of the AMARC Plane Graveyard http://www.amarcexperience.com/AMARCTour.asp
See what planes are where, see ground level photos.
Some more horizontal shots of the base: http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?placesearch=Tucson%20-%20International%20%28TUS%20%2F%20KTUS%29&distinct_entry=true
There’s a b52 there, well i think it’s a b52 atleast, you can’t scrap a b52.
Man I was going to suggest this one but then I found it.
After seeing this, I decided to visit the museum. We missed the bus tour of the boneyard, but the PIMA Air & Space Museum alone was worth the trip from Phoenix. You can even take your picture on the steps of an old Air Force One.
About 30 minutes away is the nation’s only Titan II Missle Museum, where you actually go down inside the silo (they sell tickets at the PASM). I recommend both stops to anyone in the area.
We were taken on a tour around the outside of the ‘graveyard’ fence back a few yrs ago, and it seemed to take forever (yes it really is that BIG!). Our guide told us that for anyone with the right credentials and the right number of 0’s in their bank account, they can turn a plane around and have it ready to fly out in 3-4 days (his words). Apparently the Sultan of Brunei has done some shopping there in the past.
As an Aviation buff, it sadly shows to us how wasteful the great American nation is, that it can create such terrific manufacturing capability and technology, only to park it all up as soon as a ‘better’ model comes on stream…I guess it’s great they are all redeemable; melted-down and re-used or ‘rebuildable’, compared to photos I’ve seen of hundreds of aircraft bulldozed into holes around the Pacific at the end of WWII [worth million$ today to warbird collectors], but does it mean that this great nation is so paranoid about anyone else having them that they have to do this? Come on USA, there has to be a better way, we love what you CAN DO, it’s what you DO DO……..COMPRENDRE-VOUS????
The “population” of the F-14 Tomcat section is about to increase by quite a sum…. *sob* =(
I didn’t come across any A-6Es, don’t know if they store Navy planes here, but I think there are only a select few A-6’s that aren’t now part of a reef off Virginia Beach. That plane could carry so much payload it was only second to the B-1 when I was working on them in 1988 – 92, or so I was told… Too bad the wings fell off of them… they served us well in Vietnam and Desert Storm…