canberraman Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Entrance to the impressive Pima Air and Space Museum, located just off Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson Az, and one of the world’s great aviation museums containing well over 220 exhibits. In this photo essay I will highlight the SAC ‘heavies’ that were on display during my two visits in 2012 and 2014. Safely preserved inside the Spirit of Freedom Hangar is Lockheed SR-71A 61-7951 once of the 9th SRW Two views of EB-47E Stratojet 53-2135 in the markings of the 316th BW. No less than three B-52 Stratofortresses are on display including B-52D 55-0067 ‘Lone Star Lady’ formerly assigned to the 7th BW. B-52G 58-0183 ex 2 BW Two views of NB-52A 52-0003 ‘The High and Mighty One’ , once used for X-15 test launches, and the oldest B-52 in existence. Three views of the colossal B-36J Peacemaker 52-2827 ‘City of Fort Worth’ , the largest aircraft on display at Pima. The air to ground shot was taken by me from a Cessna 172 hired to overfly AMARG and Pima. Recently refurbished Boeing KB-50J 49-0372 The impressive Mach 2 Convair B-58A Hustler 61-2080 EC-135J 63-8057 airborne command post, latterly assigned to the 9th ACCS at Hickam AFB Hawaii. C-97G civil reg HB-ILY (ex 52-2626) and KC-97G Stratotanker 53-1051 Three more views of Pima from above that give a sense of the size and scale of this magnificent collection. Hope these have been of interest. Thanks for looking. C&C always welcome. Mark 32 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Aluminium overdose! Good to know that someone out there is making the effort to save these historic pieces. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 It's amazing, isn't it? From the air it looks like someone's model collection. Thanks for sharing. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Aer Lingus Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Fabulous pics great shots from the air thanks for sharing Eamonn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewolf Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Many thanks for these! I imagine the majority of the exhibits were assigned to the boneyard at some point. The B52s look a bit the worse for wear! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Looks big enough to outnumber some countries air forces, thank for posting them. Cheers Dennis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 What an awesome selection Mark, thanks for sharing. I love the B-36 and the B-58. Pima is most definitely on my bucket list! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberraman Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share Posted February 22, 2021 Leigh and all, Many thanks for the positive comments and likes. Pima should most definitely be on the bucket list of any military aircraft enthusiast. The added bonus is that it is right next door to AMARG at Davis Monthan AFB, and from Pima you can get pre booked coach trips round the boneyard. I would also recommend Double Eagle aviation at Tucson IAP for the opportunity to do overflights of the facilities in their Cessna 172. In response to Whitewolf's comments about the tatty condition of the Buffs, I'm pretty sure both the B52D and B52G have subsequently received a repaint and a refurbishment which all the exhibits get periodically due to the effects of the bleaching sun and high summer temperatures, That's another point while I think about it. Best to visit DM and Pima in the Spring and Autumn, the Arizona heat in Summer is unbearable and also raises the risk of snakebites! Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Suprising how small the B47 is compared to the C135/707. Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberraman Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share Posted February 22, 2021 3 minutes ago, Britman said: Suprising how small the B47 is compared to the C135/707. Keith You're right Keith. The B-47 is 107ft in length, the C-135 136ft, nearly a third longer again. Strange how aircraft size is perceived. I remember getting the Hasegawa 1/72 B-47 as a kid and thinking it was gigantic. That was until some years later I obtained a B-52! Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Donkey Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Super shots from a great collection. Will check my shots from Sept 19 to see if the B52’s had a lick of paint. Thanks for posting SD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Donkey Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Quick update 58-0183 looks a little more weather beaten than above 55-0067 has had a paint job and looks smart 52-0003 I assume this is the machine now in maintenance area, down to bare metal will attempt to post photos (tomorrow) if I can remember how to do it SD 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Donkey Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Here’s 52-0003 as she was in September 2019 (by some miracle and the very helpful tutorial in FAQ”s I managed to post this first time, will have ago at the other 2 tomorrow) SD 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 12 hours ago, canberraman said: You're right Keith. The B-47 is 107ft in length, the C-135 136ft, nearly a third longer again. Strange how aircraft size is perceived. I remember getting the Hasegawa 1/72 B-47 as a kid and thinking it was gigantic. That was until some years later I obtained a B-52! Mark I remember the same with the kits and should have remembered having built the original Monogram B52 and the Airfix E3 Sentry. My dad built the B47 when it came out and that was really impressive. Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Donkey Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 And here’s 55-0067 is her fresh paint job As an aside, Pima now has an ANA B787, Cathay B777 and China Southern B737 in the collection! SD 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberraman Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 5 hours ago, Swamp Donkey said: And here’s 55-0067 is her fresh paint job As an aside, Pima now has an ANA B787, Cathay B777 and China Southern B737 in the collection! SD Hey SD, thanks for the update, that B52D certainly does look a but fresher than when I saw her last in 2014 Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 On 2/22/2021 at 4:55 AM, canberraman said: In response to Whitewolf's comments about the tatty condition of the Buffs, I'm pretty sure both the B52D and B52G have subsequently received a repaint and a refurbishment which all the exhibits get periodically due to the effects of the bleaching sun and high summer temperatures, That's another point while I think about it. Best to visit DM and Pima in the Spring and Autumn, the Arizona heat in Summer is unbearable and also raises the risk of snakebites! Add to that the sandblasting they get from desert winds. The F-105G I was crew chief on is at the museum. During one visit, I noted she'd been freshly repainted ... or so it appeared on one side. On the other side, the results of desert winds and she looked like she'd been sitting unattended in the desert for eons. To their credit, the folks at the museum do an incredible job of keeping those airplanes up, but it's a never ending battle. They've made great progress since the museum first opened (I visited shortly after it did) and many of the planes are under cover now. I wouldn't be surprised they've made plans to build more display buildings, but that's an expensive proposition and those come into being very slowly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 Great stuff, what a brilliant place! I’d need about three days to see all that properly, though given my wife got bored after 10 minutes at Tangmere I think I’d be pushing my luck! 😂 Good recognition test too, especially the aerial shot. I think I can name most of them except that dark blue thing (a Banshee?) next to the Vigilante, though a couple of the twin turboprops are tricky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephLalor Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 2 hours ago, Lord Riot said: Good recognition test too, especially the aerial shot. I think I can name most of them except that dark blue thing (a Banshee?) next to the Vigilante, though a couple of the twin turboprops are tricky. Skyknight I think 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewolf Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 On 23/02/2021 at 08:40, Swamp Donkey said: And here’s 55-0067 is her fresh paint job As an aside, Pima now has an ANA B787, Cathay B777 and China Southern B737 in the collection! SD Thanks for posting that! She looks good! I can understand the ongoing battles to keep the aircraft in good shape and I take my hat off to the folks there at Pima! I imagine a B52H and probably a B1 will join the collection at somepoint. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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