So sad, So glad

[rvator51]

A row of jets are being scrapped next to my hanger. Its so sad to watch. It takes about an hour to turn all of the aluminum in a 737 minus engines into scrap metal.



The same day, I clecoed all of the skins onto the right wing of my RV-4.



Hope some of the scrap aluminum from the jets is recycled back into 2024-T3.

[Steve A]

http://img377.imageshack.us/my.php?i...neyard5ne5.jpg

The above link is to all the surplus military jets that are set aside for surplus,
in the desert of Arizona. Apparently these are able to be used with some upgrading. At some point, the are candidates for the junkyard. My brother in law sent this saying it is available via Google Earth.

I always imagine at the end of WWII, they had P38's and P 51's that were available to licensed pilots for a few thousand dollars. It would be nice to get in my time machine and pick up one of each. I don't see anyone buying a B-51for weekend duty. The gas bill may be a little steep.

RV 7A Finishing
In Paperwork Limbo
Steve Anderson
Lafayette, La.

[danielhv]

yup... thats Davis Monthan AFB... TON of planes out there... Here is another pic... Not even a 1/4 of the planes laid to rest there. Sad, I wish I could get my hands on one... Too bad they wont donate one to me.

[MacNab]

Ah, the cacophonous symphony of your own air tools and the wonderful noise that heavy equipment has got to be making while it chews up airplane carcasses...hope you're wearing your hearing protection, Tom...

[Doug Rodrigues]

If you are ever in the Southern Arizona area and are thinking of visiting the boneyard of Davis Monthan AFB, don't waste your time. They won't let you on the base unless you have the documentation to prove that you have a business related to metal scrap, aircraft sales, or something similiar related to buying in bulk. I couldn't get past the front gate. However, the Pima Air Museum, only a few miles away in Tuscon, is very interesting.

If you're flying around the Merced, California area, stop off at Castle Airport. In the 60's I got to fly into Castle ABF in a KC-135 when it was a high security SAC Base. Now it all but deserted the last time I flew overhead, however, the outdoor Air Museum is still being operated by a volunteer group. I believe that there is also a B-36 on display now. A B-36 is the largest airplane I ever stood under...the original "Aluminum Overcast." Each engine has 4 banks of 9 cylinders. I bet it was a nightmare to just change the sparkplugs!

[videobobk]

I feel for those planes, and I know that at sometime in the future they will probably be missed even more. I have a collection of photos taken by my father that is far sadder, at least now after over 60 years have passed. He and his crew of 12 men scrapped 3200 of the finest planes ever to put air beneath their wings. He was in charge of the "salvage" of the planes left in England after WWII, at least those left at Burtonwood, our largest airbase. They did all this in less than six months, just minutes per plane. I have been working on a book about it now for a few months. To paraphrase then Senator Bob Taft, "Used warplanes are like used chewing gum--you don't want them back." Very sad...

Bob Kelly

[jmartinez443]

Originally Posted by Doug Rodrigues

If you're flying around the Merced, California area, stop off at Castle Airport. In the 60's I got to fly into Castle ABF in a KC-135 when it was a high security SAC Base. Now it all but deserted the last time I flew overhead, however, the outdoor Air Museum is still being operated by a volunteer group. I believe that there is also a B-36 on display now. A B-36 is the largest airplane I ever stood under...the original "Aluminum Overcast." Each engine has 4 banks of 9 cylinders. I bet it was a nightmare to just change the sparkplugs!

And if you can't make it to Castle physically, you can see some the collection here. These were taken by yours truly on a trip there in '06.

[Vern]

I have magazine advertisements from the 50's and 60's soliciting sealed bids on various air bases. They would typically say something like: "xx AirBase, 12 B-26s, 14 F-51's ,22 C-46s,etc. Minimum bid $500. " The most sickening to me were the pix of hundreds of P-40's standing on their noses in Missouri.

The bone yard is a sweet and sour experience. At least some of the birds /parts escape to fly again. I almost applied for a California Forestry job because it required OV-10 time. Our old 23d TASS OV-10's are fighting fires instead of VC and NVA.

The Pima air museum is a occasional escape path for the unusual or special bird.

I always think of the thousands of airmen and hours of flight the old birds provided. You can't imagine cold like flying old C-47s,C-54s,C-124s, KC-97s,etc. on long slow cross country flights. Brrrr!.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by Doug Rodrigues

If you are ever in the Southern Arizona area and are thinking of visiting the boneyard of Davis Monthan AFB, don't waste your time. They won't let you on the base unless you have the documentation to prove that you have a business related to metal scrap, aircraft sales, or something similiar related to buying in bulk. I couldn't get past the front gate. However, the Pima Air Museum, only a few miles away in Tuscon, is very interesting.
.....

This has not been the case for many years... and don't try the front gate for entry...

The Pima Air Museum (definitely worth a trip) now runs a tour through the boneyard.

Sign up at the museum... and take your ID with you...

http://www.pimaair.org/view.php?pg=16

gil A

[Doug Rodrigues]

Yeah, I was down there about 17 years ago to bring back a Lyc O-360A1D that I purchased for use in an engine conversion on my old Spam Can. Glad you mentioned the tour from the Pima Museum, or I'd still be avoiding the bone yard. Thanks for the info.