Might be moving to Mesa, AZ, what's there?

[Ryan Keough]

Hey gang,

My wife and I may be moving to Mesa, AZ within the year and I am wondering what is around there in regards to warbirds. I know of the CAF AZ Wing at Falcon and the Lauridsen Collection at Glendale, but what else is out there?

I'll also be looking for employment there as well, so any leads in that area are always most helpful!

Does the CAF AZ need a full time director of marketing / public relations?

Thanks!
Ryan

[mrhenniger]

Ryan,

I (with the help of the great WIX) just finished the Arizona section of the locator. Here is a list of sites/museums withing 100 miles of the CAF Arizona Wing in Mesa...
http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/Locator.php ... geCoor=100

...or just look up the Phoenix listing...
http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/Locator.php?City=Phoenix

Mike

[tom d. friedman]

the entire area is booming economy wise, & there is active warbird stuff going on from wreck chasing to restorations. go go go!!!! i'm thinking of settling their when i sell out my business too!!

[JimH]

He He we may need a stop organizer!!

Jim

[Bill Greenwood]

Ryan, big, crowded, dusty, and hot beyond belief, it can be over 100 at 10 at night. Try to get an apt or house shaded from the afternoon sun. Mesa unfortunately lost the great Champlin museum. The CAF guys are good folks. There is a lot of aviation in the area; a number of flight schools, acro at Chandler and a really good glider school at Estrella about 10 miles SW of Phoenix. They have an EAA? fly in at a nearby airport, but unfortunately they don't care for warbirds. They will pay for acro guys, but wouldn't offer me a hot dog.

[bdk]

Machine guns are readily and legally available in Arizona, a definite plus.
Make sure you keep your tools in the shade though, a wrench can give you a second degree burn after 20 minutes in the sun.

And don't leave your dog in the car with the windows rolled up during the day (I hear cats are OK though).

And then there is "the river"!

[RickH]

Ryan, the sun is out there,.... they're REAL BIG on the sun !

Everything else out there will bite, ya, stick ya, or sting ya! Even the Apaches don't want it back.

As far as warbirds, you could always go down to Marana and help them work on their NEW 105 !!! :evil:

[bilwor]

As we say here in Arizona "But it's dry heat" (over a 100 is still hot). Thats why I leave Tucson and go to Flagstaff (7000 ft) for the summer, but then I am retired.
bill word

[Bill Greenwood]

"Dry heat". Yea, that is what the developer tells you when he is trying to fleece you into buying some piece of desert that only Apaches and Ghila monsters can live in. It's dry in my microwave, also!

[Dan Newcomb]

Pima Air in Tucson about 100 miles south. They also conduct tours of the boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB as well as the Titan Missle Silo near by. Also Luke AFB is west of town. Great airshow.

http://www.arizonawingcaf.com/

[TimAPNY]

Scott is not going to be happy about this! I think we may find Scott moving soon also.

Ryan, AZ is nice if you like brown, I've thought about there at one point also. I know 2 families who live in the Mesa area, both LOVE it there! Both moved there from Upstate.

Kelly and I hope to be out of NY this summer at some point. We just don't know where to go yet. We hope somewhere where winter is shorter, Summer longer, life a bit slower and cheaper.

Tim

[Don Martin]

Ya know, the older I get the more I think the Snowbirds have the right idea. Maine's definitely good for the milder months(Outside of Blackfly Season, of course), but for the winter, I'm thinking Arizona/New Mexico, come retirement(It's closer then you think..........Dam Civil Servants! :twisted: ). The cold just doesn't FEEL RIGHT anymore! Leastwise until the palm trees are well established down to Bar Harbor(No Global Warming up here..........)!

[Matt Gunsch]

I am a Phoenix native and would not live anywhere else. Yes it's hot, but as the joke goes, it is a dry heat, and is very tolerable. I will take a Phx 115 degree day over the HELL of Oshkosh at 95 degrees and 95%. I have been all over the US in summers and winters and I will stick with here. If it gets too hot, 2 hrs to the north is the pines. In the winter it can get down to 25, but that is rare average is 45-50 at night, 65 during the day. We had snow in Phoenix this winter, ( so much for global warming ) it was a dusting here, and more in Mesa. I had the heat on for all of 1 week this year, and sleep with the window open most of the rest of the year.
As far as Warbirds, there is the CAF in Mesa, CJs and L-39s at Deervalley, Coolidge, Pima Air museum, Planes of Fame in Valle, and Hans's collection. Right now with Han's collection there is Hans, Myself, Willey, Harry, and Chuck, with the most of the work being done by Hans, Willey and myself.

[Chad Veich]

I have to agree with Matt, I'm an Arizona native as well and I don't wish to live anywhere else. Extreme cold and/or hot temps with lots of humidity just kill me!

[Cindy]

If you don't mind a small drive (don't know actual distances), there's the Planes of Fame facility in Valle. And, if you're heading this way, you must make a trip to Chino! If you do come to CNO, let me know. If it's on a weekend, I'll give you a personal tour