Pima Air Museum Page 2


Page 2. Click on any photo to view a larger version.
We took refuge inside a cooled hanger to get away from the heat. There was a Bell P-63E King Cobra displayed here. This was the successor to the famous P-39, but never saw combat with the U.S.
		Also in the hanger was a Curtiss C-46D Commando, famous in WWII for "flying the hump" when the Burma Road was captured.
A plane that sort of got left out during the conversion from props to jets, the Grumman F-7F Tigercat did see some action in Korea.
		Some Boeing 377 Stratocruisers were modified into "Super Guppies" in the 60s to carry spacecraft stages for the American manned space program. I actually was lucky enough to see this outlandish plane flying around San Diego a couple of times when I was a kid.
An early airliner, the Aerospatiale SE-210 Caravelle, was also at the museum. This plane entered service in the late 50s and was still flying passengers into the 1970s.
		A famous WWII airplane, the Douglas A-26 Invader (renumbered to B-26) was so useful that it was still being produced as late as 1963.
The museum has some excellent examples of Soviet aircraft. This is a MiG-21PF that saw service in Poland.
		One of the more famous aircraft out of the Soviet Union was the MiG-17F. This example also saw service in Poland.
Here's a differing example of the MiG-17, the MiG-17PF. Note the addition of a radome as a "nose" forward of the air scoop.
		Maybe the most famous of Soviet fighters, the MiG-15 saw extensive service in the Korean War. This is a MiG-15UTI, a two-seat trainer that came from Poland.
This MiG-15bis is in North Korean colors. I wouldn't be surprised to find that these planes are still flying there.
		A highlight of the museum is the chance to tour (for an extra fee) AMARC (Aircraft Maintenance And Regeneration Command) of Davis-Monthan AFB on a bus. This is the famous "boneyard". Here's a shot of fighter aircraft parked. The number of aircraft here is truly astonishing.
Even fairly recent aircraft like these A-10s are parked out here for storage and parts use.
		A sea of tailfins is to be found here. This photo shows stored P-3 Orion aircraft. These aircraft were commonly seen over San Diego in my youth.
A pair of cargo aircraft from the 1970s are at AMARC. These were prototypes for a short runway heavy lifting craft, but the program was discontinued due to budget constraints. This is one of the prototypes, the McDonnell-Douglas YC-15.
		This is the other competitor in the program, the Boeing YC-14. Both of these aircraft demonstrated innovative techniques in meeting their requirements.
Surprisingly, even the some of the most modern aircraft in the fleet, such as this Boeing B-1 bomber, are stored here. I didn't see any of the stealth aircraft, however.
		Davis-Monthan is quite active, as this C-130 takeoff while we were on the AMARC tour proves.
Here's a long row of A-4 Skyhawks in storage.

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