#Airplane graveyard windows#

Most, however, will be sold as scrap metal, eventually finding new life as razor blades, soft drink cans or car fenders.Īmong the most notable Category 4000 planes is the Cold War’s most enduring icon, the B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber.

Category 4000 planes are destined for “static display” in museums, town squares or Air Force base entrances.

Category 3000 planes are kept in near ready-to-fly condition, awaiting a more-than-likely new deployment.

Some parts from older aircraft, are available nowhere else.

Category 2000 planes are maintained for spare parts.

Category 1000 planes are preserved with an eye toward possibly flying again, should international political conditions warrant.

They are divided into four categories, depending on their future prospects. Most of the airplanes that sit in desert graveyards today date from the Vietnam era or later. Every four years, the planes are brought into an open hangar for a checkup. The coatings protect the plane’s most vulnerable parts against sun, wind, dust and nesting animals. Without Spraylat, the interior could quickly heat up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit during hot summer days. The top layer of “Spraylat,” which is white, reflects enough solar heat to keep a plane’s interior at nearly the same temperature as the outside air. Canopies, engine intakes and other openings are sealed with layers of “Spraylat,” a latex-based, permanently flexible substance that is easy to remove. Fuel tanks are filled with heavy oil, which provides a protective coating for engine parts. Planes that are to be mothballed, if only temporarily, go through a meticulous process to prepare them for exposure to the desert environment. planes that have been sold to foreign governments.Ĭanopies, engine intakes and other openings are sealed with layers of “Spraylat,” a latex-based, permanently flexible substance that is easy to remove. Rather, many millions of dollars worth of surplus parts are salvaged to keep active aircraft flying, including U.

A properly sealed plane can be stored for years in the desert, thanks to the moderate winters and low humidity.Īn airplane graveyard is not just a fence around airplane carcasses and piles of scrap metal.

#Airplane graveyard windows#

Their engines and windows have been covered with tape to protect them against the desert’s sand and dirt. These military war-horses have officially been mothballedforced into retirement. It has an alkaline soil so firm that airplanes can be towed and parked on the surface without sinking. It has a dry, clear and virtually smog-free climate that helps minimize corrosion. The Tucson area serves as an ideal graveyard for airplanes. The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, within sight of Interstate 10, contains a storage facility known to many locals as the “boneyard.” The facility functions as a holding place to store planes until their ultimate fate has been determined. It’s sort of the same concept in south central Tucson, in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, where old airplanes instead of old pachyderms come to rest. You have heard, of course, about aging elephants that wander off to die in a specific communal place, a kind of elephant graveyard. This image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 040204 Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Shannon R. The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group's 'aircraft boneyard' located on the Davis–Monthan AFB Airplane Graveyards Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ and Mojave Airport, CA