flatlandpilot
02-24-2010, 11:50 AM
When I saw this pict this morning, I was thinking:
How does a "plane grave-yard" like this work ?
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Davis-Monthan+Air+Force+Base&sll=46.278072,14.437942&sspn=26.373758,53.569336&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Davis-Monthan+Air+Force+Base,+Tucson,+Arizona&ll=32.151744,-110.826623&spn=0.014388,0.01929&t=h&z=16)
Can you go in with screwdriver and "shopping cart" and pay
afterwards at the counter ? I was just wondering.
There are some more planes when you zoom out ;)
Sean Nixon
02-24-2010, 02:56 PM
A similar photo was in yesterdays UK newspapers, apparently taken from the International Space Station this week.
I think Davis-Monthan is a military base where they stockpile aircraft in accordance with UN/NATO/whatever resolutions. The Russians have to do the same.
There are similar places for civilian aircraft.
fsaviator
02-27-2010, 07:54 PM
Davis-Monathon is where the US Military puts it's planes into "retirement". Some areas are for mothballing, which means they may be used again, some areas are for planes that are destined for destruction, and some areas are for planes that will just sit there in the dry air and wait to be reutilized in some form or another.
Davis-Monathon is what I consider to be the saddest place on earth. I'm an Air Force Brat and grew up in the great days of military aviation, and a current active duty airborne soldier. every one of those types of planes in this picture have meaning to me. From the FB-111s in the top center that we had on several bases I lived at, to the B-52s and B-1a on the left that we had at other bases. You've got the C-130s, C-141s and C-5s I've gone to war in and jumped out of, to the f-5s, F-15s and F-4s that as a kid, I used to dream of flying. You've got the A-10s that were retired, and brought back as they are the best Ground Attack airframe ever designed, to the MH-53s that we always swore were trying to kill us as we skimmed the Adriatic leaking hydraulic fluid, only to see them replaced by the Osprey.
I could go on and on, and name every type out there, deteriorating away. I wish I could I get my hands on a couple! They would make nice simpits!:D
Roswell, NM has a large civilian boneyard....http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=4678718979829844775&q=roswell+new+mexico+boneyard&hl=en&cd=2&cad=src:pplink&ei=qa-JS4v5Hcie_Aa09eVk
Warren