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Click on any photo to see an enlarged version. |
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| It's hard to really imagine the scope of AMARC. This photo attempts to give an idea of the magnitude of what is stored here. There are rows and rows of aircraft, all sitting under the building afternoon thunderheads. The monetary value must be enormous. |
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Looking like the set of a large-budget movie about Vietnam, a number of UH-1 "Hueys" sit roasting in the sun. | |
| AMARC uses a "guillotine" suspended from a crane to hack aircraft into pieces for sale to metal dealers. These are C-141 aircraft on their way to the melting pot. |
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As we returned to the museum, several aircraft types, including commerical, were seen beyond the fence. It's somewhat depressing. | |
| We returned to the torrid desert temperatures in our exploration of the museum aircraft. This is a Convair B-58A Hustler, a craft made famous by the movie "Failsafe" (although they referred to the aircraft shown, erroneously, as Vigilantes). This was a supersonic nuclear bomber that was only in service for about ten years. It has a large delta wing. |
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In my opinion, the most beautiful airliner to ever grace the skies, the Lockheed L-049 Constellation was the first of a series of aircraft that eventually included a stretched version called the Super Constellation. The fuselage shape is unique. | |
| Here's the external view of the Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter. I neglected to get a good shot of this same aircraft when I was at the Castle Air Museum. |
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A huge aircraft, the Douglas C-124 Globemaster was used in the 50s and 60s for heavy transport. With the radome and the number under it, I think the front of the airplane looks like Stimpy from "Ren and Stimpy". | |
| The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster filled the largest needs of transport until the C-5 aircraft began arriving in the 1970s. |
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The Columbia XJL-1 was meant to be a utility seaplane, but only three were ever built. | |
| The North American F-107A is a prototype. The aircraft did not win the contract--rumor has it that pilots didn't like the idea of ejecting into the air scoop, which was located directly behind the cockpit. |
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The Grumman F-11A Tiger was flown by the Blue Angels in the 1960s. Curiously, Grumman once manufactured a line of general aviation aircraft with similar names. | |
| We left the museum, roasted, and made our way back to the hotel. The night was rife with thunderstorm activity, and I was able to get a couple of photos of lightning from our hotel. When you consider that my camera has a longest exposure of one second, you can get an idea of how much activity there was! |
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More lightning. I have never seen as many lightning bolts in such a short time before. | |
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