Planning a Desert Odyssey (CA, AZ & NV)

[mrhenniger]

You may remember last year I went on a road trip prior to going to Reno. I had a thread going asking for assistance with planning my trip...
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=36874
...and eventually I posted my pics (with the Reno pics posted only recently)...
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=38761

Well... It looks like I am returning to Reno, and there will be another road trip. Of course it will be a different route this time and is likely to include a sweep through Southern California before heading into Arizona and north to Nevada. I figured since I will be spending alot of time in arid environments I would name this thread the Desesrt Odyssey. Anyway, I will have a number of questions as the planning goes along. Here are a few to start...

Edit:The questions have been moved to a more recent post.

Mike

Last edited by mrhenniger on Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:26 pm, edited 4 times in total.

[Scepter]

You may remember last year I went on a road trip prior to going to Reno. I had a thread going asking for assistance with planning my trip...
[/img]Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - San Martin, Morgan Hill, California, United States - F-86[/url]
It appars from these other links it may be dissassembled.
http://f-86.tripod.com/usa.html

Based on what I can see in the picture it is likely close to where I have placed the marker on the map available via the link above. I was just hoping to get a confirmation from you guys.

Mike

Not much to see from the freeway. It's located on the west side of the freeway. You can see it from either the southbound or northbound direction. If you want to get pics I would suggest not parking on the shoulder. Find the house and see if the owner will let you take pics.

[m50a1ontos]

Your best bet for China Lake is calling the museum ahead of time to find out how to get on base. Usually, you hit the pass & ID office near the front gate....it's usually a bit of a wait. Get your pass and sail through the gate. But that's all subject to change at a moments notice. There's a rotorwingy-thingy now on display near the AV-8B (near the Marine Det HQ). The RA-5C Cockpit on a pedestal by Sandquist gate is behind the fence....and stopping to photograph it might make the guards a bit nervous.

There's a Spad and an F/A-18 on display along with a whack load of weapons near the new Weapons lab just off the traffic circle (where the A-4 on a stick is).

Unfortunatly, all the good juicy stuff is in a secure area and you would need to be buddy-buddy with somebody with a lot of juice to get to see anything....and still not be able to take pictures!

[cco23i]

If you go by the Grand Canyon in Arizona stop by the Planes of Fame in Valle.

Scott

[Mike]

Mike,

I was at the former Alameda NAS last month, and there is still an empty plinth where the A-7 used to be at the former main gate. The A-4 is still outside the high school in Alameda itself, I didn't get to see whether the one that used to be at another gate to the base has been replaced yet after suffering storm damage a couple of years back. HTH.

[ZRX61]

There's an F4 on a stick outside the Lancaster Sheriffs station, plus the F18 at the ballpark & the Douglas SkyRocket on a stick at the local community college... plus all the other stuff at Plant 42...

[mrhenniger]

I knew WIX would come through!

#4: Has anyone here seen the F-86 near the highway in San Martin?
Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - San Martin, Morgan Hill, California, United States - F-86
It appars from these other links it may be dissassembled.
http://f-86.tripod.com/usa.html
Based on what I can see in the picture it is likely close to where I have placed the marker on the map available via the link above. I was just hoping to get a confirmation from you guys.

Not much to see from the freeway. It's located on the west side of the freeway. You can see it from either the southbound or northbound direction. If you want to get pics I would suggest not parking on the shoulder. Find the house and see if the owner will let you take pics.

Top notch! Thanks. I'll take another look on Google Maps to see if I can spot it. It would be nice to pin point the house before visiting.

#7: Are any of these aircraft displayed here at China Lake accessible to the public?
Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - United States Naval Museum of Armament and Technology - 10 airframes

Your best bet for China Lake is calling the museum ahead of time to find out how to get on base. Usually, you hit the pass & ID office near the front gate....it's usually a bit of a wait. Get your pass and sail through the gate. But that's all subject to change at a moments notice. There's a rotorwingy-thingy now on display near the AV-8B (near the Marine Det HQ). The RA-5C Cockpit on a pedestal by Sandquist gate is behind the fence....and stopping to photograph it might make the guards a bit nervous. There's a Spad and an F/A-18 on display along with a whack load of weapons near the new Weapons lab just off the traffic circle (where the A-4 on a stick is). Unfortunatly, all the good juicy stuff is in a secure area and you would need to be buddy-buddy with somebody with a lot of juice to get to see anything....and still not be able to take pictures!

Thanks! That is what I figured. I don't think I will be making a swing in that direction unless someone can confirm there is a F-4 in Inyokern.

If you go by the Grand Canyon in Arizona stop by the Planes of Fame in Valle.

Yep, that location is definitely on my radar. I'll be researching that leg of my trip in the coming days. If you don't mind please keep an eye on this thread as I may have more questions.

#1: An A-4 and an A-7 were once displayed at NAS Alemeda.
Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - Alameda NAS (formerly), San Francisco, California, United States - A-4, A-7
Last year when I was there there were signs indicating they had been removed for restoration. Have they returned to display yet?

I was at the former Alameda NAS last month, and there is still an empty plinth where the A-7 used to be at the former main gate. The A-4 is still outside the high school in Alameda itself, I didn't get to see whether the one that used to be at another gate to the base has been replaced yet after suffering storm damage a couple of years back. HTH.

