Re: [cactuswings 3037] LOG: USA trip (March) - Marana Log

Hi, Folks,

I notice that the Chalks HU16's stll are present. I was offered an airside trip by the legendary Schnozz Mayer on 1992-04-13 and made a number of nice close-ups (albeit analog pictures still, not digital) of all the examples mentioned in this report. Does anybody know what the future plans for these airframes could be and what the present condition is?

Cheers,
Ab Gobets,
The Netherlands

'S.Krause' via cactuswings schreef op 29-8-2014 14:09:

Hi folks, again a couple of weeks till the last post and apologies: this time summer break and another 3 week USA family holiday (+spotting) came in the way.

If i get the reports out at that "speed" it will be next year and already the next trip until i finish... will try to make the text still useful despite the dated logs.

Again for recap, here is the itinerary of this Airliner Hub & Storage tour and i promised to send a separate Log for Marana this round.

Day 1 - Hamburg-Amsterdam-Atlanta
Day 2 - Atlanta-San Diego-Tucson (via Southwest)
Day 3 - Tucson/Marana/Davis Monthan/AMARG/Pima
Day 4 - Phoenix-Goodyear
Day 5 - Kingman-Las Vegas
Day 6 - Las Vegas-Victorville
Day 7 - Mojave-Palmdale-Van Nuys-Los Angeles
Day 8 - Los Angeles
Day 9 - Los Angeles-Chicago (via United)
Day 10 - Chicago-Toronto
Day 11 - Toronto-Amsterdam
Day 12 - Amsterdam-Hamburg - (for myself only)
whereas the rest of the crew went:
Day 11 - Toronto-Fort Lauderdale
Day 12 - Miami/Opa Locka
Day 13 - Ft.Lauderdale/Miami
Day 14 - Ft.Lauderdale/Miami-Paris
Day 15 - Paris-Hamburg

For some more info on booking the overflight and surrounding area as well as Davis Monthan/AMARG please refer to the lengthy message in the Archives

"USA Trip (March) - Tucson - Davis Monthan (+Pima) - Marana - Ryan - Avra Valley"

For the MARANA PINAL AIR PARK overflight the only practical way to identify the registrations of stored aircraft is to make a couple of circuits and read off the registrations from the photos later. (Using binoculars may be much more cumbersome, and driving along the fence at Marana i have no first hand info but seems very cumbersome and not all can be seen.)

Obviously, there are photographers using overflights to simply get the best photo of a rare frame and their instructions to the pilot on where to go and how to circle may be different from the reg-spotter. So while all of the companies doing overflights and their pilots are aware of our hobby and interest, it is very worthwhile to speak up and give them clear instructions. Or best, get the outline discussed beforehand as during the flight it is certainly noisy and ATC ommunication and yourself looking out the window/photographing it can get all very busy at times.

You also need to ensure that you keep well i.e. if you have never flown in a small airplane like a Cessna 172 it is certainly more bumpy than an airliner, and with yourself turning your head in all directions and peeking thorugh the camera viewfinder you may be bound to get airsick - even if you usually don't have issues onboard planes or trains. Better be safe than sorry - i always take an airsickness bag or two from the transatlantic flight with me onboard the Cessna overflight.

Marana has a single active runway and the place can be busy with parachuting flights. There is also an active helicopter base on the north of the field. Interestingly, as you approach Pinal Air Park the pilot will radio the tower and let them know where they intend to fly - and there was NEVER a reply given to us. Our pilot explained that they will usually only reply when they object any of the plans :-)

Wind directions may dictate approach/lading direction we had rwy 12 approach but even with 30 in use my advise is to make one overpass of the runway at around ~300 ft - that way you get the best angle and as aircraft are parked sometimes in narrow rows you are able to read off registrations from, say, a 30 degree angle. If you dont think you got all covered, ask for another circuit or even a third one. For a first visit, two circuits should be expctedto cover all.

On the downwind, you can then photograph the scrap areas and active ramp as well as make some wide angle overview shots. I usually leave the camera at 70mm and do not zoom in further as with today's sensors and pixel quality you can do the zoom in on your PC or laptop. And the further you zoom in with your lens the higher the chance that the pictures are not sharp as you are in motion and not on a steady base, resulting in blurry pictures.

That being said i also found that photographing through the airplane window is possible, but due to sometimes scratched windows and/or glare the pictures can certainly get more blurry. You will still be able to read off most registrations but they do not make much use of cropping out certain frames to put them in a picture gallery, even if it is your own. Most Cessna's will allow you to open the window - discuss this with your pilot beforehand and both times i was advised it is OK. The airflow shall keep the window open and like i said the results were much better that way. Opted not to open the window this time as the mechanism looked more complicated and the wind is noisy (and be careful when sticking the camera out that the airflow does affect you, even you only fly at low speed). So on the next oveflight, i will open the window again!

Flying lower or even land and taxi will only yield you the first aircraft of each storage row. The only advantage for taxiing is that you are more steady, and you can get a slower pass by the active ramp - those aircraft are a bit more difficult to ID as they park nose/tail on to the runway and downwind flight. You can get them during a low pass by making sure you photograph forward as well as turning back over your shoulder. But don't forget that Marana is an active place, and entry through the front door isn't possible - for whatever reasons. So there are reports of photographers having got in trouble when spotted by security while taxiing on the ground and photograping out of the window.

Finally, i advise to make a circle around the entire field - if possible by ATC. As aircraft are parked in a triangle formation, owing to what seemed to have been the standard runway layout for many airfields in the 1940/50s etc, you can only get the "back rows" as well as the area where a few frames seem to be parked for long term purpose by circling around the entire field.

Have had the luck of having reports at hand prior and shortly after our visit. It shows quite some movement of frames around the field. Be aware - it always looks pretty quiet but it doesn't take much time to tow an aircraft from one position to another. And with almost 200 frames, this certainly makes lots of changes over a couple of days and weeks.

(The current Google Maps pic is in fact very close to our March 2014 visit and must be dated just a bit later, as the ABX/DHL DC-9s and N24089 B732 have already been moved from the side row to the midfield storage area)

Here is a complete log of all airframes present - any reference to other airframes for that date stamp can safely be deleted from the databases. Aircraft are identified from my own photos. Others were taken from other reports and photos. Those are marked with *

For other non-readable aircraft that are more sketchy to ID, a further confirmation would be welcome. Those aircraft are marked with **

MARANA 27 MAR 2014

Open sand area (before hangars at runway 30 end)
N112FB* HU16 - Chalks
N113FB HU16 - Chalks
N116FB* HU16 - Chalks
N118FB HU16 - Chalks
N119FB* HU16 - Chalks
N122FB HU16 - Chalks
N125FB HU16 - Chalks

Hangar / Ramp line-up
**CC-CQF A340 (442)- LAN Airlines n/t, n/l, -parts, no visible markings
**JA353K B735 (26104)- ANA n/t, n/l, -parts, no visible markings (btw Hangars)
N670MC DC-9 (47259)- Delta n/t, n/l, -parts (btw Hangars)
D-ABVF B744 - Lufthansa
N974BA* B748 37501- all white
ET-AQW B763 (24476)- all white small reg on wings only
SX-ASO B742F (23919)- all white Aerospace One logo/titles
N376MS MD80 (49941)- Austral n/t
N801BA* B744 (26393)- Korean Air n/t, n/l
N630DL* B757 - Delta f/c
**N276CS MD80 (49951)- all silver Meridiana ruddder?,no visible markings, n/e
**C-GHPD B763 (24999)- Air Canada 2004 c/s, n/t, n/l, -parts, no-reg painted
N676AC B763 (25076)- Aeroflot f/c but no u/c, no left wing (2nd round: no wings!)
**C-GAUE B762 - Air Canada 1993 c/s, n/t, n/l, -parts, no-reg painted (N743JM ?)
N916F* DC-9 - Evergreen International complete, n/e
CS-TKI A310 - White n/e, -parts

Scrap area (on sand) - all no undercarriage
N292MX A320 (292)- Mexicana n/e, -parts
N591SC B733 (24905)- Air Asia n/t, n/l, -parts
N394UA B733 (24669)- PAL Airlines n/e, -parts, reg on sb/side only
PT-MZR A320 334- TAM n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts
N260BV B733 26068- China Southern n/e, -parts
N293CS A320 (294)- BH Holidays n/e, -parts
PT-MZQ A320 335- TAM n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts
N617SC B763 24948- GMG airlines n/e, -parts
N659CS A320 (220)- Ural Airlines n/e, -parts
N8921E DC-9 (45836)- Northwest Airlines n/t, n/l, front fuselage missing
N292CS A320 (301)- a/w n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts
TC-APR B734 (24685)- Pegasus flypgs.com, n/e, -parts
N486EV B742 - Evergreen International
N471EV B742 - Evergreen International
N470EV B742 - Evergreen International
N487AE B735 24877- Air Austral n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts
N915F DC-9 - Evergreen International

Back row 2 (from runway end)
VH-OJJ B747 (24974)- Qantas n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts
N576SH DC10 - Variglog 'MT' in tail
N578SH DC10 (47842)- Variglog 'MU' in tail
N1856U DC10 - United Airlines 1993 c/s, n/t, n/l
N68043 DC10 - Emery Worldwide
N383WA MD11 - World Cargo white, titles, blue tail w/logo
N489EV B742 - Evergreen International
N487EV B742 - Evergreen International
PZ-TCM B743 - Surinam Airways
D-ABZD** B742 - Hellenic Imperial no titles, no-reg painted (not SX-TIE !)
N479EV B742 - Evergreen International #979
N217RJ B742F (23735)- white, grey belly n/t, n/l
N216TX B742F (23711)- white, grey belly n/t, n/l
N429MC B742 - Atlas Air

Back row 1 (from runway end)
N382WA MD11 - World AW n/c
N141WE DC10 (46661)- white, grey belly
N852V DC10 - Global Airtanker Service
N1857U DC10 - United Airlines 1993 c/s, n/t, n/l
N853VV DC10 - white, grey belly n/t, n/l
N824VV DC10 - white, grey belly n/t, n/l
N826VV DC10 - white, grey belly n/t, n/l
N135DL B763 - Delta 2007 c/s
N288SC* B763 (26200)- Air Madagascar
N764RD B763 (26204)- all white n/t, n/l
N637TW B763 - all white Ryan tail swoosh, n/t
N381WA MD11 - World AW old white c/s
N131DN B763 - Delta Air Lines 2000 c/s

Next to runway - row 1 (from runway xx end)
N61CX DC-8 - Air Transport Intl Kuwait c/s
N781AL DC-8 - Air Transport Intl
N870BX DC-8 - BAX global
N105NT MD80 - Spanair a/w, n/t, n/e, rudder c/s
N515HC MD80 - China Eastern
N932RD MD80 (49233)- Ryan Intl n/e
N375MS MD80 (49943)- Austral -parts LV-BDE on wings
N419MT MD80 - Lion Air a/w, n/t, rudder c/s (PK-LMH on wings)
N245BA B742 - ANA n/t, n/l, n/e
N129TW B742 - Trans World non-standard c/s
**? B741 ? all white n/t, n/l, no-reg painted
N513HC MD80 - China Eastern

Next to runway - row 2 (from runway 12 end)
N633US B742 - Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l
B-2456 B744BCF (24346)- Air China n/t, n/l, no-reg painted
N1798U DC-9 - Northwest complete w/engines, 1989 c/s
N243BA B742 - ANA n/t, n/l
N618US B742 - Northwest Cargo n/t, n/l, n/e
N617US B742 - Northwest Cargo n/t, n/l, n/e

Next to runway - row 3 (from runway 12 end)
N216AW MD11 48428- Cargoitalia no engines, -parts
N632DL B757 (23613)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l, -parts
N503US B757 (23192)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l, -parts
N501US B757 (23190)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l, -parts
N624DL B757 (22914)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l, -parts

Next to runway - row 4 (from runway 12 end)
N959N DC-9 - Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l
N9330 DC-9 - Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l, #9966
N956N DC-9 - Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l, #9906
N958N DC-9 - Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l, #9908
N957N DC-9 - Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l, #9907
N9340 DC-9 - Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l
N9335 DC-9 - Northwest 2003 c/s, n/t, n/l
N3322L DC-9 - Northwest 2003 c/s, n/t, n/l
N3439F B743 - all white n/t, n/l, -parts
N529US* B757 (23844)- Northwest 2003 c/s, n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts
N629DL* B757 (22919)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l, -parts
N294AL B733 (27047)- Air China n/t, n/l
N295AL B733 (27216)- Air China n/t, n/l
N293AL B733 27046- Air China n/t, n/l
N14810 MD80 - Continental n/t, n/l
B-2931 B733 27276- China Southern

Row 1 (parallel to runway) - most right
N502US B757 - Delta 2007 c/s
N602DL B757 - Delta 2007 c/s

Row 2 (parallel to runway)
N517US B757 (23205)- Northwest 2003 c/s, n/t, n/l
N526US B757 - Northwest 2003 c/s, n/t, n/l
N520US B757 (23208)- Northwest 2003 c/s, n/t, n/l
N604DL B757 (22811)- Delta 2007 c/s
N603DL B757 - Delta 2007 c/s

Row 3 (parallel to runway)
N527US B757 (23842)- Delta 2007 c/s
N656DL B757 - Delta 2007 c/s
N516US B757 (23204)- Northwest 2003 c/s, n/t, n/l
N634DL B757 - Delta 2007 c/s
N646DL B757 (24217)- Delta 2007 c/s
N677DL B757 (25982)- Delta 2007 c/s
N653DL B757 - Delta 2007 c/s
N628DL B757 (22918)- Delta 2007 c/s
N625DL B757 (22915)- Delta 2007 c/s
N626DL B757 - Delta 2007 c/s
N528US B757 - Delta 2007 c/s
N631DL B757 (23612)- Delta 2007 c/s
N657DL B757 - Delta 2007 c/s

Row 4 (parallel to runway)
N778NC DC-9 (48100)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N776NC DC-9 (47786)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N761NC DC-9 (47709)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N781NC DC-9 48121- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N769NC DC-9 (47757)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N783NC DC-9 (48108)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N765NC DC-9 (47718)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N772NC DC-9 47774- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N677MC DC-9 (47756)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N676MC DC-9 (47652)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N401EA DC-9 (47682)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N600TR DC-9 (47783)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N777NC DC-9 (47787)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N774NC DC-9 (47776)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l
N762NC DC-9 (47710)- Delta 2007 c/s, n/t, n/l

Row 4 (parallel to runway)
N971PG B744 (25422)- AeroSur white, titles, solid blue tail
N402KZ B744 (34017)- Nippon Cargo Airlines
B-HUQ B744 - Cathay Pacific Cargo
B-HUK B744 - Cathay Pacific Cargo
N496BC B744 (26396)- Korean Air n/t, n/l
B-HKX B744 - Cathay Pacific Cargo
B-HUH B744 - Cathay Pacific Cargo
N491EV B744 (26561)- Evergreen Intl a/w, n/t, n/l
N779BA B744 (24199)- Korean Air n/t, n/l

Row 5 (parallel to runway)
N784BA B744 (25205)- Korean Air n/t, n/l
N938BA B744 (24227)- all white n/t, n/l
N785BA B744 (25068)- all white n/t, n/l
N976BA B744 (25275)- Korean Air n/t, n/l
N925BA B744 (24621)- Korean Air n/t, n/l
N923BA B744 (26547)- all white n/t, n/l
N926BA B744 (27217)- all white n/t, n/l
N808BA B748 37393- Nippon Cargo '16' on nwd JA16KZ on wings
N803BA B748 38077- Cargolux 'VCJ' nwd
N469AC B744 (27602)- Southern Air n/c

Row 6 (parallel to runway)
N908AX DC-9 - Airborne Express no engines
N941AX DC-9 - Airborne Express no engines
N982AX DC-9 - Airborne Express DHL c/s, no engines
N24089 B732 - all white n/t, n/l
B-2927 B733 - China Southern
N728FV B727 - Allegro Air a/w, n/t, n/l
N727FV B727 - Allegro Air n/t
N313SC A320 (349)- BH Airlines white, airlines.com titles only
N296SC A320 (203)- Ural Airlines

Back corner - taxiway/storage
P4-MDG MD90 - Pro Air n/e, no u/c, -parts, cockpit and tail section missing! Reg on wings
P4-MDF MD90 - Pro Air red c/s, n/e, no u/c, -parts, reg on wings, N90xxx (N901PR) visible on side!
N709MD* MD80 - Spanair white, n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts, rudder only, no-reg painted
N792BA B743 - Ansett white, n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts, fainted tail c/s, no-reg painted
**N B757 ? Northwest 2003 c/s, n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts, no-reg painted
C-GPWB B762 - Air Canada 1993 c/s, n/t, n/l, no-reg painted, tail #672
**N DC-10 ? Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts, no-reg painted
**N B742 ? Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts, no-reg painted
**N DC-9 ? Northwest 1989 c/s, n/e, -parts, no-reg painted
**N308US A320 - Northwest 1989 c/s, n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts, no-reg painted
N990UA* B732 - United Airlines 1993 c/s, n/t, n/l, n/e, -parts, no-reg painted

The only sad part is that i just had 13 frames out of this bunch - but of course all very nice ones including my 4th last MD11 frame!

Best Regards

Stefan

Geen virus gevonden in dit bericht.
Gecontroleerd door AVG - www.avg.com
Versie: 2014.0.4745 / Virusdatabase: 4015/8119 - datum van uitgifte: 08/29/14

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Read More :- "Re: [cactuswings 3037] LOG: USA trip (March) - Marana Log"

Re: [cactuswings 3036] Fw: USA Trip (March) - Tucson - Davis Monthan (+Pima) - Marana - Ryan - Avra Valley

Better late than not at all!
Great reports - I visited the area and did overflights in January myself and am returning in Jan 2015, so very useful as a cross-check


eLaReF

On 29/08/2014 13:11, 'S.Krause' via cactuswings wrote:

 Think i never sent this to the Cactus Group - apologies if some of you are on the other lists as well and received this again. I sent this about 5-6 weeks ago.

----- Forwarded Message -----
   
Subject: USA Trip (March) - Tucson - Davis Monthan (+Pima) - Marana - Ryan - Avra Valley

Sorry it has been a few weeks since i posted the first parts of the trip.

Personal stuff and lately the World Cup took all available time away, and i have now also skipped the ambition to include pics in all reports - simply too much time to edit & upload and label them.

Just for recap, here is the itinerary of this Airliner Hub & Storage tour and we have now just arrived in Tucson - Day 2 :-)

Day 1 - Hamburg-Amsterdam-Atlanta
Day 2 - Atlanta-San Diego-Tucson (via Southwest)
Day 3 - Tucson/Marana/Davis Monthan/AMARG/Pima
Day 4 - Phoenix-Goodyear
Day 5 - Kingman-Las Vegas
Day 6 - Las Vegas-Victorville
Day 7 - Mojave-Palmdale-Van Nuys-Los Angeles
Day 8 - Los Angeles
Day 9 - Los Angeles-Chicago (via United)
Day 10 - Chicago-Toronto
Day 11 - Toronto-Amsterdam
Day 12 - Amsterdam-Hamburg - (for myself only)
whereas the rest of the crew went:
Day 11 - Toronto-Fort Lauderdale
Day 12 - Miami/Opa Locka
Day 13 - Ft.Lauderdale/Miami
Day 14 - Ft.Lauderdale/Miami-Paris
Day 15 - Paris-Hamburg

Touching down at 10pm from San Diego it was obviously dark and we did not wander the gates, as a) there is not too much scheduled traffic at Tucson (on a US scale) and b) a friendly officer on a folding bike cycling the gates prevented the attempt before it had even started with us deciding just to go to the exit once we saw him coming.

Rental car was pre-booked from Germany and important to get an offer that includes zero excess. We did also have unlimited mileage, second driver and navigation included as well as no one-way fee between Arizona and California. Oddly some internet offers showed this to be USD 150-200 depending on company, which was half the price of the 7-day rental !

It is also very important you rent an SUV if you are to hit the storage yards. Victorville without SUV is very rough, with good chances of getting stuck in the soft sand or other troubles. It's a plus in the other places as well, not least you are able to sit/stand high(er) to see things sometimes. And with 3 guys and 3 suitcases some space was needed, which the booked mid-size SUV certainly covered - although not sure that the Nissan Pathfinder we got was in fact an upgrade.

The car greeted us with a front license plate bent upwards to block half of the registration (how did the prevous renter to manage do that !?) and a rear panel at the trunk was about to come off. The rental lady we called out to the parking lot just bent the plate back into place (!) and said, no worries, zero excess and the guys won't complain upon return, so she did not needed to make notes in the rental agreement. Quite different than what i remember from Europe at least, so we were a bit suspicious at first we may be hit with at least a temporary bill later on and then lots of arguments and paperwork etc. But all was fine and worked as described, welcome to the US !

We hit the road and out of rental lot you head straight to Cargo, where usually the Sierra Pacific B737s are parked. Not this time, but the Rolls Royce B747 engine testbed. Which revealed itself to be a former Air Atlanta frame and before that good old VR-HIA from Cathay Pacific! You can also see the American gates from here where 3x MD80s were parked. A 4th one landed just around 11pm, followed by a Southwest B737. The SBS was not setup yet and in order to also get the parked aircraft that wouldn't ping anyway don't forget the BTS.gov stats online for tie-up, which is quite feasible for an airport the size of Tucson to browse the daily lists by airline later on. There is also no mandatory 3 month delay anymore, as things were available just 5-6 weeks later on.

We then worked anti-clockwise around the field. Towards the tower from where you can read some parked US CRJs and various biz a few roads further on. Back around past the Arizona ANG there is new small FBO on E Valencia Rd which has a parking lot where you are close to the few biz, and can also read off more parked on the larger FBO opposite. Further around to what used to be Hamilton Aviation turning left into S Park Rd lots of aircraft parked but no chance in the dark. The parked Tristar and the aircraft parked further down by the tech school are visible: DHC-8 prototype as well as B727-100 from FedEx. That was joined by a -200 example, and also a former Ecuatoriana B727 which had been stored at Hamilton for at least 10 years is now here. That's not all: an Aeroperu B727-100 is hangared and can be seen but only during the day. The Grumman albatross and the C-119 fuselage have both disappeared.

We continued on S NOgales Hwy and then left into E Aero park Blvdt to Bombardier. I had not ventured here on my previous visits as i was always a bit time-pressed and had read no good things about security here. Sure enough even at midnight they were stuck at your trunk the moment you drove onto the parking lot. So we just did our R&R and then left to the local K-Mart to stock up on food for the night and water for the coming days (2x24 1/2 liter bottle packs for USD 5 - bargain)

Then retired to the La Quinta Tucson (free Wifi) and retired for the night just around midnight, and then ready up early next morning again at 5 am to get down to Tucson Ryan Field for our booked overflights.

Myself had made excellent experience overflying Marana in 2009 identifying 95% of inmates from photos, after an attempt on the ground in 2007 did not bring me very far. (No SUV back then!). The unknown was the Davis Monthan overflight, as this is in no way guaranteed and subj. to Air Traffic control. But the earlier in the morning the better the chances, and weekends and public holidays are also best as the USAF is not busy on those days. What a shock i found out that the AMARG bus tours were no longer available on weekends, but only Mon-Fri, which made efficient planning of Davis Monthan much more challenging.

I had booked Sonoran Wings for a D-M overflight in 2007 as i heard only good feedback about them - the flight was cancelled due to high winds though. (be aware, this is a common issue in the area & threat to your plans!). In 2009 i used Double Eagle Aviation who accomodated me on a walk-in basis from one day to another, without having booked anything prior. And the flight/pilot was excellent. Now we wanted to fly out of Avra Valley as i heard about some restrictions imposed on Marana overflights, and them being limited to airfields nearby.

Well the guys at widely recommended Tucson Aero advised that they ceased doing "Photo flights" and asked to enquire with Marana Flight school - who replied too late though after only 10 days to be incl. in the itinerary. Back to Double Eagle from Tucson and Kelly's Aviation out of Ryan Field who were not only the cheapest but also the swiftest to reply. getting down to the details it transpired that three blokes with a combined weight of almost 300 kg / 660 lbs would no way fit into a Cessna 172.

As there wasn't enough time to lose 15-20 kg each until the trip we bit the bullet and booked two consecutive overflights, so that's where the cheaper price came in handy as well. But let me stress the e-mail conversation with Kelly herself and the overall flight experience was very much worth the choice. Can highly recommend them. http://www.kellysaviation.com/

Meeting was at 7am, and we were out at Ryan at 6:20 am which was about a 20 mins ride from Tucson International. We did not know whether to encounter traffic, so the buffer was built in. Our pilot arrived (shame on me, i forgot her name by now) and after a few checks and helping her push the Cessna out of the shelter the first two of our trio left on the morning flight, while the third was left behind photographing the sole Rockwell commander and keeping him happy with noting down the single-prop reggies. (he is the only one of the trio collecting "spam" :-)

Once airborne we secured a low AMARG overflight from ATC - known to locals only as "The Boneyard". Fantastic! Past Tucson Int'l on the way to with a good view of the Hamilton maintenance area, we circled once around the whole storage area at AMARG which enabled views of the Pima museum and the scrapyards as well. Few of the "target frames" ie.. the B747-400/YAL-1 and the DC-10 were spotted right away. Then straight off to Marana enbaling a few good views of the City of Phoenix, and at Marana we did not bother landing nor low-passes but simply flew once around Marana (again rather known as "Pinal Air Park" to the locals) as my buddy was not too fond of flying and wanted to get it over with - anyway there was a 2nd round for more photos.

