Phoenix and military aviation

[mah]

Heading out to Arizona soon.

On the last trip (1998) I hit the following

Planes of Fame
CAF - AZ wing
Sky Harbor (?) Thunderbird Aviation F-8 & C-123
Luke AFB base O club parking lot on the north end to see flight ops

Anything new or different in the area? Is Luke still accessable since
9-11-01?

Thanks in advance

MAH

[Tex Houston]

"mah" > wrote in message ...
> Heading out to Arizona soon.
>
> On the last trip (1998) I hit the following
>
> Planes of Fame
> CAF - AZ wing
> Sky Harbor (?) Thunderbird Aviation F-8 & C-123
> Luke AFB base O club parking lot on the north end to see flight ops
>
> Anything new or different in the area? Is Luke still accessable since
> 9-11-01?
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> MAH

Pima Air Museum and Green Valley Titan II annex.

Tex

[Kirk Stant]

"Tex Houston" > wrote in message >...
> "mah" > wrote in message ...
> > Heading out to Arizona soon.
> >
> > On the last trip (1998) I hit the following
> >
> > Planes of Fame
> > CAF - AZ wing
> > Sky Harbor (?) Thunderbird Aviation F-8 & C-123
> > Luke AFB base O club parking lot on the north end to see flight ops
> >
> > Anything new or different in the area? Is Luke still accessable since
> > 9-11-01?
> >
> > Thanks in advance
> >
> > MAH
>
> Pima Air Museum and Green Valley Titan II annex.
>
> Tex

Planes of Fame (I think) up at Valle airport (between Flagstaff and
the Grand Canyon). Deer Valley Airport on the West side of Phoenix
has a bunch of L-39s. Best bet in the Phoenix area is Williams
Gateway (ex-Williams AFB) on the East side which has lots of
interesting aviation activity going on - definitely worth a stop.

Luke AFB is a bit harder to get on unless you have a military ID. But
you can still park on Northern Ave just west of Litchfield Road, which
is at the approach end of RW 21L, and usually there will be lots of
F-16s to watch and listen to upclose.

Tex is absolutely right about the Pima Air Museum - a definite "must
see".

Unfortunately the Champlin Air Museum at Falcon field is moving to
Seattle as I write this, so will be gone soon.

Kirk

[John A. Weeks III]

In article >, mah > wrote:

> Heading out to Arizona soon.
>
> On the last trip (1998) I hit the following
>
> Planes of Fame
> CAF - AZ wing
> Sky Harbor (?) Thunderbird Aviation F-8 & C-123
> Luke AFB base O club parking lot on the north end to see flight ops

Check out the airport at Mesa, AZ. There are a lot of former
military planes in various states around the airport. There
was once a really nice museum on the airport, but I know that
it was sold out, and I haven't followed what has happened to it.
Finally, there is a McD plant on the north side of the airport
that is the home of the AH-64, and you often see them test flying
new ones that are fresh off of the assembly line.

The former Williams AFB is now a regional airport, and you might
see some intersting stuff just by bumming around the base.

A trip to Tucson is in order since you are only 2 hours away in
Phoenix. The Pima County Air Musuem is a must see. Also, call
ahead and try to get on the Davis Mothan AFB tour. Even if you
cannot get on the tour, you can see miles and miles of airplanes
by driving on the perimiter road. There are a number of airplanes
in various states of dis-repair at the Tucson Intl airport. Also,
just west of town is a fire bomber base that often hosts former
military aircraft. Finally, the Arva Valley Airport (just north of
Tucson), which is a former CIA airbase, now owned by Evergreen
(a cargo airline), has any number of interesting aircraft on the
ramp. The trick is getting in...some days the place is locked
down, other days you can drive right in.

As another poster stated, the Titan Missile Silo Museum is not
to be missed. It is in Green Valley, 1/2 way between Tucson and
Mexico on I-19.

Kitts Peak is a fun place to visit. Yuma has a Marine base that
does Harrier training. I often see aircraft in the areas of the
Goldwater Range from the highway that runs through it.

If you are up for a road trip, there are nice museums at White
Sands Army Base, the space musuem in Alamagordo, a very nice
musuem in El Paso at the army base, and a warbird musuem in
Santa Theresa (west of downtown El Paso just across the New
Mexico border).

-john-


-john-

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John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
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