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I would be remiss to focus so much on Tucson without discussing the city’s long aviation history. Sixteen years after the Wright brothers successfully achieved lighter-than-air flight in 1903, land was set aside in Tucson for the creation of a civil airfield. The Tucson field was the first municipally-owned airfield in the country; it really isn’t all that surprising when you remember that Tucson at that time was the largest city in the state.

Fittingly, none other than Charles Lindbergh landed here in 1927. He arrived in the Spirit of St. Louis, after his famous trans-Atlantic flight, for the dedication of the airport in the memory of Samuel H. Davis and Oscar Monthan, both Tucsonans who had recently lost their lives in unrelated airplane crashes. Not long after, the just-as-famous female pilot, Amelia Earhart, thrilled the locals by landing at the field.

World events forced the U.S. government to prepare for war, and in 1940 Davis-Monthan Airport (D-M) was made into a military base of the same name. During WWII D-M served as the training base for no less than twenty bombardment groups, most notably with B-24s and B-29s. As the war wound down D-M took on yet another role by housing German prisoners of war. Tucson’s first major growth spurt came after the war and can be attributed to two factors: the men who trained here later moved here, and the popularization of air conditioning.

After the war D-M became the base of choice for storage of superfluous aircraft because of Tucson’s dry climate, low rainfall, and hard soil (the hard soil saved the government money since they didn’t have to pave the area). Thus the “Boneyard” was born, now known as the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group.

In 1948 the government established the U.S. Air Force, and tasked it with preparing for bombing and refueling missions around the world and operating land-based ballistic missile systems (also known as Strategic Air Command). The thinking was that the U.S. could ensure world peace through the threat of our superior military might. And so began the Cold War with the Soviet Union. In 1962 eighteen Titan II intercontinental ballistic missiles located in a ring around Tucson were activated. As tensions between the countries increased, so too did Tucson’s importance as a target if the Soviets attacked.

Thankfully, our government and the Soviet’s refrained from pressing any buttons and in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks they agreed to dismantle many of the weapons. Tucson’s Titan IIs were dismantled in 1984. One silo, containing an unarmed missile, still remains intact south of Tucson as a museum.

Owing to the area’s military importance (and perhaps the fantastic weather and cheap land), Raytheon Missile Systems, IBM, Texas Instruments, Universal Avionics, and Bombardier all opened shop in Tucson. Many of the companies were involved in research and development for the U.S. military at one time or another and employed a significant portion of the population.

Fast forward to 2008 and Davis-Monthan has survived numerous threats to its existence including urban pressures and rounds of base closures. The Boneyard is now the only out-of-service storage area for all the branches of the military and has over 4,400 aircraft. The base now trains and supports A-10s, OA-10s, EC-130s and HH-60G Pave Hawks. D-M appears to be thriving with more than 7,000 military employees. Just a few quick facts about the EC-130 aircraft for you: it was built for electronic combat meaning it can jam radar and other communication systems, it reaches speeds up to 300 mph, its range is 2,295 miles and each one cost our government roughly $65 million!

While access to D-M is restricted, especially after the September 11th attacks in 2001, Tucson’s aviation history can be explored by visiting the Pima Air and Space Museum. The museum is the third largest one of its kind in the country after the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The collection which started in 1976 with a mere 75 planes has grown to over 275 air- and spacecraft which are scattered across 200 acres and throughout five hangars.

For an extra fee the museum offers a tour of the Boneyard at D-M; unfortunately I’ve never been able to take the tour as it only runs on weekdays. The aircraft don’t just sit in the Boneyard, many of them are restored while others are scavenged for parts. These parts and planes can then be sold to our allies (Congress determines who they are and what can be sold to them); the government estimates that for every dollar they spend on storage they earn $11 from the sales.

Without the Boneyard tour there is plenty to see on the Museum’s grounds—in fact it could take all day. While I won’t bore you with a long list of all the aircraft we saw that day I do have to mention a few of my favorites. Hangar 1 contains two of them and they both happen to be record holders: the Starr Bumble Bee and the SR-71A Blackbird. The Bumble Bee holds the record as the world’s smallest aircraft; its wingspan is just over 6 feet! In stark contrast is the sleek, black, titanium, arrow-shaped Blackbird. First tested in 1962 and kept secret until 1982, it is the fastest, highest-flying manned aircraft in the world. Reaching speeds of 2,193 mph and flying at 85,069 feet the plane can travel from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 2 seconds. Absolutely mind-boggling! Even more astounding is that the Blackbird has been replaced by something better and faster though the military won’t talk about it.

These next planes may not have broken any records but they were important in their own ways. The VC-140B “JetStar” on display was used by Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon B. Johnson (it is one of the few aircraft at the museum that you are allowed to enter). The museum has several versions of B-52s, massive workhorses that can carry over 54,000 pounds of bombs and fly over 6,000 miles on one mission. There are still B-52s out there flying today even though they are 40 plus years old!

One of the Blue Angel’s F-11A Tigers is also present. Our tour guide told us the F-11A has the unusual distinction of being the first jet aircraft to shoot itself down, since it flew faster than its bullets. The plane crashed but thankfully the pilot survived. Taking up most of Hangar 4 is a B-29 Superfortress, one of the largest aircraft used in WWII. B-29s will live in infamy as the planes that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. I saved my favorite plane for last, the 377-SG Super Guppy designed for NASA to transport the Apollo rockets. The most amazing thing about the Super Guppy is that it could actually fly. What a strange, huge plane!

Of course, not all the aircraft on display are from the U.S. nor are they all military planes; there are quite a few civilian pieces and many planes from other countries. If you are interested in Tucson’s aviation history, or if you just like airplanes, then the Pima Air and Space Museum is the place for you.

Photos: View our photographs from the Pima Air and Space Museum.

Notes: We visited the Pima Air and Space Museum on 02/24/08.