Big Blu

[Bird]

Jeff, I didn't know they'd changed. Of course we also visited the Pima County Air Museum while we were there, but they were separate deals and we visited them on different days. For those who like aircraft, those two, as well as the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH, and the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, FL, are well worth taking the time to visit.

 

[Jeff396]

The tour became so popular that more people would show up than the bus could hold. Also, nobody was there keeping track of who showed up first so it was a mad dash for the bus when it arrived. Sometimes things got a little hot. They then went to taking reservations but in the end I think the military just got tired of running it. On one of our tours a colonal did the tour. I guess he said he just liked to get out of his cage every once in a while and talk to some people. I was especially interested in the area where the CIA would take the commercial airlines and blow them up to try and recreate the damage done in an actual event. Now that would be a fun job!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif We really miss Tucson and not a day goes by that we wouldn't rather be back there. Sadly, the job situation there is aweful. At our last house it wasn't unusual for us to see(in our front yard) bobcat, mule deer, javilina(kinda like a wild bore), coyotes, rattlers, jack rabbits, desert tortoises, hawks, bats, and a very occasional black bear. For someone brought up in the suburbs of Detroit, it was like wild kingdom. The only down side was the scorpions. My wife got stung 3 times and she said it was quite painful. It's pretty much impossible to keep them out of your house as they are like a cock roach with a stinger. Worst part is that the smallest ones (1/4 to 1/2 inch long) called bark scorpions pack the most toxic and painful stings. I was just glad to get out of there before one of the kids got nailed. Anyway, I ramble...I just love talking about Tuscon!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Jeff

Attached is one of the many beutiful sunsets we got from our back porch. The center of the city is straight over the high clump of trees about 15 miles away. Great light scenes at night.

 

[Bird]

I didn't know about the changes that were made; at the time we were there, we had to make reservations a day or two in advance. Just that one month (January '90) at the Voyager RV Resort is the only time we've been to Tucson, but we loved it. I wish I could spend every winter there, but don't know that I'd like it during the summer. And I agree about the scorpions. I got stung 3 times one night when I was a kid in Oklahoma; pretty painful stings.

 

[MarkV]

Jeff, Bird,

You guys sure stirred up some old memories for me. I was there in 1966 when my uncle was flying U2’s out of Davis-Monthon AFB. (I never would have remembered the base name) As a 15-year-old it was quite a thing to be around spy planes and see those miles and miles of mothballed planes. My uncle took us on a private tour, so we were able to get up close to many of the old planes. It would have been just fine by me if the folks had left me to play around there for a week.

MarkV

 

[Jeff396]

Did they still have the WWII stuff there back then?

Jeff

 

[cp1969]

I worked for a company that bought a B-17 out of the desert, supposedly for less than the value of the fuel in the tanks. Used it for a while as an air tanker, then sold it to a private collector. They also got six C54's (actually they were the Navy version of the C54) from there for about $6k each--this was in 1977. Most had airframe times in the low 30,000 range and they took a lot of work to make airworthy again, but all eventually flew as tankers. They also got some Lockheed PV2's (not P2V's) from there that had less than 300 hrs TT.

 

[Bird]

Charles, shortly before I became commander of the helicopter section of the police department, our head mechanic and chief pilot went out there, got two Bell 47 helicopters (had them shipped back to Dallas) and a DeHavilland Beaver (they flew it back to Dallas). Of course that was nearly 30 years ago./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[MarkV]

Jeff,

All the WWII stuff was still around then. As a kid, I was waiting for John Wayne to stick his head out and say 'lets go kid.'/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Any idea when they sent all the vintage planes to scrap?

MarkV

 

[Jeff396]

I have no idea what or if there is a timetable on scrapping planes. I imagine it has to do with how long anyone is using them making either the possibility of selling them or partsing them out or I suppose bringing them up for a conflict. Now I'm no airplane expert but I think the oldest stuff they have now are from the Vietnam era. Sure would liked to have seen the WWII stuff though.

Jeff

 

[IllMarty]

Hi all,
I painted a water tower onthat base in spring of 87. The tower was right in the middle of the boneyard.I have some cool pics. I will try to scan some and post.B-52 tails by the hundreds. Back then they were mothballing lots of F-4s,F-102s, and F106. Coolest plane on the lot I thought was the Cessna 337 Skymasters. Danny Glover flewone in BAT 21. My dad owned 2 when I was a kid. Marty