[Corsair]

I was poking around on Google Earth tonight and all of the sudden I remembered flying into Tuscon, Arizona a few years ago and seeing this huge number of airplanes sitting on the ground in what looked like either storage or reserve... so I decided to try to find it tonight. It wasn't very hard at all.



I zoomed in enough to try to show some of the general outlines but kept it at high enough altitude to try to show the magnitude of this place... it's really unbelieveable. There's much more than what's in the screenshot.

[MatthewPapa]

arizona?

then its most definately a boneyard

[Turnsky]

it's a boneyard.. too many aircraft in one place, all of them would be waiting to be cannibalised for parts.

[Corsair]

Meh... I thought of that too, but it was too depressing a thought so I avoided it. So many nice aircraft... hell, if they'd like to give one to me while they're taking stuff apart, that's cool too.

[redmenace]

Originally posted by Turnsky
it's a boneyard.. too many aircraft in one place, all of them would be waiting to be cannibalised for parts.

Absolutly wrong. the boneyards can have planes that are cannibalized for parts, but the bone yards also store aircraft ready to be recommission in a couple of days. For instance, B1 Spirits are kept there in case they are needed for combat. Many of these planes are wrapt in special materials that protect them from the elements.

[StratComm]

The Air Force learned that the hard way when they went to scrap a number of their B-52's after one of the SALT agreements.  Chopped them to pieces so they couldn't be made ready to fly again, but managed to destroy a bunch of salvagable components in the process.

[Fearless Leader]

Hey! I know that place!
Its where the old aircraft are stored and parted out, but if we really needed them bad enough some could be made flight worthy.

[Grey Wolf]

The Register beat you: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/20/google_earth_democracy_two/page4.html

[Descenterace]

Originally posted by redmenace
Absolutly wrong. the boneyards can have planes that are cannibalized for parts, but the bone yards also store aircraft ready to be recommission in a couple of days. For instance, B1 Spirits are kept there in case they are needed for combat. Many of these planes are wrapt in special materials that protect them from the elements.

The B-2 is the Spirit. The B-1 is the Lancer.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by redmenace
Absolutly wrong. the boneyards can have planes that are cannibalized for parts, but the bone yards also store aircraft ready to be recommission in a couple of days. For instance, B1 Spirits are kept there in case they are needed for combat. Many of these planes are wrapt in special materials that protect them from the elements.

Aren't the boneyards also areas where the conditions are predisposed to preserving machinery as well?  Like, very dry atmosphere so no rust risk, etc.

[redmenace]

Originally posted by Descenterace


The B-2 is the Spirit. The B-1 is the Lancer.

oops your right, still one of my most favorite bomber of all time

[Descenterace]

I'm a heavy bomber freak.  The B-1B is like a huge jet fighter (supersonic, manoeuverable, stealthy). The B-2 looks really friggin' MEAN, in the air or on the ground.
And the B-52... big, slow and lumbering, but still a very cool aircraft. The ultimate heavy bomber...

[kode]

Originally posted by Descenterace

And the B-52... big, slow and lumbering, but still a very cool aircraft. The ultimate heavy bomber...

the shot named after it isn't bad at all either. especially if you put it on fire.