Aircraft boneyards in Arizona
May 13, 2016, 9:09 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,470
Aircraft boneyards in Arizona
I plan to visit Tucson for a weekend and am very interested in seeing some boneyards. However, I cannot enter the Pima facility since I will be there on a weekend when they do not admit visitors.
Is there anything much that I can see by simply driving by? I have done so in the past at both Mojave, CA & Roswell, NM - and though it was frustrating not to be able to take a closer look, it was very interesting seeing the planes from outside the fences. Can I do the same thing at Pima?
Also, there seems to be a simillar facility at the Pinal Air Park in Marana, AZ. Would it be worthwhile to do a detour there?
Is there anything much that I can see by simply driving by? I have done so in the past at both Mojave, CA & Roswell, NM - and though it was frustrating not to be able to take a closer look, it was very interesting seeing the planes from outside the fences. Can I do the same thing at Pima?
Also, there seems to be a simillar facility at the Pinal Air Park in Marana, AZ. Would it be worthwhile to do a detour there?
May 14, 2016, 10:25 am
#2
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Programs: AA 2MM - UA 1P / Hyatt Diamond - SPG Plat / Hertz 5* - Avis 1st
Posts: 3,886
You can see some of the boneyard at Davis-Montham Airbase from the surface streets. Drive down the 10 and take the Valencia Road exit to the east, then turn north on Kolb Road. You can see into the boneyard clearly from Kolb, but the road sinks under a tunnel about half-way up the base, so only about half of Kolb actually gives a view from the driver's seat.
Turn back west on Escalante, and once again you can look south onto the base. You will need to make a couple of north and west turns through base housing. Then turn back west on Golf Links Road, and that forms the square.
Also, you should plan to visit the Pima Air and Space Museum - they have some outstanding static displays both inside and outside, even if they are not running the bus tours through the Airbase boneyard.
http://www.pimaair.org/
Furthermore, drive down to the Titan Missile Museum, as it is another outstanding tour.
http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/
The Pinal Air Park at Marana has a good number of civilian aircraft - 747s, DC10/MD11s, various Airbus craft, etc. However, access is limited, and unless you can sweet talk the gate guard into letting you onto the AOA, your best bet for looking at the aircraft is from E. Pinal Airpark Road, which has an entrance to the I-10. It is approximately the equivalent of Mojave or Roswell.
Turn back west on Escalante, and once again you can look south onto the base. You will need to make a couple of north and west turns through base housing. Then turn back west on Golf Links Road, and that forms the square.
Also, you should plan to visit the Pima Air and Space Museum - they have some outstanding static displays both inside and outside, even if they are not running the bus tours through the Airbase boneyard.
http://www.pimaair.org/
Furthermore, drive down to the Titan Missile Museum, as it is another outstanding tour.
http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/
The Pinal Air Park at Marana has a good number of civilian aircraft - 747s, DC10/MD11s, various Airbus craft, etc. However, access is limited, and unless you can sweet talk the gate guard into letting you onto the AOA, your best bet for looking at the aircraft is from E. Pinal Airpark Road, which has an entrance to the I-10. It is approximately the equivalent of Mojave or Roswell.
May 15, 2016, 1:09 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: PHX
Programs: AA Peon Gold
Posts: 2,915
Pima Air and Space Museum is definitely worth the expense. The last time I was down there they had one of the 787 test aircraft on permanent loan from Boeing that you can get up close and personal with. Pretty neat.
You can get into Pinal Air Park and drive around, but you won't be able to get onto the tarmac, and I wouldn't recommend trying since there's a national guard base at one end of the airport. You can still get a pretty good view from fence.
And as has been said, you can actually see a lot of AMARC from the roads surrounding DM.
Additionally, if you're in the Phoenix area, Goodyear airport out in the west valley has a boneyard as well.
You can get into Pinal Air Park and drive around, but you won't be able to get onto the tarmac, and I wouldn't recommend trying since there's a national guard base at one end of the airport. You can still get a pretty good view from fence.
And as has been said, you can actually see a lot of AMARC from the roads surrounding DM.
Additionally, if you're in the Phoenix area, Goodyear airport out in the west valley has a boneyard as well.
Mar 9, 2020, 5:09 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 237
Pima Air and Space Museum is definitely worth the expense. The last time I was down there they had one of the 787 test aircraft on permanent loan from Boeing that you can get up close and personal with. Pretty neat.
You can get into Pinal Air Park and drive around, but you won't be able to get onto the tarmac, and I wouldn't recommend trying since there's a national guard base at one end of the airport. You can still get a pretty good view from fence.
And as has been said, you can actually see a lot of AMARC from the roads surrounding DM.
Additionally, if you're in the Phoenix area, Goodyear airport out in the west valley has a boneyard as well.
You can get into Pinal Air Park and drive around, but you won't be able to get onto the tarmac, and I wouldn't recommend trying since there's a national guard base at one end of the airport. You can still get a pretty good view from fence.
And as has been said, you can actually see a lot of AMARC from the roads surrounding DM.
Additionally, if you're in the Phoenix area, Goodyear airport out in the west valley has a boneyard as well.
Proposed schedule: start at Pima at 9 am when they open. Stay until noon. Head to Phoenix for a late afternoon flight around 5:30 pm. Alternate is to see Pima the day before.
Mar 10, 2020, 9:22 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Programs: AA 2MM - UA 1P / Hyatt Diamond - SPG Plat / Hertz 5* - Avis 1st
Posts: 3,886
1. If you plan to ride on one of the tours of the air base, they only go out at scheduled hours, so check the times of those bus tours (well worth it!).
2. Leave yourself plenty of time to get to Sky Harbor. If there is an accident on the northbound I-10 in the Gila River Indian Reservation, it can hold up traffic for hours since the road is constricted and narrow.