Visiting the Davis Monthan Aircraft Boneyard..many pics
Discussion
Its just an overwhelming place. Near Tucson, Arizona, Davis Monthan AFB houses a unique facility where 4000 military aircraft sit in the desert sun, where they will be used for spares, broken up, or occasionally refurbished. for 80% of them, landing in Davis Monthan will be their final flight, and every day, they arrive, circling the airbase to burn off their last fuel.
If you want to see what tens of billions of dollars buys, this is the place to visit. They sit in neat military rows awaiting their fate. Visitors cannot leave the bus, so the quality of the photos here is because I could not use a polarizer due to the window film, and a crowded bus create some challenges, hence some of the strange cropping. I highly recommend this tour if you ever have a chance. It is organized by the nearby ( and superb) Pima Air museum, which I will post as a separate thread. There are several tours a day on a first come-first serve basis.
The F14 is no longer in service and most have been broken up. Bye, Bye, Tom Cruise:
F111 engines ready for breaking:
Target tug in bright colours to protect from accidentally being shot down
USAF Canberra
This is the problem of shooting from a bus
A10
F111
Vietnam era Phantom with many kills to its credit
The fabulously expensive B1 Bomber...over a billion each as I recall:
The sole stealth fighter in full stealth mode
Protective coating from the sand and dust is widely used.
The original Vietnam era Huey had side by since pilots. Successors were redesigned to present a narrower profile
If you want to see what tens of billions of dollars buys, this is the place to visit. They sit in neat military rows awaiting their fate. Visitors cannot leave the bus, so the quality of the photos here is because I could not use a polarizer due to the window film, and a crowded bus create some challenges, hence some of the strange cropping. I highly recommend this tour if you ever have a chance. It is organized by the nearby ( and superb) Pima Air museum, which I will post as a separate thread. There are several tours a day on a first come-first serve basis.
The F14 is no longer in service and most have been broken up. Bye, Bye, Tom Cruise:
F111 engines ready for breaking:
Target tug in bright colours to protect from accidentally being shot down
USAF Canberra
This is the problem of shooting from a bus
A10
F111
Vietnam era Phantom with many kills to its credit
The fabulously expensive B1 Bomber...over a billion each as I recall:
The sole stealth fighter in full stealth mode
Protective coating from the sand and dust is widely used.
The original Vietnam era Huey had side by since pilots. Successors were redesigned to present a narrower profile
Edited by RDMcG on Wednesday 9th November 15:16
Edited by RDMcG on Wednesday 9th November 15:26
One of my bucket list places.
A couple of points - the US DOES release aircarft to friendly governments as and when it sees fit. Lots of Skyraiders and UH-1 Hueys were given to South Vietnam and F-4J Phantoms were sold to the RAF, for example.
On the subject of "wide" and "narrow" Hueys - your brief explanation is ioncorrect.
The UH-1 was designed as a utility heliciopter (hence the "U" prefix) and was built in its thousands for transport and other general lifting duties.
The AH-1 Hueycobra was a complete redesign with tandem seating optimised for the gunship role. It used the same engines and rotors as the UH-1 but it did not replace it. Both designs continued in production side by side for many years.
A couple of points - the US DOES release aircarft to friendly governments as and when it sees fit. Lots of Skyraiders and UH-1 Hueys were given to South Vietnam and F-4J Phantoms were sold to the RAF, for example.
On the subject of "wide" and "narrow" Hueys - your brief explanation is ioncorrect.
The UH-1 was designed as a utility heliciopter (hence the "U" prefix) and was built in its thousands for transport and other general lifting duties.
The AH-1 Hueycobra was a complete redesign with tandem seating optimised for the gunship role. It used the same engines and rotors as the UH-1 but it did not replace it. Both designs continued in production side by side for many years.
PugwasHDJ80 said:
not sure why, but find this really sad- all that money and resource wasted to just sit in the field.
Sure we could find a use for 30 or so B1s!
Not wasted at all. Most of the aircraft stored will have given around 40 years of service at least - which is good for any aircraft. And many of these stored examples will donate parts to keep the remaining ones flying for a few more years. Some are held in reserve so they can be reactivated if needed.Sure we could find a use for 30 or so B1s!
Fascinating pictures, thanks for posting them up OP. 
And yes it could be seen as sad seeing all the planes lined up like that, however they have all served their purpose and probably reached the end of their useful life. The airframes of the jets can only handle the pressurisation of X amount of flights before the strength of them diminishes.
And yes it could be seen as sad seeing all the planes lined up like that, however they have all served their purpose and probably reached the end of their useful life. The airframes of the jets can only handle the pressurisation of X amount of flights before the strength of them diminishes.
Eric Mc said:
One of my bucket list places.
A couple of points - the US DOES release aircarft to friendly governments as and when it sees fit. Lots of Skyraiders and UH-1 Hueys were given to South Vietnam and F-4J Phantoms were sold to the RAF, for example.
On the subject of "wide" and "narrow" Hueys - your brief explanation is ioncorrect.
The UH-1 was designed as a utility heliciopter (hence the "U" prefix) and was built in its thousands for transport and other general lifting duties.
The AH-1 Hueycobra was a complete redesign with tandem seating optimised for the gunship role. It used the same engines and rotors as the UH-1 but it did not replace it. Both designs continued in production side by side for many years.
A couple of points - the US DOES release aircarft to friendly governments as and when it sees fit. Lots of Skyraiders and UH-1 Hueys were given to South Vietnam and F-4J Phantoms were sold to the RAF, for example.
On the subject of "wide" and "narrow" Hueys - your brief explanation is ioncorrect.
The UH-1 was designed as a utility heliciopter (hence the "U" prefix) and was built in its thousands for transport and other general lifting duties.
The AH-1 Hueycobra was a complete redesign with tandem seating optimised for the gunship role. It used the same engines and rotors as the UH-1 but it did not replace it. Both designs continued in production side by side for many years.
FourWheelDrift said:
Do you know if older aircraft like the B-57 Canberra are stored (possibly for future museum use) or still awaiting the chop? I've noticed on some photos elsewhere that there is always a collection of individual aircraft that seem to be on museum hold.
There is a row of aircraft that are there for tour purposes. These will be kept.Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff