On Tuesday the 19th, we decided to spend the day at the Pima Air and Space Museum. What an amazing day and, yes, I have LOTS of pictures…:-) But first some background from the internet:
“The Pima Air & Space Museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus occupying 127 acres (610,000 m²). Located in Tucson, Arizona, it is the one of world's largest, non-government funded aerospace museums. It is also home since 1991 to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame.
Opened to the public in May 1976 with 48 aircraft on display, the Museum's main hangar houses an SR-71A Blackbird, an A-10 Warthog, a Air Force Through the Years exhibit, and a mock-up of a control tower.
The museum is adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The 309 th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), affiliated with the base, also known as the "Graveyard of Planes" or "The Boneyard", is the largest aircraft storage and preservation facilities in the world. Bus tours of the boneyard leave from the museum several times a day from Monday to Friday.”
and
“The Pima Air & Space Museum (PASM) features over 200 aircraft on display and has five large hangars totaling 100,000 square feet of exhibit space. An original WWII barracks contains an extensive model collection, arranged chronologically, which shows virtually all U. S. military aircraft from pre- World War I to the present.
The museum enjoys an international reputation as one of the best anywhere. For aviation enthusiasts of all ages, PASM brings history to life.
Pima Air Museum had the humblest of beginnings. The museum was conceived in 1966 and a year later the Tucson Air Museum Foundation was incorporated as an educational non-profit organization responsible for the operation of the museum. Ten years later, on May 8, 1976, the museum opened to the public as an official Bicentennial event. The tremendous effort involved in opening the museum was put forth solely by volunteers. Picture if you will, 75 aircraft in a bare desert setting with the only structure on the grounds being a small tin shack used to sell tickets. Few tickets were sold during the first few months of operation but, today, about 160,000 visitors a year tour the museum.
The museum receives no government funds and is supported solely by gate admissions, gift shop sales, memberships and donations. However, the museum admits all school groups grade 12 and below, at no charge. Educational packets and docent tours for the school groups are provided to make the students' visit a rewarding one. Last year, over 6000 school age children visited the museum. PASM is continually enhancing its educational programs.
As you enter Hangar #1 after leaving the ticket counter, you move toward an exact replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, the aircraft with which the Wright Brothers made history. Early aircraft such as the Waco RNF, Fleet Model 2 and the Focke-Wulf Fw-44J Stieglitz are also located in Hangar #1. Exhibits such as "Women in Aviation," "Blacks in Aviation" and a "hands-on" area are popular with those of all ages and are just a few of the exhibits located in this hangar. Out the north door of this building can be seen General Eisenhower's "Columbine" and the DC-6 used by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. The DC-6 is open for guided tours.
About 100 feet north of the DC-6 is the Space Gallery and Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame building. In 1991, the Foundation membership voted to change the museum's name to the Pima Air & Space Museum. The Space Gallery features a full-scale mock-up of the X-15, the rocket-powered aircraft that broke the envelope of space.
In 1985, then Governor Bruce Babbitt, Pima County and the City of Tucson each issued a proclamation naming the museum as the location of the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame. To date, a total of 21 individuals have been inducted. Among the 21 are former Senator Barry Goldwater and astronaut Frank Borman.
Leaving the Space Gallery and walking southwest past the SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest jet aircraft, you arrive at Hangar #3. This hangar houses the B-24 Liberator bomber, one of about 12 known to exist, the B-25, A-26, TG-6 and other World War II-era aircraft. A new display, "World War II Combat Gliders" was dedicated on the 50th anniversary of D-Day June 6, 1994. Immediately south of this building is Hangar #4 which houses the B-29 and C-46 aircraft, among others, and which should open in September of 1994. A formal dedication will be held in October during a reunion of the 330th Bomb Group to which this B-29 was assigned during World War II.
The 390th Memorial Museum is located in the center of the grounds and houses the B-17. Its exhibits detail the unit's World War II operations in the European Theater while assigned to the 8th Air Force. It is a museum within a museum.”
And more links:
http://www.pimaair.org/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pima_Air_&_Space_Museum
When we first entered the museum, we signed up for the guided tram tour which took us to all the outside aircraft exhibits. Here are the pictures:
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http://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/101910Tram?feat=directlink
Our tour guide was great and told us lots of stories about each plane. There are two which have stuck out for me.
This plane is the one that carried the freed hostages from Iran during the Reagan era:
And this plane is called “The Guppy”. It transports some of those big rocket engines to NASA in Florida. Those two humps on the right side are hinges. The door opens and the cargo goes in. Amazing!:
Right after that tour, we boarded the bus for Davis-Montham Air Force Base and the “Boneyard” This is where many of our aircraft are retired. This is also where many parts are recycled. In other words, if a plane is not longer “flyable”, there may be salvageable parts that can be used. Sort of like a “junkyard” in our area of the country… but I am sure not for this – LOL.
And this is also where many of our aircraft are stored. Arizona weather is ideal with low humidity. You will see in some of the pictures that areas of the planes are covered in white. This is actually a two part “film” applied – the first is black and the second is white. The white reflects the sun and the black keeps it cool. In AZ, this is especially critical in the summer. For those planes that are in storage, there are temperature sensors so they can be monitored.
So here are some of those sites – I need to tell you that the local roads got thru this area and you can see some of these plans for miles:
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http://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/101910Boneyard?feat=directlink
After this tour, we had lunch and talked with some of the volunteers – very interesting. Then we went thru the rest of the museum and hangers:
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http://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/101910MuseumHangers?feat=directlink
What a great day!!
So what else….
As far as our medical goes, we are doing okay. We have spent a lot of time on the internet and on the phone as well as VA visits and we should be okay. We will know definitely by the end of December. But……
With that said, I have realized that I crossed over the border of too much info. I think my emotions not my brain took over and I did not think before I wrote and published.
Initially I started this blog as a travel blog/journal (not a personal journal) and when we first started we did lots of traveling and sightseeing. But somewhere along the way, we have started to slow down. In other words, living (not just vacationing) in the motor home. The blog takes a lot of work to do daily and I have wrestled with not doing it anymore to just periodic updates. Plus we are not always tourists and I ask myself would I do a blog when I am in our sticks and bricks house on what we do daily… The answer is no because that has crossed over the “too much info” boundary…. So I have made a decision (for now – :-)). The days we play tourist and sightsee, I will post a blog on our adventures. The days we are not tourists there will not be a blog. And we will see what happens….. And please feel free to email me.
I will continue to tell you where we are and what our plans may be (although they may change from day to day – LOL!!!).
So on that note, we have decided to stay here for another week and then head to Flagstaff… We have a couple things in Tucson on our bucket list so stay tuned.
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