DAY 4  MONDAY 30^th APRIL

After the drive straight from Atlanta ATL on the Friday night, today's plan was to head back there at a more leisurely pace, taking in a few airfields of interest along the way. Again, the weather was perfect, with first stop back at the Warner Robins Museum of Aviation, which is just to the South of the base, right on the highway. Getting in early as the gates were open, I got everything outside done first, while there was nobody around, before having a look inside.

Highlight for me was the classic EC-135N 61-0327. After operating as an ARIA (Apollo/Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft) with large radar nose conversion, the aircraft was then converted to an airborne command post in 1987, based at Robins with the 19ARW. During this time it was assigned to USCENTCOM (US Central Command) for both General’s Norman Schwarzkopt and Tommy Franks, during the Gulf War’s in 1991 and 2003 respectively. Then, after retirement in 2003, the aircraft arrived here in March 2006.

Again, I’ll try not to list everything present at this large, very well kept, fantastic museum, but to mention the many highlights… B-1B 86-0098/GA ‘Midnight Train’ from the old 116^thBW based at Robins, B-52D 55-085, C-141C 65-0248 ‘March’, C-130E 64-0496/RS previously based at Ramstein (before instructional airframe at Robins), RF-101C 56-0229 displayed in Taiwan AF markings as 41518/5656, RB-66D 55-0392, USAF/NASA WB-57H 63-13293 (which operated as NASA928 as an air sampler for the Dep of Energy), and Lightning F53 ZF593/L, displayed with 5Sq markings in green/grey RAF camo (though actually ex RSAF 225, and previously 1307 & 53-692). This is in fact the only Lightning displayed at a museum in the States.

Another one-off here is YMC-130H 74-1686, the only remaining ‘Credible Sport’ Hercules. This was the ill-fated project to highly modify three C-130’s with STOL capabilities in 1981. The mission… to land in a Tehran football stadium, rescue 53 American hostages (held after the Islamic Revolution), and get out. Of the three converted, this was the prototype, another crash landed during testing, while the other was converted back to a standard C-130H, with the project cancelled.

A third Herk here is AETC C-130E 63-7868 ‘The Rock’, while other ‘big stuff’ includes AMC C-124C 0-10089 (this now rare double-decker came long before that French rubbish!), KC-97L 53-0298 (N2987W), EC-121K 141297 in USAF markings (though an ex US Navy Research Lab aircraft), MATS Atlantic C-54G 0-50579, Vietnam vet C-7B 63-9756/KN, C-119C 51-2566 and ancient AC-130A 55-0014 ‘Jaws of Death’, which last saw action in Desert Storm (with 21 mission marks). Other, smaller transports present include CT-39A 62-4461 (previously a common sight when based in Europe) and AC680F N37948 (painted as USAF ‘37948’).

A recent historic aircraft to arrive, in fact present in the restoration compound (normally) out of bounds for the public, being worked on prior to display, was F-15C 79-0078/MA ex 104^thFW MA ANG. With two green ‘Mig-21’ kill marks on the nose, the aircraft took out two Iraqi Mig-21’s in Feb’91 at the start of the Gulf War. Flown by the 53TFS/36TFW at Bitburg (BT) at the time, the same pilot then wasted an SU-22 (when flying 84-0010/BT six weeks later) to make him a top ‘ace’ in the conflict. Among other bits and pieces in the compound, was RQ-4A fuselage 02-2011 (AF-4). This Block 10 UAV was operated by the 12^th RS, and retired after 357 missions (more than any other). It is only the second Global Hawk for display in a museum (following the first at Wright-Patterson), arriving here last September, with plans to hang it inside when restored.

