An aerial view of the world's largest aircraft boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona [OC]
Posted by Scot_Spotter@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 161 comments
Had the pleasure of going up in a helicopter to get an airal view of Davis Monthan AFB, KDMA, home to the 309th AMARG (Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group) and the world's largest aircraft boneyard [OC]
Muse_and_her_Artist@reddit
was this a private / hired flight or are you in the military?
Bobbytrap9@reddit
It always feels like such a waste to see all these beautiful airframes rotting away. You’d think that something better can be found to do with them. Give them a second life or dismantle them for parts
Individual-Spell-671@reddit
They do provide a lot of parts for planes still in service for our military and some foreign customers.
Red_Brox@reddit
That’s exactly what they’re there for. Lots of those planes are scavenged for parts for their airworthy sisters. Notice how the E-8s (RIP) have their JT3D/TF33s pulled off already.
On a side not, it’s crazy seeing planes you’ve been on sitting at the boneyard.
_BMS@reddit
I assume it's the same feeling Army/Marines get when they see FOBs and bases they were deployed to shut down or handed over.
Or Sailors when they hear news of their old ships getting scrapped or ending up in a SINKEX.
killertrout1@reddit
Yeah I've probably dropped a deuce in at least one of those E-8s
Bobbytrap9@reddit
That’s good to hear!
Azacian@reddit
There is a seriously good documentary about the parts recovery process including inspections and also how they mothball them. Think it was in one of the more serious youtube channels who visited. Recomended
TheTallGuy0@reddit
They are far from rotting. This is the ideal spot for them. Low rain, low moisture. They’re preserved pretty well
aqaba_is_over_there@reddit
Some get reactivated or sold to other militaries.
airwest7@reddit
They are dismantled for parts...but more on an "as needed" basis.
Sky_guy_17@reddit
I wonder what they’ll do with all those KC-10 Extenders now, given the type has been fully retired now.
Individual-Spell-671@reddit
Might still be some cargo haulers that can use the parts.
84Cressida@reddit
They need to be put back into service. They never should’ve been retired.
Jazzlike_Climate4189@reddit
Impossible right now due to the pylon issues that caused the UPS crash.
Wtopp3@reddit
Back in the middle 90s you could drive around in there and check out the planes. No sure if I was supposed to or not, but me and my dog used to have a great time checking out all the planes! Great memory!
devildog2067@reddit
As recently as 2019 you could arrange a public tour…
twoweeksbehind@reddit
Last I heard they stopped all public tours after Covid.
Rampaging_Bunny@reddit
They stopped in Covid. The base commander at the time made the call, and the order was made up the chain to keep it in place in perpetuity.
You can drive around perimeter and there’s pullout areas you can get close to the fence and see thru, probably where the teens go to smoke. But can still see a lot of tails.
The Pima air and space museum down the road is still open and thriving, highly highly recommend to all.
Scot_Spotter@reddit (OP)
Pima is amazing. Went there a few days ago, but it looks even better from the air
bschmidt25@reddit
Is the Sofia 747 out on display now?
cheese--eater@reddit
Visited Pima in March 2025 and Sofia was on display!
Rampaging_Bunny@reddit
Wow, what a great aerial photo thanks!!! I zoomed in on all my favorites. I forgot they had the ANA 787 dreamliner, that was cool to go and look up into the landing gear bay., and the big Rolls royce Trent 1000 engines.
bozoconnors@reddit
Heh! Random Beechcraft Starship upper right-ish.
horse-boy1@reddit
Huge plane. I think it was the prototype?
parkertyler@reddit
It is the first one
silvernotgrey@reddit
That's actually the second one. The first one is N787BA and is painted the Boeing blue livery. Last I saw, it was in Nagoya at a theme park at the airport.
GayRacoon69@reddit
Teens don't smoke anymore. They vape
chillinwithmoes@reddit
Been to the Pima Air & Space Museum a few times, most recently a month ago for the first time since I was a kid. Such an incredibly cool place.
xxrdawgxx@reddit
I have many great memories of going to see my grandparents in Green Valley, spending far too long at the Pima County Air and Space Museum, and seeing the boneyards every time we went into the city
Ziegler517@reddit
Parts depot.
aqaba_is_over_there@reddit
Depends.
Some are kept (mostly) intact for potential reuse or foreign sale.
Some are kept for parts.
The eventual fat for any of them if not sold will be the scrapyard.
XxMasterbigmanxX@reddit
A lot of them are actually there due to disarmament treaties like SALT.