Straight back to Tucson and past Avra Valley and the stored props visible from the air (another hour car detour saved). The whole circuit was completed in just one hour !!  Quick stop to drop-off one and pick-up party member No.3, and we then headed back in reverse: Ryan-Avra Valley-Marana Pinal where we did two overflights over the runway but no landing or taxi back as i had done in 2009 - obviously someone had his camera confiscated there on occasion when spotted by security - at least we were told. Anyway plenty of pics were had and then onwards to Davis Monthan, where we were only allowed a high-altitude overflight, but still fine to circle and see everything.

Back at Ryan again in just about an hour we were very pleased. Not only are the flights paid by the time used but also did we wanted to finish Tucson area all-in all within this day! The original plan had called for 1.5 days, which would have been even able to stretch to 2 full days need basis. But this was to be Tucson in a day. We headed straight back to the Pima museum which opens at 9am. But they do not not take advance bookings for the AMARG bus tour -  even worse, they do not even publish tour times on their website anymore.

--> as i write this, their totally revamped website http://www.pimaair.org/ shows that it *is* (now) possible to book tickets in advance! http://www.showclix.com/events/18258 (but still no tour times)

So it is a matter of showing up, queue and see what you get. We arrived around 09:30 am and just missed to enroll for the 11:30 am bus tour, and were offered the 2 pm tour - which is also the last of the day. Of course we had to take it, as only by combining the air and ground you get fully to appreciate what a website appropriately calls "The AMARC Experience". And just roaming the fences isn't the same as driving right through all of it.

Slight change of plans then as we had 3 hours to kill. We first did the museum itself which took almost 1.5 hours. This was a rush indeed as we only walked swiftly through the hangars and then the outdoor exhibits to photograph the Civil and Military Transport part, leaving the Bombers, Fighters and other stuff aside. A truly fabulous museum, which is a must visit for any aviation enthusiast. The huge collection includes many very rare examples of aviation history. Exhibits do not change alot but are moved around, so provide varying opportunities for photos on different visits. You could easily spend 1/2 day there if you take in everything calmly and if this is your first visit to Pima.

My last visit was in 2007 so indeed a few years back. Notably the first thing that greeted us outdoors was a China Southern B737-500, which looked a bit out of place! The scrapyards have provided a few more birds for the museuem in the last years, with the ARM/Dross Metals providing the aircraft for the desert art project. As well as aircraft from the former Minden yard, where some examples are still in the museum storage & refurbishment compound. This area is off limits, but you can see, identify and photograph all exhibits from the official museum grounds.

Personally i was very pleased to see that the United Air Lines B727-100 had found her way over from the AMARC Celebrity Row to that compound (very photogenic!), though not sure what the plans are as i understand she is actually owned by the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

Once we were done with the museum, we headed over to the ARM/Dross Metals yard on E Wyoming street. Head back towards Tucson Intl from the museum but then turn right already at the overpass into S Craycroft Rd, and follow along. A big clearing has taken place with almost all Hercs scrapped bar the obnoxious white EC-130 examples (some just reduced to sections by now). Also the C-97s are gone. They have taken in most of the Convairs Props that still used to be stored at AMARC (in area 21) but all in all no new frames for me expected here.

By now i also felt quite drowsy which i put down to me doing two rounds in a tiny Cessna looking through the camera lens, plus generally being tired and bit worn down prior to the trip already. Also don't forget to drink enough water constantly, even when you don't feel thirsty. So i just asked my mates to enquire with the Yard owner about access, which obviously was granted as they only returned 30+ mins later while i took a snooze in the car.

We then continued clockwise around D-M and eventually came back on Escalante Rd towards Kolb Rd. So we could see the P-3 and C-130 storage from outside, before heading back on Kolb Rd past the former National scrpayard (completely empty - not even an old oil can here!) and turning back towards Pima to start the bus tour we shortly stopped at Western yard and what i think are the UAC and Specialised yards, latter of which has a handful of HU-16 Albatross.

Note that S Wilmot Rd had become (or at least was used) as a base access on our visit, so there was quite some traffic on what i remembered a quite cul-de-sac. Still you can park at the end of the road next to the fence to read off some of the active C-130s on the ramp.

Back to the bus tour which starts at the museum we entered the bus only with our camera and an extra lens (nothing allowed, no backpacks, no handbags not evena camera bag - just a bottle of water and a camera around the neck). Up on base and we did have a lady curator this time, who was especially fond andsomehow involved in the F-14 Tomcat project,but everything she said about transport planes was spot on and even provided extra information which was a good pastime as the bus crawled along celebrity row doing 0,25 mph....

So almost an hour later i realised i need to do something urgently! Oh dear, did not think about that prior boarding the bus. And while i was figuring out what the heck to do (they surely wont let me out on the base!?) and seeing trouble coming i realised there *was* a toilet but in the REAR of the bus. Not at the mid-bus exit door where i remember them from coaches in Europe. What a relief! Even though i entered right when we sped off and past the YAL-1 (doh!) and since i am 6'5" i can tell you not big fun in the tiny toilet especially going around the corners i now felt the bus was doing 50 mph!
Anyway, on that anecdote it was Davis Monthan/AMARC done. Truly an amazing place no matter what part of aviation you are interested in.

We drove back to Tucson Int'l to do a daylight round of the maintenance, which was duly done and another short view of Bombardier.To our surprise not a single security in sight (shift chnage? luck?) and we read off the very few bizjets parked outside and also found a place to read off a bunchof stored CRJ200s. "Only" six left here now - there used to be around 20 parked here some years ago.

By now it was 5pm and we headed north towards Phoenix, past Marana (Pinal) with some tails visible from the highway- Phoenix in the next part!

Here are the logs:

TUCSON    TUS    26 Mar 2014    @22:00-23:00
N403A    MD80    American Airlines   
N479AA    MD80    American Airlines   
N541AA    MD80    American Airlines   
N7514A    MD80    American Airlines   
N931DN    MD90    Delta Air Lines   
N787RR    B742    Rolls Royce   
N373SW    B733    Southwest Airlines   
N490WN    B737    Southwest Airlines   
N706SK    CRJ7    United Airlines   
N752SK    CRJ7    United Airlines   
N776SK    CRJ7    United Airlines   
N33182    E145    United Airlines   
N33182    E145    United Airlines   
N243LR    CRJ9    US Airways   
N249LR    CRJ9    US Airways   
N916FJ    CRJ9    US Airways   
N108MC    C500       
N401TM    HS25       
N26QT    LJ45       
N355UA    LJ55       
           
Ryan Field        27 Mar 2014   
N13KK    C172    Kelly's Aviation   
- 1977 vintage!
           
Avra Valley    AVW    27 Mar 2014    [from the air]
N9463    L1049    USAF    marked 8610
N105CF    L1049    all silver    no titles, no logos
N67034    DC-4    Maricopa Aircraft    #150 - no titles
N67040    DC-4    Maricopa Aircraft    #147 - no titles
N6816D    DC-4    Maricopa Aircraft    #109 - no titles
N96451    DC-4    Maricopa Aircraft    #111 - no titles
N    DHC6    white-blue    (used for parachuting?)
 - there must have also still been the Beech 2000 Starships parked neatly on some tarmac. Didn't notice nor collect them, but understand they are now moved and parked with the Old Props over on the sand! No DC-3 visible (used to be two here) but what looked like a pair of larger wings with USAF roundel in a smaller hangar on one of the photos..?)

MARANA    MZJ    27 Mar 2014   
- this will be provided in a separate post in the coming days, and i will add a FEW photos!           
           
DAVIS MONTHAN    DMA    27 Mar 2014   
- won't list details here as also many military. In any case you should refer to the monthly inventory providedby FOIA. Please see the excellent AMARC Experience - AMARC Experience site

http://www.amarcexperience.com/ui/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=130&Itemid=243 (you need to tick the tickbox in order to see the ZIP files!)         
The inventory is provided in CSV file, and using a bit of Excel you can make a table that shows you #of aircraft per type per storage are Then it is simply a matter of counting what you see on your overflight pictures, cross-check with your ground photos from the bus and the fence - voila!

You can get very close to 100% accuracy that way, with the process in areas midfield providing the biggest challenge, as aircraft move between those areas faster than the inventory keeps track off. And the odd aircraft gets pulled from a storage area to that area - so keep a watch on things.

For your interest, there were 731 aircraft in my interest scope listed in the March 2014 inventory (up-to-date until ~mid March) and 10 days later we had 733 aircraft of the same scope visible on our photos. With only 2 not fully solved - which i am happy to cheat myself to claim 731 new frames 100%, and leave 2 of them at 99% only :-)
           
Following a type breakdown:
00-0001 B747-400 USAY (YAL-1) - star of the place
N910SF DC10 - star #2 of the place
(D)C-9: 20 seen
C-20: 3 seen (aka Gulfstream 3)
C-21: 23 seen (aka Learjet 35)
C-22: 84-0193 (aka Boeing 727)
C-24: one seen (aka DC-8)
- two more REAL stars of the place if i wouldn't have had them already
C-27: 21 seen (aka G.222)
C-130 Herc: 201 seen
C-131: 1 seen (aka Convair 340)
C-135: 200 seen
C-137: 12 seen (aka Boeing 707) - there used to be almost 50 here on my 2007 visit, and over 100 in the 1990s....)
C-18: 3 seen (also former B707s)
C-14: 1 seen (prototype and sort of C-17 predecessor)
C-140: 2 seen (aka Lockheed Jetstar)
T-39: 36 seen (aka Sabreliner - wow, i did not know they still had so many active as most were just recently retired following the austerity measures)
T-43: 12 seen (aka Boeing 737-200 - notably from the former 6x EG&G "Jantet" examples only three were left. The other sold or scrapped...?)
C-4: 2 seen (aka Gulfstream 1 prop)
C-5A Galaxy: 34 seen
P-3: 151 seen (still an Electra to me...)
HU-25: 7 seen (aka Falcon 20)
- there is also an AWACS E-3 listed but certainly not seen, not even one without the radar dish!
           
