i'm going to cut to the chase on this one: the big event on thursday was my trip to pima air and space museum and the coinciding trip to the davis-monthan air force base's "boneyard" known as AMARG (aerospace maintenance and regeneration group - so basically a boneyard).
some f-15 eagles (my brother's jet) getting ready to sit in the boneyard. sad.
the planes just sit there, a retired fleet in the desert set against the backdrop of the catalina mountains. quite a stunning...and somewhat strange...sight!
first of all, my overall impression: awe and overwhelmed-ness. it is amazing how many different types of aircraft our military has produced over the years, and the amazing progress we have made since the wright brothers' first flight only a century ago. the "boneyard" was a little sad, a seemed a little wasteful, but guess what: each of planes there did an important job at some point or another, even if that job was just to be a prototype of a plane that really didn't make sense. and some of them are recycled. so that makes it totally cool with me.
overall highlight of my day: meeting richard bushong, an 87-year-old former b-17 bomber pilot who served in world war 2 with the 390th bomb group and flew f-4s in vietnam. he looked at least 10 years younger than he was, and he was just wholly inspiring! a true hero, and i got my picture with him AND a signed copy of his book!
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