Pima County Air and Space Museum, Tucson

This is the third largest air museum in the US, and the largest private exhibit.  Over 300 aircraft on a huge lot.  What made it extraordinary was the number of vets on site.  We got onto a guided tour first thing, and again last thing.  Each time our docent guide had extensive personal experiences to relate in addition to a great depth of knowledge.

Tomorrow we drive up to Phoenix for the next 10 days.  Shooting begins on Friday.

The Model 10 Electra, as flown by Amelia Earhart 

A-10 Warthog, we saw a few of these yesterday over Catalina Park

SR-71 Blackhawk, fastest plane ever, 2100 mph

F-4 Phantom.  Our tour guide John Miller flew one of these in Viet Nam.  The right engine blew up shortly after take off and he was able to return to base safely.  Years later he is a tour guide here and realized, by the serial number, that this is the same airplane!  He had been walking by it on these tours for 10 years before he knew that!

Cessna T-50 as used on the early Sky King TV show

B-24 Liberator, like the one that crashed on Camel's Hump in 1944

British Hurricane fighter

PBY Catalina

B-29 Superfortress
The man in the wheelchair was a B-29 pilot in WW II, he is 94 years old and clearly enjoys coming to the museum every week.

Korea vintage fighters

B-17

Eisenhower's presidential airplane.  Although Kennedy had a 707 he also kept this one for those places he could not take the 707.

A Trimotor

The Guppy, built to transport large rocket parts from the manufacturer in California to Kennedy Space Ctr. FL.

Unique twin engine, both engines in the nose, thus two propellers, each powered separately.

This British design has two propellers on each engine

Heavy lift helocopter

B-52.  Our second tour guide flew this out of Bangor ME

B-36, six propeller engines on the back of the wing, pushing.  This later model also had four jet engines further out on the wings.

Lockeed 121 named Columbine, assigned to Gen Eisenhower