Pima Air Museum    DMA    27 Mar 2014   
- again too many to list and lots of military, and there is an excellent overview here:
http://www.pimaair.org/visit/new-aircraft-list

These are not listed i think as they are not in the offical area:
45-1074    DC-3    USAF    no wings, compound
141025    C-131    USN    no titles, compound
N4NA    GLF1    NASA    no titles, no tail, no wings, no u/c, compound (used to be at Tucson)
N7004U    B727    United Airlines    white c/s, compound
49-0157    C-119    USAF    compound, marked O-90157
159120    DC-9    USN    no titles, compound
53-0554    L1049    USAF    compound
53-0535    L1049    USAF    nose only! Regd N51006
           

TUCSON    TUS    27 Mar 2014   
Active           
N478AA    MD80    American Airlines   
N9629H    MD80    American Airlines    4XR
N706SK    CRJ    United Airlines   
N    A300    FedEx    @7am
N156RC    CL60    .   
N1620    G280    .   
N164HQ    E190    Republic Airlines   
N231WN    B737    Southwest Airlines   
N247LR    CRJ9    US Airways   
N3052K    B190    Ameriflight   
N403JC    CL60    .   
N478AA    MD80    American Airlines   
N483A    MD80    American Airlines   
N500CZ    PRM1    .   
N700LK    GLEX    .   
N703S    B732    Sierra Pacific Airlines   
N710AN    CL60    .   
N866AS    CRJ    American Eagle   
N8319F    B738    Southwest Airlines   
N843CP    LJ60    .   
N86SK    C560    .   
N941DN    MD90    Delta Air Lines   
XA-ARB    LJ45    .   
Bombardier           
N604SL    LJ60    .    w/Bombardier?
N832SC    CL60    .    w/Bombardier, arr 27/3, dep 30/3
N295TX    GLEX    .    w/Bombardier, dep 8/4
N675BR    CRJ2    Delta Air Lines    w/Bombardier, arr 11/3, dep 28/3
N    CRJ2    Delta Air Lines    no titles, minus parts
N    CRJ2    Skywest Airines    no titles, minus parts
(N77331)    CRJ2    Mesa Airlines    a/w, parked w/US CRJ2s
N17231    CRJ2    US Airways   
N17275    CRJ2    US Airways   
N571ML    CRJ2    United Airlines    o/c
N592ML    CRJ2    United Airlines    o/c
(N17337)    CRJ2    United Airlines    o/c (from photo)
N77286    CRJ2    US Airways   
Ascend Aviation (formerly Hamilton)           
xx-xxx    MD80    .    all white, no titles, no logos, partly hangared (visible on photos)
5N-BKI    MD80    Dana Air   
(5N-BKO)    MD80    Afrijet    white, blue tail, hangared
(C-GKUY)    CRJ7    Bombardier    all white, no titles, no logos, no-reg painted
HC-CPC    B735    Sudamericana de Aviacion    all white, no titles, no logos
(JA354K)    B735    ANA    no titles, no logos, reg not painted
(JA8289)    B763    ANA    no titles, no logos, reg not painted
JA737E    B735    Solaseed Air   
N430US    B734    US Airways    n/t
N438US    B734    US Airways    n/t
N443US    B734    US Airways    n/t
N450UW    B734    US Airways    n/t
N453UW    B734    US Airways   
N454UW    B734    US Airways   
N532UA    B757    United Airlines    o/c, -parts
N558MS    B733    Webjet    hangared
N742VA    B734    Vision Airlines   
N826AL    B732    Aloha Air Cargo    green c/s
N860GA    MD80    Allegiant Air   
N870AG    B733    .    all white, no titles, no logos
?    MD80    .    all white, no titles, no logos, parts missing, no-reg painted - next to CRJ7 hulk
N949NS    MD80    USA Jet Airlines    no titles, no logos, Mitt Romney campaign c/s
N950NS    MD80    Ryan International    all white, no titles, no logos
N964AS    MD80    Ryan International    white, no titles, tail swoosh
N965AS    MD80    Ryan International    all white, no titles, no logos
N969NS    MD80    Ryan International    all white, no titles, no logos
N973AS    MD80    Ryan International    all white, no titles, no logos, -parts
N974AS    MD80    Ryan International    white, no titles, tail swoosh
N976AS    MD80    Ryan International    white, no titles, tail swoosh
N979NS    MD80    Ryan International    all white, no titles, no logos
OB-1960-P    B733    Peruvian Airlines    no titles
OB-1961-P    B733    Peruvian Airlines    no titles
Tech school           
C-GGMP    DH8A    Bombardier    prototype c/s, no titles, reg not painted
N914PG    B727    Ecuatoriana    reg hand-painted on rear fuselage, HC-BVT on nwd
N453LJ    LJ45    .    primer fuselage only, no-reg painted
N115FE    B727    FedEx    no titles, no logos
N486FE    B727    FedEx   
OB-1547    B727    Aeroperu    hangared, titles?
Stored Tucson           
N    B727?    .    Maxair, nose only
P4-MED    L1011    The Flying Hospital   

Those in brackets taken from other reports - confirmation welcome!

The nose was at one of the hangars - ID ?


-The End-

Regards
Stefan

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Read More :- "Re: [cactuswings 3036] Fw: USA Trip (March) - Tucson - Davis Monthan (+Pima) - Marana - Ryan - Avra Valley"