I missed a week. Took on a new volunteer job and it is kinda eating my lunch but we'll make it. Anyway here is one more thing that is Absolutely Arizona.
Unless you have been interested in aviation or around or affiliated with the Air Force in some way you probably have not heard of the "boneyard" in the Arizona desert near Tucson, part of the Davis-Monthan AFB complex. On quite a few acres of bare desert land, hundreds of old airplanes are lined up in neat rows--for almost as far as you can see.
The dry mild climate is an ideal place to store these relics where heavy humidity and very cold tempratures are almost never endured. Rust is no big hazard and if any plastic is covered against the UV rays which will deteriorate it, these planes can sit there for decades and some have. Models and sizes are generally lined up togther, WWII fighters and bombers and now retired planes from more recent conflicts.
Why keep them? There are many reasons. Often some can be 'canabalized' to rehabilitate others of that model in better shape to make a number air worthy again. Our government has repaired and sold many planes to other nations who make good use of them, or so we at least hope. Some private organizations like The Confederate Air Firce--no I do not think they fly that now disdained flag-- and other groups that do shows and exhibitions have bought some to create their own fleets. A few collectors may actually haul off a choice specimen at times. Even some have been repurposed for aerial fire fighting and other uses. In a pinch we might actually need to use some of the more recent models again. While nobody envisions another Pearl Harbor or even 9/11 where we'd need to get a lot of defense into the air, it cannot be ruled totally impossible.
I worked briefly at David Monthan in 1983-84 and although I did not support the units directly responsible for managing the storage yard, I drove by parts of it daily and am still impressed at the sheer size and variety of the craft there. I once had a weird dream in which some undefined scenario was unfolding and I watched as hundreds upon hundresd of airplanes flew over my home continuing all day. I suspect memories of the 'boneyard' were partly to blame. What if--maybe that was my writer's warped brain asking--all those planes were able to fly and one by one rolled out to the end of a runway and took off, just as fast as traffic control could get them moving? I think it just might take all day!
Adjacent to the Air Force Base is the related Pima Air and Space Museum. What it might lack in sheer numbers, it more than makes up in the incredible variety of aircraft and air-related memorabilia that it houses. It is well worth a visit simply for the historcal and truly impressive collection you can view with some very knowledgable tour guides. While it has been limited durong the pandemic, I think one can still get a ticket and take a look, socially distanced and properly masked as the guide will be.
While other desert areas could be equally qualified to house both these faciliteis, the fact the Air Base and its controlled land was right thre and had been established since the days when the Air Force was still the Army Air Corps in WWII, this site to be chosen. Thus it is Absolutely Arizona.
At the bottom I shared a couple of photos--not mine--to give you a small idea of what the 'boneyard' is like. The scale is boggling!
Here are a few links to learn more:
https://www.airplaneboneyards.com/davis-monthan-afb-amarg-airplane-boneyard.htm
https://pimaair.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace/
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