Davis-Monthan AFB

[Java]

Another destination for the coming year, the video below put it on my radar.

http://www.airplaneboneyards.com/davis-monthan-afb-amarg-airplane-boneyard.htm


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuK1eeZ03aI

[theluke19]

Very cool! I've seen pictures, but never anything like this in person -

Do you know if it's open to the public? (sorry, that's a long read)

[Java]

it is open to the public, there is a store, kiosks and a tour bus, and they have started a 5k / 10k run through it too.

[96EXXLTinCO]

This place was on my to do list while living in Phoenix but I never made it. If I remember correctly, this is where all the F-14 tomcats (top gun) that we didn't sell to other countries were being stored. I think this is also where they resurrected the A-10 warthogs for service in Desert Storm. I love old planes and their history. If anyone is the same as me and you haven't been to it, or haven't heard of it, check out the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum at the old Lowry Air Force Base. It's set inside an original hanger from the base and they have lots and lots of relics from all eras of planes and aviation, all kinds of military relics, uniforms, stories about pow's and relics from their actual imprisonment, as well as several planes to walk around and look at ranging from small little one seater from the early days of flight, all the way up to a B-1 bomber!! Set aside the better part of a day if you're like me and want to read and look at everything because there is a lot. Last time I was there I had a friend with me and we took advantage of their fighter jet flight simulators and got to dog fight against each other for half an hour. Check out their website here (http://wingsmuseum.org/) . It's not the most professionally put together museum, but they have a lot to look at and lots of info on all of it.

Still hope to make it to Davis-Monthan one day as well, plus I seem to remember another place in phoenix that was an aircraft museum of some sort. I remember it had one of the few remaining B-17's (my personal favorite plane of all time) still in condition to fly and you could actually pay for a flight on it. We lost one of the remaining B-17's a few years ago in a crash just outside Chicago. Every year around the 4th of July, a group brings in a few WWII era planes to the Loveland airport and you can walk through the inside of em. One of them was a B-17. I stood in line for over an hour to spend 5 mins walking through it, but was totally worth it. Got to hear all kinds of stories from other people in line about how their Grandpa was a ball turret gunner (pretty much a suicide assignment) or a tail gunner, the list goes on and on. My ex-wife's Grandpa was a in a tank crew in the WWII European theater of the war, and what stories he has!! Sorry this got a little long, but you touched on one of my passions!!

Check out Wings Over the Rockies if you haven't yet!!