These treaties limited the amounts of strategic bombers that were allowed. To prove to the Soviets that we actually destroyed the required number of bombers, they did irreparable damage (see the cut off tail on the B52) and were laid out in the open so Soviet satellites could see them and verify.
skippythemoonrock@reddit
Every so often an AN-124 will fly into TUS to pick up F-16 spares.
BigWhiteDog@reddit
Sort of. Some are in "mothballs" for future needs.
dynesor@reddit
How many of these planes could be ‘reactivated’ and put back into service in an emergency like a major world war? And would we even have the pilots to fly them if they were brought back into service?
skippythemoonrock@reddit
Every so often an AN-124 will fly into TUS to pick up F-16 spares.
AtomicGrosbeek@reddit
Amazing! They’re so precisely laid out. Every time I see pictures like these, of countless planes ready to be scrapped, I think of one of the last scenes in The Best Years of Our Lives - the one where Dana Andrews’ character gets into one of the bombers (a B-17?).
pornborn@reddit
There are so many planes there That there is a high likelihood I’ve been in some after attending over 20 air shows in the 80’s and 90’s. I even had an uncle who was in the Air Guard and worked on F-4 phantoms until his retirement in the 70’s.
However there is one unique aircraft at the boneyard that I had the luck and privilege to walk through and even sit in the pilot’s seat. A few years ago, I tracked it down to its current resting place.
The Convair XC-99. It was developed from the B-36 Peacemaker. Its initial retirement was to put it on display by Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. My dad had been in the Air Force and went through pilot training there in the early 50’s. Then in the 70’s he took our family on vacation and we went through San Antonio because he wanted to visit his former CO who still lived there. While there he took us by the base and that’s when we found the XC-99. I was just a kid and couldn’t appreciate the magnitude of the opportunity.
Unfortunately, the plane was made with metal that had a high magnesium content which led to deterioration. It was disassembled and put into storage but wasn’t protected well enough and eventually got shipped off to the boneyard, where it sits today.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BigiqHxGs1gTGV9C9?g_st=ic
bozoconnors@reddit
Neat. As long as I've been into aircraft, I'd either completely forgotten or never even known of that behemoth. Kudos for the reminder.
Heh... I was like... man, that thing must get horrible gas mileage!
I mean, not so bad! B-52s for example @ ~14 gallons per mile lol. (8800 mi / 47,000 gallons)
pornborn@reddit
Hah! I’ve never thought about fuel consumption of most aircraft outside of fighter aircraft engines (in afterburner), General Aviation, or hot rodding. That is quite the eye opener.
Niftarian@reddit
Any chance of these B-52's seeing action again or is it just a bone yard?
Scot_Spotter@reddit (OP)
Most of the B-52s were broken up in a specific way to signify to Soviet/Russian satellites that the aircraft were decommissioned and couldn't deliver nuclear weapons as part of a treaty years ago, however they are still harvested for parts to support the current B-52 fleet, so they won't fly. IIRC, the 309th AMARG has the ability to reactivate a few aircraft, so there may be the possibility that some could mabye fly again
*
Drone314@reddit
Watching the concrete guillotine chop off their tails was depressing sight.
bozoconnors@reddit
Ugh. I'll bet. Same feeling re: some recently rapidly deconstructed Iranian F-14s. No word on if they were even flight worthy, & boo Iran and whatever, but man. Shame.
MissNashPredators11@reddit
Like seeing a cattle get butchered. Except you don’t get good steak out of it and it doesn’t feed people. You just get sadness
rocbolt@reddit
The ones that are guillotined were destroyed for treaty purposes, the others are potential spares. They flew one out a few years ago after a fire destroyed an active B-52 in Guam
RespectTheTree@reddit
What if I want the one in the middle?
Confident_Delivery85@reddit
Do they really do tours there??
McCheesing@reddit
RIP big sexy
AlwayHappyResearcher@reddit
Can you actually buy these? No military ones of course
USCAV19D@reddit
Always blows my mind just how many C-5s there actually are.
A_named_person2@reddit
there are more C-5s in that picture that there are planes in my country's air force
Azurehue22@reddit
BEEG Women
zoomie35@reddit
Only 51 were upgraded to C-5M’s. The other A and B models could be converted to M’s.
Jazzlike_Climate4189@reddit
Let’s start a subreddit fundraiser to buy one and make it airworthy. Should only cost like 10 million if the engines are still good.
idostufandthingz@reddit
There are 1.4 million users here, I’m not a math wiz but we can get it done
Skyror_tHe_Lit@reddit
would only need everyone to donate 10$, sounds like a good deal no?
montigoo@reddit
What should really blow your mind is If they were colleges or hospitals they would still be in use
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USCAV19D@reddit
And if all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops, oh what a place it would be.
