Pima Air and Space Museum - Day 2 - AMARG tour

On our second day at the Pima Air and Space Museum, we arrived before they opened to get in line outside to be one of the first to get onto the tour of the "boneyard", or 309th AMARG (Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group).  http://www.dm.af.mil/units/amarc.asp
Visit the website to see an aerial photo.

From their website:
"Immediately after World War II, the Army's San Antonio Air Technical Service Command established a storage facility for B-29 and C-47 aircraft at Davis-Monthan AFB. Today, this facility is the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG), which has grown to include more than 4,400 aircraft and 13 aerospace vehicles from the Air Force, Navy-Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard, and several federal agencies including NASA."

We were taken by a motorcoach onto the Davis Monthan Air Force Base for a tour of the aircraft that are no longer in active duty. If I could remember just 5% of what I heard, I would love to share it with you! There was so much information. I'll share what I can remember!

I don't remember what the name of these aircraft were, but as I recall, they are being re-fitted as drones that can be used in practice by pilots learning to shoot down airplanes. So, their ultimate end is to be shot down and destroyed. The covering over the parts of the aircraft on the field is to keep them from heating up as much as possible in the Tucson summers. Note that the aircraft are parked just on the desert floor, no concrete or other hard surface is required as there is hard surface just a few inches below the soil.

These large metal containers have jet engines in them, being preserved.

This was called "Celebrity Row", I think. Our guide told us about every craft on the row, I think!

These were some of the helicopters on the row.

This C-130 cargo plane had been awarded the Purple Heart - I think due to its ability to keep flying even after significant damage.

Towards the end of the row was an interesting aircraft...

F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter - amazing - it is almost totally invisible!!!

Our docent on the tour