Of the two large hangars here, the Century of Flight hangar was hosting some special event, with a large seating area layed out. A bit difficult to start taking shots, with the national anthem and speeches going on! Missing out on the SR-71A and U-2 etc, I headed to the other hangar, to find a real jem… VC-140B 61-2488, previously operated by the 89MAW at Andrews. Among the other classics here, a C-46A was impossible to get a shot of, while a pair of Phantoms were being worked on, with an interesting story involved. The guys working on the aircraft, who kindly let me into the restoration area to photograph them, explained… F-4C 63-7485 is ex 163TFG CA ANG, and was restored & painted as Vietnam Mig-killer ‘37-485/FG’ for display here. After all that work, it has now been taken off display and will be used for parts in the restoration of another Phantom, with the remaining airframe then offered to another museum as a project or parts. Meanwhile, F-4D 66-0554/DO is still marked as 906TFG AFRES from Wright-Patterson, and has just been brought in after display outside here. As a real double Mig-killer, taking out two Mig-17’s using its 20mm cannon in November’67, it will now be restored as such and painted back into 8TFW (FP) markings.

Finally getting away, heading back towards Atlanta, first stop was another quick look at Macon, with no change since Saturday evening. Next stop was Griffin, previously a bit of a propliner haven (including Carvair’s), but now a shadow of that. Three (almost) DC-3’s are now present here, with the familiar N143D ‘Herpa Wings’ still having the 75^th anniversary badge on the fin, from the big event at Rock Falls and Oshkosh in 2010. Lance Toland has N173RD in his hangar, which is in bare metal with ‘Everlast’ logo on the right side and ‘Algonquin Airlines’ on the left side. Still also visible are the Trans-Canada Air Lines titles, when operated as CF-TEG many years ago. This Dak has an intersting history, with unusual large rectangular windows, from when used by the FAA for flight calibration work. Later, it flew around the world in 1986 as C-FGXW, to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the DC-3 and the World’s Fair at Vancouver.

The third Dak present, is just a few parts left of CF-CUG. Actually registered as N9891A, this was recently dismantled, with the fuselage taken to the Omni Film Studios near Vancouver last summer, to be used as a prop in TV series ‘Arctic Air’. What remians here are the centre-wing and rear fuselage sections, with the fin still showing the old faded Air North colours and Canadian reg.

As well as his Dak, Lance Toland has a couple of other aircraft present here, being a very keen aviation enthusiast. In addition to his personal ride, an all black EC120B N421PB, his hangar also contained 1955-era Pilatus P3 N820LT, still in original bare metal Swiss AF markings as A-820. Also, parked outside, looking a bit tatty, is Jet Provost T3A N6204H, still in the original RAF 1FTS markings as XM461/19.

Finally for Griffin, next to the airfield is the large compound belonging to Atlanta Air Recovery. This company specializes in aircraft accident site clean up, and subsequent storage facilities for such wrecks, as well as retired aircraft. Surprisingly, because of the circumstances behind a lot of these wrecks (some of which were involved in fatal accidents), they don’t mind photographers walking around their site taking shots. There is however, one fenced off section that they ask no photos are taken, which contains wrecks now owned by insurance companies. Apart from light aircraft, this smaller area only contained a couple of biz-jets anyway (which I won’t mention!). The main site really is amazing to walk around, with who knows how many aircraft remains present (and small warehouses containing thousands of parts). Only the most serious (or deranged) spotter would try and log everything here, with most airframes/fuselage sections tightly packed together, so needing a lot of clambering around to get some identities! A look at the companies website shows a slideshow of some amazing images taken of their wreck recovery work… http://atlantaairrecovery.com/

For most, the presence of a lot of biz-jet wrecks are the main interest here, with a few exotic reg’s on some smaller stuff. First thing I spotted was the remains of a familiar old Gulfstream, which brought back memories from my first trip to the States, to Florida at the end of 1999, with the Bishop. Gulf 2 N901WG with large ‘Wings of Justice’ titles, was seen at Stuart-Witham Field back then, doing some low smokey overshoots! This was owned by Willie Gary and his law firm, based in Stuart, who have since upgraded to a B737. The Gulfstream was WFU at Savannah by 2008, before being roaded here.

