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I was aimlessly wandering the internet when I stumbled across an article on airplane graveyards. The largest of these graveyards is the AMARC, or the Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Center, is a joint service facility managed by the US Air Force Material Command located in the town of Tucson, Arizona.
Often referred to as 'The Boneyard', AMARC is an aerospace storage and maintenance facility adjoining Davis-Monthan Air Force Base which provides a service to all branches of the US military (Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Army), as well as other national agencies.
I've culled some of my favorite photos and of course I've linked to the other sites that I found most interesting so come on down and join me this morning in the boneyard.
Google Earth View of the Boneyard
AMARC the biggest plane graveyard, Tuscon, Arizona, USA.
The dry, clear and smog-free climate of the Tuscon are serves to minimize corrosion and has an alkaline soil so firm that airplanes can be towed and parked on the surface without fear of sinking.
Those well worn war-horses of the military have been "mothballed", or forced into retirement. Their engines and windows are covered with tape to protect them from the harsh environment which can allow storage for years due to the moderate winters and low humidity.
According to Airplane graveyards, most of the airplanes that sit in desert graveyards today date from the Vietnam era or later. They are divided into four categories, depending on their future prospects.
- Category 1000 planes are preserved with an eye toward possibly flying again, should international political conditions warrant.
- Category 2000 planes are maintained for spare parts. Some parts from older aircraft, are available nowhere else.
- Category 3000 planes are kept in near ready-to-fly condition, awaiting a more-than-likely new deployment.
- Category 4000 planes are destined for “static display” in museums, town squares or Air Force base entrances. Most, however, will be sold as scrap metal, eventually finding new life as razor blades, soft drink cans or car fenders.
Mojave Air and Spaceport Boneyard
The Mojave Air and Space Port also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California and is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Administration on June 17, 2004. It also houses a formidable boneyard.
This boneyard is simply a rental space for airlines that no longer have an immediate need for their planes. It is really nothing more than a huge storage bay where not all the planes return to use. Some are used for spare parts -- delicate avionics equipment, engine parts and even whole rotundas of fuselage. Others meet their fate at the hands of giant machines which tear them apart to expose cabling, ducting and inner wall electronics.
The entire facility is surrounded by a perimeter security fence and following 9/11 access became near impossible. I found this excellent post by Ransom Riggs entitled Strange Geographies: The Mojave Desert's Airplane Graveyard. After having spotted these planes years earlier and asking everyone he knew about them he says that one day he got very lucky:
I met a very nice fellow who works there, and with a minimum of cajoling on my part he agreed to take me beyond the high-security fence and show me around. Of course, I brought my camera.
10 Most Incredible Airplane Graveyards on Earth features 55 amazing images in their slideshow.
English Electric Lightning Jet
Dark Roasted Blend:Splendid Abandoned Airplanes says:
Derelict Plane Spotting is one of the highlights of urban and country exploring, and probably one of the most rewarding exploring activities (for example, you can climb inside the cockpit and relive your childhood pilot dreams). Ships have "shipwrecks" (see our highly popular Shipwrecks article), and while abandoned planes are not usually called "wrecks", just rusted carcasses - they still hold certain fascination, mystery and historic significance ready to be discovered.
Take a look at their amazing photos of "grounded" planes in unique and creative settings.
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Eagle Eyed
I saved my favorite for last:
Blue sky thinking: Disused jets in U.S. Airforce "graveyard" given new lease of life by world's best graffiti artists.
"The Boneyard Project" is the inspiration of art patron Eric Firestone which seeks to resurrect disused warplanes that lie in the famous AMARC boneyard in Tuscon, Arizona by allowing more than 30 of the world's best urban artists access to five ruined US Airforce jets in order to "bring them back to life" with paint and color.
Mr Firestone explains:
'The first part of the Boneyard Project, 'Nose Job', made its debut in the summer of 2011 with an exhibition of nose cones taken from military aeroplanes and given to artists to use as eccentric- shaped "canvases".
'The second instalment in this series: Round Trip: Selections from The Boneyard Project, features five monumental works created on military planes by a dynamic selection of popular graffiti and street artists from around the world.'
Don't miss these stunning pieces of artwork.