Tinnitus and Plane Pr0n

Tinnitus sucks........................
It robs me of sleep and no matter the environment, it's always there.....]
End Rant.....

Made a soda pop and craft beer run to Stater Bros. in Mojave a while ago.
Then I hit the Primo Burger for dinner for Missus ORPO and myself.
I figured a shot of the usual goings on at MHV would be of interest.

EVA Air Cargo 747 and Martinair Cargo MD 11 on the engine removal line at Mojave(MHV)
The 747 is a 400F and these are not exactly old but the new 777 and A330 twin engine wide body aircraft are more cost effective. Mojave and Southern California Logistics Airport(ex-George AFB) at Victorville are seeing more and more of the three and four engine legacy freighters these days.

Saturday in The Desert..................................

.................not to be confused with Saturday in The Park.............................................Cha Cha Cha!!!!!!!!!!!!
Enough of that, OK?
Seems that yours truly had to make a trip to the Stater Bros Market in Mojave and since there is that Mojave Spaceport place there, the Nikon D3000 came along for the ride.

I also got one shot with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 of a Tesla charging at the Tesla Charging Station in the little shopping center in Mojave.

Here is a sampling of today's pictures.

Ex Lufthansa, Qantas, Thai, Southern Air and Atlas Air 747s along with a CV-990, a few 767s and a pair of ex KLM MD-11s

L1011

BAC 111s that were used by BAE

Wind Turbines are a fixture here

Mojave L Bishop R

KLM MD-11s

A CV-990 to right of center in this picture.

California City just above the CA58 Bridge over the UPRR Lone Pine Branch

Edwards AFB Hangars in the distance

Cal City Blvd 1/4 mile

Cal City Blvd Exit

Joshua Trees!

Golf Cart Sculpture

The Raven. Mascot and Nickname of Cal City High School

The Boulevard. Looks like something out of an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

Mojave Boneyard (MHV)

Sunday run to the Stater Bros market in Mojave...............
I took a few pics on the way home.
Better vantage point..................

There are two Thai 747-400s separate from the rest.

Thai Airways

One of these former Air Canada 767s is the Gimli Glider

In the back of the pack are a pair of KLM MD-11s

A lot of Southern Air 747F Airframes

Train coming down to Mojave with a pair of pusher units

BAC 1-11 Airliners that have been here for quite a long time

Plane Pr0n-Bing reveals map of biggest aircraft graveyard in the world | Daily Mail Online

Most of the folks who follow this blog are aware of the big boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB.
The Daily Mail had a piece on it with the Bing Map Images.



While it isn't the only aircraft boneyard in the world, it is the largest, containing around 4,400 aircraft. Planes that have served on aircraft carriers have to be washed to get rid of salt. All aircraft have their fuel tanks lines drained and any explosive devices are removed.


I thought it was an interesting piece.....................................
More pics and the rest of the article at the link below

Bing reveals map of biggest aircraft graveyard in the world | Daily Mail Online

Mojave Spaceport(MHV) Where airliners go to die...........................

Sad to see sometimes. The times indeed are a changing.
I had to make a run to the grocery store in Mojave earlier today and grabbed these with the smart phone.
Also included are shots of the first snow..............................

747 and 767 jets parked. The 767s are former Air Canada and include the Gimli Glider, D-GAUN

L to R-Qantas, 2 Lufthansa, Thai 747s and a KLM MD-11

In the distance are the San Gabriels and the Angeles Crest with snow.

Wind Turbines as far as the eye can see.

Snow on the Southern Sierras

Rusty Mothball Fleet: Not your normal Ship Pr0n

From a guy at Flickr.
A shot of four carriers at NIMSF Bremerton WA.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/romamar76/4477314996/

 BREMERTON MOTHBALL FLEET

USS Ranger (CV 61)
Type ship: Forrestal-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,067 feet
Beam: 270 feet
Status: Stricken, available for donation as museum or memorial
Commissioned: Aug. 10, 1957
Decommissioned: July 10, 1993
Stricken: March 8, 2004

 USS Ranger in 1980. I was in that A-6 Squadron back then.

 

 USS Independence (CV 62)
Type ship: Forrestal-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,070 feet
Beam: 263 feet
Status: Stricken, to be disposed of
Commissioned: Jan. 10, 1959
Decommissioned: Sept. 30, 1998
Stricken: March 8, 2004

  Kitty Hawk and Independence at NS Pearl Harbor HI. RIMPAC 98. This was long after I had retired.














 USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63)
Type ship: Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,069 feet
Beam: 282 feet
Status: Out of commission, in reserve
Commissioned: April 29, 1961
Decommissioned: Spring 2009

USS Constellation (CV 64)
Type ship: Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,073 feet
Beam: 282 feet
Status: Stricken, to be disposed of
Commissioned: Oct. 27, 1961
Decommissioned: Aug. 6, 2003
Stricken: Dec. 2, 2003

Those three vessels I served on are in the pic at the link as well as Constellation.

They represent a large part of my life, approximately 5 years and 2 months of it.

Sad places for airplane guys, addendum

Another sort of famous resident of the "Storage area" at Mojave Airport.
This is the Gimli Glider. It is on Wikipedia. That is the entire story. Go check it out.

A coworker of mine was working for the storage management company and was on the crew that took all the markings off.

Ex C-GAUN The Gimli Glider.

Last time I went by it was missing the engines. Word has it from my friend Dwight that she is due to be scrapped.
But the newer ones from Boeing and even Airbus are so much better in terms of the systems installed.

Speaking of Airbus, these A330s have found new homes. Of the six that were here, three of them were at a hangar on the south side of the field in front of a large hangar. They had been there through the winter and into the summer. Less chance of corrosion as they are of mostly composite construction.

Sad Places for airplane guys

VCV-Southern California Logistics Airport. Former George AFB

Boneyard. This is a photo from various newspapers after the initial economic meltdown last year. When passing by Victorville and Adelanto on the way to Oceanside we see this very view. That Joshua Tree is next to US 395.

Mojave Air and Space Port. This is an older photo of ex-Air Canada B767s. I see these airplanes on a regular basis. It is on the way to Rosamond, Lancaster, Palmdale and other points south. One of them is the "renowned Gimli Glider" These airplanes are due to be scrapped after all usable items are stripped.
Boneyards. Where Airplanes go to die.
I read a blurb on Airliners.net that the first Frontier Airbus A318 is on it's way to Mississippi to be parted out and scrapped. We are talking a fairly new airplane.
Here at Falcon, we are getting an F-16D ready to go to AMARG at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson. Even we get rid of them!

Jeff made pics of the Mountains Better

This is a stitched panorama of two shots I put on PHJ&F yesterday. He did his gee whiz magic and abracadabra! It is one picture.
Click and it will be larger and much easier to look at.
Thanks to Jeff.