Others photographed (and identified) here included Falcon 20C UR-NIK ex Sirius Air (with ‘Techno-Centre’ titles), Falcon 10 N945MC, Learjet 55 I-KILO (W/O at Sevilla on 4/4/94), Cessna 421A I-LIOS ex Air Sardinia, Cessna 425 OE-FBH, Beech A100 OO-TLS (W/O 8/1/94), S-76A++ N22342 ex Petroleum Helicopters (W/O 22/10/06 while attempting to land on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico) and Beech 99A N491BB (W/O on 31/12/99 at St.Barts, as another victim of a dodgy landing there) which has the now ironic sounding titles ‘Think Smarter, Fly Charter’!

There was also an Argentinean twin present, which I can’t recall as it was impossible to get a decent shot, while the latest biz-jet arrival was probably Gulfstream 150 N480JJ of Jimmy Johnson Racing. This was W/O on 31/10/11 at Key West when it came off the runway due to brake failure. A recent picture shows it being trucked here on 5^th December.

One more quick stop before reaching ATL, was made at Hampton-Tara Field. This is located next to the large Atlanta Speedway Stadium, and worth a look for a few tasty old classics. First thing seen was nice old Learjet 25D N842GL, which was parked outside a hangar where a couple of Twin Otters were being worked on (that i forgot to go back to… doh!). 1967 classic Sabreliner 60 ‘N36RZ’ (306-2) was also parked up. Last flight tracked on flightaware was Opa Locka to here on 8/1/10, so may not have flown since then? Another classic, in nice condition which does still fly , was all silver Beech C-45H N231SK of Jim Hankins Air Service. This is a Volpar Turboliner I conversion, with turbine engines, which certainly gave this 1954 built aircraft a new lease of life. This was parked outside a hangar which contained similar Beech G18S N81CK, being worked on. Also owned by Jim Hankins, this is a Volpar Turboliner II conversion, painted all white.

Finally, also located here is the Sky Soldiers hangar. The Army Aviation Heritage outfit operates a few Vietnam-era choppers at airshows, and has a lot of old airframes here, obviously used for parts etc. The place was closed during my visit, but as well as around a dozen old UH-1 fuselages in a compound around the back, UH-1H 72-21481 was present in front of the hangar. Complete, though without rotors, and painted in a brown and white US Army scheme, the data-spec on the side also had ‘Dyncorp Ft. Rucker, AL 5-10-96’.

From here it was straight onto Atlanta ATL airport. Despite being 99% boring modern s**t, I had planned for a couple of days here, as there were a few reasons why it was still worth it! This first visit, for the remainder of this afternoon and overnight, was at a hotel which was recommended by a local photographer (while chatting with at the Robins show). Everyone knows about the Renaissance Concourse Hotel here (more on that later), one of the best ‘spotter’ hotels in the world. However, certainly not as well known is the Best Western, located on the North East perimeter, around 1.5 miles directly East of the Renaissance, which has very good views of aircraft landing on runway 26R. This much cheaper alternative hotel has ten floors, with rooms facing the airport, which have outside balconies, so are ideal for photographers. The advice to stay here was spot on, and I would recommend it to other photographers. The only negative point to be made regarding both hotels though, is they are South facing, looking towards the airport, so the sun is never perfect on the sides of the aircraft. However, maybe only around mid-day could the sun be a problem, with the morning and afternoon/evening lighting fine.

So what is the appeal of ATL to those mainly interested in older, classic aircraft? Well, as well as the NMCA & Delta Heritage Museum’s (more on these later), for not much longer there are the Delta DC-9-50’s. As the home town of Delta, this major hub is obviously the best place to catch most of these before they are all gone, especially with the good ‘photo hotels’ here, enabling great shots. The same goes for Air Tran, with their B717’s & B737’s which will soon be gone (who are also very busy here), as well as the other regular stuff to be seen, including hordes of Delta. If your gonna shoot the common stuff, this is a place to do it!