TigerIll6480@reddit
If wishes were fishes we’d all eat sushi.
Neither_Cap6958@reddit
Wait until you find out there's abandoned colleges and hospitals in the US.
horse-boy1@reddit
I went on a tour there years ago. They had a Nighthawk F-117 stealth fighter on display. 🙃
koinai3301@reddit
Serbia would like to differ!
mereel@reddit
Seems like they stopped giving tours to the general public around 2022. ☹️
The near by air and space museum has a good collection though! Don't think they have an F-117 like that though.
horse-boy1@reddit
Pima Air Museum was where you got tickets for the tour, sad they stopped. Pima has a large collection.
cchurchcp@reddit
They're still doing it, or the started again. My friend went there last year.
LilMsPopKornMan234@reddit
Not the Boneyard, those were permanently closed for security reasons
cchurchcp@reddit
Ah right, I misread your comment. He just went to Pima.
Koolguymanddude@reddit
The F117 is in the back. Still being restored
mereel@reddit
You expect me to believe that's a stealth aircraft? It's clearly visible, not at all stealthy. /s
skippythemoonrock@reddit
Well yeah, they took all the paint off.
Jazzlike_Climate4189@reddit
*Nearby, one word 😉
BloodRush12345@reddit
They should have a real one there now. I don't know if it's on display yet but I know they got one.
aqaba_is_over_there@reddit
The actual retired nighthawks are kept in their original hangers.
A few still fly as test beds and aggressor aircraft in training and there is at least one known operation flown since their retirement.
LilMsPopKornMan234@reddit
one of them is literally across the street at Pima in the back awaiting restoration lol
Neither_Cap6958@reddit
What known op?
piehore@reddit
“One” I know dude who works at edwards, it’s common to see them flying now, for a retired aircraft
Koolguymanddude@reddit
Quite a couple are in museums as well
Scot_Spotter@reddit (OP)
Still there 😂
OfficeZestyclose9952@reddit
Imagine forgetting where you placed it.
Dvwtf@reddit
Where you placed what?
stewieatb@reddit
There's a similar B2 Spirit on loan to RAF Luton.
PC-12@reddit
It was photographed by a Canberra.
Ribss@reddit
Hahaha that’s too good
AngryPhillySportsFan@reddit
What a beautiful airplane.
Beautiful-Routine295@reddit
I’ll drive there tomorrow if I can go in side
Macncheezpuffin@reddit
Can one explain to me as to why so many planes retired? Some of them seem to be relatively new-ish and could be still used or am I wrong? I'm brand new to this sub.
Blastercorps@reddit
I think the youngest planes in those pictures are 40 years old. The old F/A-18 hornets and the KC-10 refuelers are from the 80s. Everything else is even older. Everything has a usable lifetime, these reached theirs.
Usual-Wasabi-6846@reddit
They are all quite old, a lot of the newer looking stuff is from the 90's. They can be reactivated but the air force wants newer platforms anyway.
PotterOneHalf@reddit
This is so pretty but feels weird because no other country does something like this.
Usual-Wasabi-6846@reddit
Most countries don't have the scale to really do this, there is a counterpart to this for civilian aircraft from all over nearby.
Russia also has a ton of mothballed stuff albeit I don't think they store them in as nice of a climate.
TigerIll6480@reddit
What are the planes in picture 11? They have kind of a Convair look.
Scot_Spotter@reddit (OP)
Boeing T-43s and CT-43As, based on the 737-200; the second from the bottom is a T-43. The T-43s were used to train navigators, and a few were converted to CT-43As for transport
TigerIll6480@reddit
Thanks!
mnm39@reddit
I used to drive past here regularly on the way to/from work! It was so cool at sunset.
No_Target_424@reddit
nice, I was in the area during Christmas and went to the pima air museum.
The_Stereoskopian@reddit
Look at all those taxes
an_older_meme@reddit
You can drive right through the Boneyard on Kolb Road. Most of the road is below grade but you can see a lot before it dips. Hopping the fence to sit in the airplanes is discouraged.
Ok-Bar601@reddit
What a waste of money.
an_older_meme@reddit
Reduce, reuse, recycle.
an_older_meme@reddit
The buffs with the chopped-off tails were part of a treaty with the USSR back in the day. The pieces had to be placed a specific distance apart for satellite compliance inspection.
VirtualFallacy@reddit
Well I know where I'm going to try to visit if I'm ever in Arizona.
Notathrowawayokchad@reddit
How much healthcare can we afford with these old planes?
LefsaMadMuppet@reddit
If you have a VR rig, go to Google Earth, turn off minimum altitude, enjoy your trip.
MetalMotionCube@reddit
Underrated comment
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
Its the top comment, accurately rated I would say.
Sixguns1977@reddit
If they're just going to leave them there, how much can I get what's left of one of those A-10s for? 😁
TheTallGuy0@reddit
With or without the bowling-pin buzz gun?
Sixguns1977@reddit
Either.
ClawhammerJo@reddit
Photo 1 shiws portion if the 365 B-52s that were destroyed per the 1991 START agreement with Russia
hirmooge@reddit
I need a spare headlight.
ImwithTortellini@reddit
Dem b-57s are my faves
UNC_Samurai@reddit
There's a couple of f-104s in a back corner somewhere.
Jazzlike_Climate4189@reddit
No need to bring politics into it.
SacThrowAway76@reddit
What pic do you see B-57s in?
studpilot69@reddit
The last pic
SacThrowAway76@reddit
I took those to be U-2s, but you’re right, they are 57s.
GrynaiTaip@reddit
U-2 wings are way skinnier, almost like a glider.
Edward_highmore@reddit
The last one
froglicker44@reddit
The proto-U2
mike-manley@reddit
If you look closely, you can still hear those Warthogs.
Rampaging_Bunny@reddit
They still fly them in the area, at the local AFB I forget which one.
skippythemoonrock@reddit
Davis Monthan, same base.
GayRacoon69@reddit
^Brrrrrtttt
U2ElectricBoogaloo@reddit
Used to regularly fly low over the University of Arizona campus. Maybe they still do. It’s been almost 20 years.
BadaBingSecurity@reddit
Brrrrrrrrt
dburst_@reddit
Are there any boneyards that people are actually allowed into? It would be awesome to get some shots of these.
ElFarts@reddit
Man the Hornet is such an iconic and sexy profile
ShittyLanding@reddit
sad Big Sexy noises
dmo012@reddit
I mean, if they didn't want these planes I would have taken some of them.
cheeker_sutherland@reddit
Do they have any single props?
Scot_Spotter@reddit (OP)
Take your pick!
The_Bard@reddit
Yes, I'll take a bakers dozen of A-10s please
cheeker_sutherland@reddit
We should be able to buy these
GrynaiTaip@reddit
I wanted to buy a pilot's seat of any big plane, really any would work, to use as my home office chair.
They are available, but they cost like 10k a piece.
Unusual_Specialist@reddit
You can. I just saw three on sale last month on the government surplus site for $350K.
MissNashPredators11@reddit
Poor E-3s-
unclefire@reddit
Billions of our tax dollars spent over decades.
piantanida@reddit
Likely Trillions maybe?
PaoloLevi96@reddit
Wdym boneyard? Isn't it supposed to be a long term storage facility?
Exploding_Deathstar@reddit
They are just awaiting their fusion reactors and engines
orbitup@reddit
I pulled turbine case from a few of the A-10s out of there years ago.
rostov007@reddit
A love letter to it
bloatis123@reddit
Interesting that there’s a group of B (WB?) 57’s last pic
stewieatb@reddit
That's RAF Luton's aerial photography section.
smash_windows@reddit
Probably keep them around for NASA!
GucciAviatrix@reddit
Breaks my heart to see planes I’ve flown there! RIP Big Sexy
aarrtee@reddit
i drove past this place... truly amazing
justinicon19@reddit
Very cool! Plenty of C-5s. Expected to also see a ton of C-17s given how many there are in the world, but I don’t think I see any.
Ancient_Narwhal_9524@reddit
I don’t think any C-17 have been retired from service
Rivet_39@reddit
Yep. Only 1 hull loss and all others (275 or so) are still in service. The 1 prototype is on display at the Air Force Museum.
Wall_Significant@reddit
Yet. However, there is interest in restarting the c-17 production and I’d bet the USAF would like to replace their older c-17 with newer ones. https://www.flyingmag.com/boeing-could-restart-c-17-production/
Sparky_the_Asian@reddit
C-17s are newer and a lot more capable then the C-5, able to carry heavy loads at more smaller or remote areas
Isseking@reddit
I wonder what missions each one of those bombers have carried out! It’s a lot of history in these pictures. There’s problably ones that were used in vietnam
Chuckle_Flukk88@reddit
Absolutely on The Bucket List!!
BjornToulouse_@reddit
Aircraft storage by M. C. Escher.
Btwells1@reddit
_Californian@reddit
World's best source of pre-broken parts
airport-codes@reddit
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