Excellant. I won't go out of my way to get there unless I decide to visit the Hornet again. I would like to see the progress made on their Wildcat. Mike, if you don't mind could you check out question #8 below?

There's an F4 on a stick outside the Lancaster Sheriffs station, plus the F18 at the ballpark & the Douglas SkyRocket on a stick at the local community college... plus all the other stuff at Plant 42...

Yep, yep, yep and yes. Actually I was in the area in May 2009. I will be back on this trip I saw everything execept the Sky Rocket so it will be a priority this trip. If you don't mind could you check out question #9 below?

#2: Aerocrafters, Sonoma County Airport - Do they welcome visitors?
Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - Aerocrafters - 10 airframes

I was told in a PM the aircraft outside of Aerocrafters are privately owned. I am not sure if this means Aerocraft is no longer in operation or not.



I am now working on the leg of my trip that will take me from Mojave to LA. More questions added below. The idea behind these questions is for me to set priorities of which sites to visit and which I can skip. The order of my questions does not reflect on the order in which I could visit them.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Mike


EDIT: The latest set of questions have been moved to a more recent post.

Last edited by mrhenniger on Thu Jun 16, 2011 8:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

[m50a1ontos]

No F-4 in Inyokern. Nothing left at the old museum there. Everything got hauled back on base.

[Mike]

Mike,

I was at the former Alameda NAS last month, and there is still an empty plinth where the A-7 used to be at the former main gate. The A-4 is still outside the high school in Alameda itself, I didn't get to see whether the one that used to be at another gate to the base has been replaced yet after suffering storm damage a couple of years back. HTH.

Mike,

It seems that you'll have to wait a little longer to see the A-4 (depending on the extent of the damage)

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=41419

[ZRX61]

Regarding Lockheed/Plant 42:

It's worth going into the Credit Unuon building as there is an employee shop that is open to the public for all things Lockheed. Go through the entrance & turn right. No new aircraft additions visible when I dropped by the Credit Union last week.

The college with the SkyRocket on a stick is located on 30th Street West between Ave K & Ave J8. SkyRocket is pretty much in the middle of the campus just North of the library by the welding shop..

[mrhenniger]

Thanks once again for all of the contributions. I appreciate the info.

#6: Is there an F-4 displayed in Inyokern?
Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - Inyokern, California, United States - F-4

No F-4 in Inyokern. Nothing left at the old museum there. Everything got hauled back on base.

Thanks! I would have been going out of my way just to look for it. You saved me some time so I can go looking for something else.

Mike, I was at the former Alameda NAS last month, and there is still an empty plinth where the A-7 used to be at the former main gate. The A-4 is still outside the high school in Alameda itself, I didn't get to see whether the one that used to be at another gate to the base has been replaced yet after suffering storm damage a couple of years back.

It seems that you'll have to wait a little longer to see the A-4 (depending on the extent of the damage)
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=41419

I saw that. Bummer.

#9: In Palmdale Lockheed Plant 42 appears to be off limits...
Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - Lockheed Plant 42 - F-86
...but there is some interesting things accessible at Plant 10 along with others in view from a public vantage point...
Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - Lockheed Plant 10 - F-104, F-117, F-16, F-80
When I was last there, there was a F-16 and F-104 displayed (with a F-80 and F-117 off in the distance). Has anything else been added to the display area?

It's worth going into the Credit Unuon building as there is an employee shop that is open to the public for all things Lockheed. Go through the entrance & turn right. No new aircraft additions visible when I dropped by the Credit Union last week.

Good tip. Thanks!

The college with the SkyRocket on a stick is located on 30th Street West between Ave K & Ave J8. SkyRocket is pretty much in the middle of the campus just North of the library by the welding shop..

Thanks. I have it pin pointed.



I am now working on the leg of my trip that will take me from LA to San Diego. It will be kind of weird for me. I will be going right past Chino and not stopping! I just don’t have the time to stop. This day I will be moving quickly to get to my last stop before sunset.

I have added more questions added below. The idea behind these questions is for me to set priorities of which sites to visit and which I can skip.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Mike


Edit: The list has been moved to a more recent post.

Last edited by mrhenniger on Tue Jun 28, 2011 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[mrhenniger]

I added a few questions about my trip from San Diego to Yuma. Has anyone here made the drive before?

Mike



EDIT: I moved the questions list to a more recent post.

Last edited by mrhenniger on Sun Jul 10, 2011 7:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

[m50a1ontos]

No F-4 in Inyokern.
If your going through Fresno, don't forget the sad remains of Prestons Pride (B-17) in Tulare. Exit 200. There's an F-4 there as well. Sometimes at the North end of the field, a Fire tanker or two lurk.

[mrhenniger]

No F-4 in Inyokern.

I forgot to take that one off the list from before. It is gone now.

If your going through Fresno, don't forget the sad remains of Prestons Pride (B-17) in Tulare. Exit 200. There's an F-4 there as well.

I saw both of them last year. The B-17 has seen better days.

Sometimes at the North end of the field, a Fire tanker or two lurk.

I'll will be passing by again. I'll keep that in mind.


Someone posted recently about Eagle Field. I need to find that thread.

Mike

[tom d. friedman]

you've got to hit kingman arizona!! man is that town steeped in aviation history!!