Where old planes go when they "die"

[RobLyman]

That particular bird in the picture is/was 162136 BUT... it's still a Block 0 that never got modded. -44 owned it for a while before we got it. 162981 must have been one of the first Block Is. I did two cruises as a JO with 162118, but she was a .75 (and is the bird in my avatar).

Fun fact: We still have 161556 in our possession. She's the 9th -60B made and the FIRST production model. She's also the last living -60B that still has the canted wings that everyone reads about in Natops and ignores. She's getting upgraded to a .75...why is more political than anything else, but she'll fly for about a year or so and then go away forever.

Those are some fun facts. If you want to see some real antiques flying, come out to Cecil Field and see our Chinooks. We have one that was originally designated a YH-47. I believe two of our 6 are late 1960s vintage. One used to be a ground maintenance trainer for many years, befoe being made airworthy and put back into service.

 

[Harrier Dude]

I know the new C-12s are being phased in, but are the station C-12s really that old/broken? Or are they just obsolete? I guess I'm just amazed that the old ones are being sent to the boneyard...it seems that in this age of supposed penny-pinching, DoN could strike 'em and sell 'em. (Unless, of course, we're just keeping them prepped for a future, sudden influx of flag officers that need a ride.)

Either way, I know Tucson isn't a good-deal cross-country from Yuma, but did The Bobs give you enough time to at least destroy your liver on campus? Frog & Firkin was always a mandatory check in the box for us...for obvious reasons.

We are replacing our C-12B's with C-12F's, and our C-12F's with brand new C-12W's. The navy is getting out of the C-12 business altogether.

The B's are steam gauge BE200s, and the F's are ProLine 21 (glass) versions of the same plane. The W is a BE350 and is wholly different. The one I dropped off was a B made in 1981 and had something like 30,000 hours on it.

There are basically two sides to the boneyard. There's the "let's hang on to this unless we need it again someday or we decide to sell it to some country that is currently our friend" side, and there is the "let's put it up on blocks and use it as a canny pig until it stops existing" side.

The C-12s are on the first side. The other side is kind of sad. That's where (no offense) all of the phrogs are. You guys must be crushing pilot side chin bubbles, because almost all of them are gone. Any ideas?

I was able to RON, so a round of golf was had along with dinner at BJ's (terrible name, decent chow) with a navy Prowler/A-10 exchange buddy of mine. Overall a pretty good time.

 

[Gatordev]

Those are some fun facts. If you want to see some real antiques flying, come out to Cecil Field and see our Chinooks. We have one that was originally designated a YH-47. I believe two of our 6 are late 1960s vintage. One used to be a ground maintenance trainer for many years, befoe being made airworthy and put back into service.

The real question is if I come over to see your antique road show, can I get a flight? ...in anything. I'm not picky.

The other side is kind of sad. That's where (no offense) all of the phrogs are. You guys must be crushing pilot side chin bubbles, because almost all of them are gone.

I know they're not on the latter side (yet), but I was pretty disappointed in the condition of the A-6s. Those were sad to see. Those things are still an impressive piece of hardware and they're just slowly going away, one piece at a time.

 

[Postal]

Went with Harrier Dude to drop off the C-12B. RIP 161191.

Little help to Harrier Dude for the cockpit. It is bare but does anyone have a guess?

 

[Gatordev]

Little help to Harrier Dude for the cockpit. It is bare but does anyone have a guess?

The oldest resident. I'll abstain from saying, though, since I have a similar picture I took. And also one of my co-pilot sitting on the "throne" a few feet behind you.

 

[phrogpilot73]

The other side is kind of sad. That's where (no offense) all of the phrogs are. You guys must be crushing pilot side chin bubbles, because almost all of them are gone. Any ideas?

Kind of sad? More like gut-wrenching... If I stick with my current squadron, I may have to actually witness it first hand. The year I retire is the year we transition. It's one thing to be fascinated by the history of the place, but to see what you've flown in combat just tossed out like yesterday's bathwater...

Seriously though nothing over the last 35 years or so has meant "shit is about to change in your world" more than a package of Phrogs coming in over the coastline.

As for the chin bubbles, your guess is as good as mine - it doesn't make sense to me. And pilot's side only? That's weird.

Does anyone know of the request process/who I write a letter to/paperwork chain required to try and get a hold of some of the parts on the sad side? As part of making the dream of the brew pub become a reality, I'm working on trying to get various parts... Nothing like .50's or OSCs from the MWS, more simple, sheet metal type stuff. Nose electronics compartment door, part of a rotor blade, old (steel) flight control armor, etc... I've got SOME contacts, but could always use more avenues.

 

[KBayDog]

Wow, HD, didn't realize the old girls had so many hours on them. 30,000 hours is a lot of $5000 hamburgers.

Don't know anything about broken chin bubbles, either. The round cabin window on the left side (the one with the stupid vent in the lower half) always got beat to shit, but never heard of chin bubbles getting bent.

 

[AllAmerican75]

Little help to Harrier Dude for the cockpit. It is bare but does anyone have a guess?

That wouldn't happen to be a C-46 would it?

 

[Postal]

Does anyone know of the request process/who I write a letter to/paperwork chain required to try and get a hold of some of the parts on the sad side? As part of making the dream of the brew pub become a reality, I'm working on trying to get various parts... Nothing like .50's or OSCs from the MWS, more simple, sheet metal type stuff. Nose electronics compartment door, part of a rotor blade, old (steel) flight control armor, etc... I've got SOME contacts, but could always use more avenues.

Not sure what he can do for you but here is the contact info for the Navy Logistics Specialist at the boneyard. He was the one who took us on a great tour of the boneyard.

LS1(AW/SW) Jesse Smith
(520) 228-8439
DSN 228-8439

 

[Harrier Dude]

That wouldn't happen to be a C-46 would it?

Nope. Nice try, though.

There is almost no way on Earth that somebody will know this.

 

[Harrier Dude]

Btw, when I said "pilot side chin bubbles", I meant left side, which I later realized is the copilot side for you people.

I assumed (when I thought it was pilot side) that they were getting scratched up and hampering visibility for the pilot, thus the replacements. Now that I know it's the side of the coffee brewer/flight plan filer/head spectator, I don't know why they are being replaced.

Cross cockpit visibility? Copilots crunching them?

 

[jmcquate]

Kc-97?

 

[Harrier Dude]

Kc-97?

Nope. Think slower. Much slower.

 

[KBayDog]

Btw, when I said "pilot side chin bubbles", I meant left side, which I later realized is the copilot side for you people.

I assumed (when I thought it was pilot side) that they were getting scratched up and hampering visibility for the pilot, thus the replacements. Now that I know it's the side of the coffee brewer/flight plan filer/head spectator, I don't know why they are being replaced.

Cross cockpit visibility? Copilots crunching them?

Seriously, I've never seen a busted chin bubble. A few windscreens (i.e., rocks kicked up in shitty LZs), but not a chin bubble. Sometimes saw new chin bubbles after the birds made a trip to NADEP, but that's about it. Maybe there aren't many in the inventory, and NADEP is jacking them from the boneyard for depot repairs?

Cross-cockpit visibility? I'm not a fan of anyone scanning out of their own chin bubbles (chin bubbles are just an extra SA builder, and not really part of a normal scan); if I ever had a co-pilot looking through my chin bubble, my fist would go cross-cockpit, knock his ass out, and finish the hop with the crew chief in the other seat.

 

[KBayDog]

Btw, when I said "pilot side chin bubbles", I meant left side, which I later realized is the copilot side for you people.

By the way: