Old Airplanes Never Die...they just go to Arizona
My love and enthusiasm for airplanes has never diminished, starting with air shows in the early 1970’s and my early but short-lived career at McDonnell Douglas from 1979 to 1981, following in my father’s footsteps. Then came my professional career in Air Traffic Control where my aviation interest was cemented.
SR-71 Blackbird on display at AirZoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan. I only saw one SR-71 fly over Fort Smith in all my years. It was on a figure-8 route over the entire U.S., departing and landing at Beale AFB in California. The altitude showed 60,000 ft., the speed was classified. We clocked it on radar at about 2,300 m.p.h.
I hearken back to those days at McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach. During my short three years there, we experienced:
Three horrible DC-10 crashes and the 1-month grounding of the DC-10 in 1979
The last A-4 Skyhawk rolled off the line, also in 1979
The first flight of the KC-10 in 1980, the military tanker version of the DC-10
The first flight of the DC-9-80, or “Super 80”, later renamed the MD-80. A major workhorse for the airlines, recently retired by American.
The design phase and contract award of the C-17 Globemaster
The continual production of the DC-9 and DC-10 commercial aircraft
Most of these airplanes, except the military KC-10 and C-17, have either experienced or are now approaching their final phase of service life. The DC-10, in all its variation, has enjoyed an extended lifetime with FedEx and other freight operators as an efficient and reliable cargo aircraft. But most end up - well - where do they end up?
The high T-tails of retired C-5A cargo planes at Davis-Montham Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona. In the foreground are uncounted T-38 trainers.
We had a planned stop in Tucson, and I was on-the-lookout for Davis-Montham Air Force Base. The place is known as the Military Aircraft Boneyard, and it’s long been the final destination for a lot of military aircraft. From there, they are stored, salvaged for parts, or scrapped. It’s kind of an amazing sight when you consider that each one of those planes cost about $200 million to build.
As we traveled further north on I-10 towards California, I found what I didn’t expect. About 30 miles from Tucson, at the Pinal Airpark in Marana, were the remains of at least 50 - maybe more - commercial aircraft. It was easy to recognize the tails and colors from some of these - Delta, China, KLM, Lufthansa, American Eagle, Hawaiian Airlines, Pan Am, and many, many others.
Now, I realize that airplanes don’t interest everyone - in fact, I’m sure that some have already stopped reading this. But for those that are still with me, consider this:
One of these Delta Boeing 747 tails is N674US. It was originally delivered to Northwest Airlines on October 18, 1999 and flew mostly the Pacific routes linking the United States and Asia. It was acquired by Delta when it merged with Northwest in 2008, but most importantly: it was the very last 747 operated by a U.S. airline. That last flight happened on January 3, 2018 from Atlanta to Pinal Airpark in Arizona after doing a “Farewell Tour” to several U.S. cities served by the 747.
N674US as it was originally delivered in Northwest colors. Credit: Alastair T. Gardiner; airhistory.net
On its final flight, the 48 passengers (mostly Delta employees, reporters and aviation enthusiasts) were given Sharpie’s to “sign” anything they wanted on the interior or exterior of the airplane. A pilot and flight attendant who met 9 years earlier flying the 747 for Delta were married over Memphis on that flight.
Every single one of these airplanes have a history. Some of that history may be vast and historic, and other airplanes may not stand out other than simply doing what they were asked to do, over and over and over until they were replaced by something that did the job just a little better.
Incidentally, N674US was replaced by a brand new twin-engine, fuel-efficient Airbus A-350. It is probably the most technologically advanced aircraft flying today. It’s a beautiful airplane, and I’m sure that pilots, flight attendants and passengers are excited to fly it. But isn’t it a little sad to think that one day this beautiful machine will likely face a similar destiny?
Delta Airlines Airbus A-350. Credit: news.delta.com.
This PanAm Clipper 747 was once the Queen of the Skies. it was the ultimate in luxury and convenience flying across the Atlantic and Pacific.
I find these graveyards fascinating, enchanting, a little depressing, and somewhat sad. Mostly because the history of almost all of these proud birds will never be known or recorded, except in the memories of those who were privileged to fly on them.