Mercer Field has always been a bit of a wonder to me. It’s existence first fell upon my ears roughly 6 years ago when a co-worker, knowing of my interest in warbirds and all things dangerous, mentioned an obscure little air field with a number of “military looking planes” scattered about. She couldn’t recall exactly where it was located, but insisted it was there. I wouldn’t learn of the true existence of this former “museum” until a few years ago when a thread appeared on WIX about a little place called Mercer Field, near Calhoun, GA. Over time there were a few other threads that mentioned Mercer, some of which included photos of the remaining aircraft located there. Among them was an H-34, and it recently gave me an excuse to try and find this place.
The Air America Foundation has recently been toying with the notion of acquiring an H-34 for our collection, and remembering the example located at Mercer Field, I figured it would at least be worth making the drive over there to inspect it. The owner of the field was not an easy man to track down. Most reports to be found on the net state that he moved away sometime ago, and that the field is abandoned and the remaining aircraft are derelict. While the aircraft may indeed appear derelict, Mercer Field is far from being abandoned. It turns out the owner lives only a few short miles from the field! After obtaining his phone number, I contacted him and explained who I was and that we (the Foundation) were interested in securing an H-34 for the collection, and asked if I could come over and inspect his bird as we were potentially interested in acquiring it. He sounded like an older gentleman and was very forthcoming, perhaps even a bit surprised that I actually took the time to contact him and ask for permission before visiting the field! He said that I could come over any time and inspect the -34, and later that week, that’s just what I did!
Arriving at the field around 10:30am, I called the owner to let him know that I was on the field and was going to make a preliminary inspection of the -34, and would then let him know if we were interested in acquiring it. WELL, I got to about this point in the below photo when I started laughing….this bird was in BAD shape. And it was only going to get worse!
I could already tell at this point that the -34 had some…shall we say… “minor” corrosion issues! There were far to many things wrong with this airframe for me to list here, but here is a brief run down of my inspection:
Walking up to the ship from behind, the first thing I looked at was the tail. It was clearly evident at this point that this bird was not worth fooling with, and understand that it takes A LOT for me to say something like that! While knocking on the tail to see just how rotted out it was, something started MOVING inside it! I don’t know if it was a possum or some other kind of critter, but something was living in this thing! Fortunately what ever is was didn’t come OUT of the tail. That would have been the last thing I needed, a 3 prong attack by a gaggle of angry possums! That would have been an interesting 911 call…(those things have some TEETH, I know this from experience)
I then moved up the left side of the fuselage, more rot and busted windows.
Coming around to the right side, I decided to check out the cockpit. Starting my climb up the side, I soon learned a very important life lesson: ALWAYS look before placing your hands somewhere you cannot see! Unfortunately that lesson was lost on me that fine morning, for as I reached above to the flight deck, I suddenly found my hand landing in a nice big pile of fossilized Pigeon Sh*t!!! There is truly nothing quite like a shower of fossilized pigeon excrement to get one going in the morning! What a treat that was… The cockpit was a complete disaster, and I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. On a side note, I think the nose art was quite appropriate!
After reaping the “Pigeon’s revenge,” I then climbed down and opened the door to access the cabin, and was greeted with yet another visual treat! Once again, it was a complete disaster. While standing in the cabin I could see patches of daylight all around me, and looking at the stringers I found they were flaking away. I was afraid the airframe would literally fall apart if we tried to move it, that’s how rotted out it was. I suspect the only thing holding it together was the paint!
Next I went back around to the nose to take a look at the engine, which is enclosed behind two clamshell doors. I got the left door open not even a foot when CRUMP! The hinges started to give way and I had to catch the door and hold it there to keep it from falling completely off. That was the icing on this cake of futility!
Needless to say, we passed on this -34! Even though it is completely FUBAR to the fullest extent, there were still a number of parts on it that could be salvaged. I placed another call and explained to the owner that the ship was to far gone for us to do anything with, but we would however be interested in some parts off her. He flatly refused to let any parts go, even when I offered to pay out of my own pocket. He said it was “all or nothing,” and I politely thanked him for his time and hung up the phone. I suppose the real irony is that people have been trashing and stealing parts off this -34 for years as mere novelties!
As for the rest of the dirty birds still at Mercer, I haven’t a clue what will become of them. Aside from the -34, I also inquired about the Convair and T-33, and he didn’t want to part with those either. The F-84 I didn’t even ask about, as I already knew what the answer would be. Only time will tell their fates! But I suspect and predict that the H-34, by far the dirtiest of all the birds, will ultimately not leave the field in once piece….
And with that, I give you the rest of Mercer Field and all her wonder!
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Any wixers in that area? 
I see lots of posts on how everyone wants to get hands on experience why not a wix museum? 
It would be a shame to see them cut up, a few weeks of t.l.c. and some paint could make a big differents. How about it any volunteers? Thanks Mike
