Before AMARC No.1 Photo CD Review

By Michael Benolkin

Review

Aero Research is back with a new series in their ever-growing line-up of photo-reference CD-ROMs. In this installment, we look at the first installment of photos taken mostly in the 1970s in the famous aircraft storage facility at Davis-Monthan AFB. After WWII, the storage facility was established as the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC) to store military aircraft retired from active service. Because of the dry climate and the hard caliche desert surface, these aircraft can be stored for decades with little or no degradation to the airframe as long as the cockpits were protected from the sun and critical areas blocked off from the local wildlife.

Aircraft are kept in two major categories: storage and parts yard. Storage aircraft are kept close to airworthy so they can later be restored to active duty or sold/given to allied air powers. Those that are no longer needed are moved to the parts area or scrapped. The parts yard provides parts for aircraft that haven't been produced in decades (like the B-52) and are economic resources for active duty aircraft flown by the US and allied airpowers.

Some of the aircraft presented in this collection come from what was known as 'celebrity row' which had unique airframes on display for the tourists that took the bus tours of Davis-Monthan. I had volunteered as a tour guide for these public tours while stationed at D-M in the early 1980s before the facility was redesignated as the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARC) in 1985.

Once again, I used my image browser to scan through some of the aircraft on the disc and I was quite impressed with the selection of aircraft. Taking a closer look at the data in the directory, these images are provided at 4000 pixels wide.

Among the aircraft represented here:

• A-4 Skyhawk
• B-26 Invader
• B-47 Stratojet
• B-52 Stratofortreee
• B-66 Destroyer
• C-46 Commando
• C-47 Skytrain
• C-54 Skymaster
• C-117 Skytrooper
• C-123 Provider
• C-135 Stratolifter
• E-1 Tracer
• F-4 Phantom II
• F-8 Crusader
• F9F Panther/Cougar
• F-10 Skyknight
• F-100 Super Sabre
• F-102 Delta Dagger
• F-104 Starfighter
• H-3 Jolly Green Green Giant
• H-34 Seabat
• HU-16 Albatross
• OV-1 Mohawk
• P-2 Neptune
• RA-5C Vigilante
• RF-84 Thunderflash
• S-2 Tracker
• T-2 Buckeye
• T-28 Trojan
• T-33 Shooting Star
• T-38 Talon

This is a nice selection of imagery that you won't find available in such clarity and size. If you've visited MASDC/AMARC in the past, these sights will look familiar but you'll see how many of these aircraft look like they are ready for service (and some of which did indeed fly again). This title is recommended!

You can purchase this reference or any of their other photo CDs directly from their website www.aeroresearchcds.com or via email AeroResearch@Charter.net.

My sincere thanks to Aero Research for this review sample!