Including ‘26R, which is a regular landing runway, there are 5 active runways here, in fairly constant use. These are all parallel, so its quite a sight to see the three rows of aircraft on approach simultaneously. Why does it need so many runways? Simple, ATL is the busiest airport in the world, and has been since 2000 (with over 92 million passengers last year)! So, as well as the three landing runways, there are the two departure runways, with ‘26L also being close to the two photo-hotels, although only the Renaissance is also good for ‘26L take off shots. Of course, with three landing runways, this means the majority of landing aircraft can not be photographed. Not much you can do about that!

So, including the Delta Nine’s photographed today: N401EA, N764NC, N767NC & N786NC, a couple of other highlights on ‘26R were Swift Air B737-400 N737DX (which commonly operates sports charters) and Delta Connection CRJ-700 N740EV, which has ‘Silver & Soaring, Celebrating ASA’s 25 Years’ logo’s. This was painted as such when delivered new in July 2004, as the company celebrated its 25^th anniversary. Since then, ASA (Atlantic Southeast Airlines) has been rebranded as ExpressJet Airlines, on 1^st Jan this year (so the ‘ASA’ has gone off the nose). Also, not a ‘retro-jet’ as such, the aircraft still retains the previous Delta ‘Wavy Gravy’ scheme (or ‘Deltaflot’!).

DAY 5  TUESDAY 1^st MAY

Taking advantage of the good photospot, I continued shooting from the hotel for the first few hours today, before checking out. More Delta Nine’s photographed on ‘26R were: N600TR, N766NC & N767NC, while other highlights included FedEx Express B757-200F N995FD (ex F-GTIB), World Atlantic MD-82 N803WA, Air Tran B717 N936AT (‘Indianapolis Colts’ logo-jet), Southwest B737-700 N713SW (‘Shamu’ logo-jet) and the other Delta Connection ‘Silver & Soaring’ CRJ-700 N738EV (in the same scheme as N740EV).

Today's plan then… after Atlanta ATL, was to Atlanta-Fulton, before on to Marietta-Dobbins AFB (where the next two nights digs were). Fulton is ten miles to the North West of ATL, and a reasonably busy GA airfield, with a few biz-jet movements, so worth calling in for a short time. Just to the left of the small terminal here is a nice grassy viewing area with a few picnic tables, looking down over the fence onto the ramp where most visiting biz-jets seem to park. Better for shots in the morning, following the perimeter fence around to the left will also provide good views over most of the ramps there. Nothing amazing seen, with seven US biz-jets photographed, including based Hawker 800XP N107CE & Gulf 5 N108CE.

Onto Marietta-Dobbins AFB, ten miles further North, this is of course the home of Lockheed-Martin’s production facility for the C-130J and F-22A Raptor. As well as this, the airfield is also home to the AFRC 94^th AW flying C-130H’s,  a US Army UC-35B unit and a GA ARNG unit with Blackhawks & Lakotas. First stop though was the Aviation Museum on the North East perimeter of the airfield. Not surprisingly this mostly features Lockheed built aircraft, with highlight for me being classic Jetstar 8 N428DA. Other highlight is C-141B 66-0186, which is painted in a white & grey ‘VIP’ scheme after being assigned to the CINCMAC (Commander In Chief, Military Airlift Command). Prior to this, the aircraft was designated YC-141B, when used as the prototype for the 23.5ft stretch modification on the Starlifter, first flying as such in March’77. Now looking weathered, the aircraft needs some work, with engines and leading edges missing. Also present are four ex US Navy aircraft, with A-6 155648/AF and A-7E 157452/AF-500, both ex VA-205 ‘Green Falcons’ (from NAS Atlanta here), S-3B 159743 ex VX-20 ‘Force’ (test aircraft from Patuxent River) and F-14A 160909/AF-101 ex VF-201 ‘Hunters’ (from Fort Worth).

Driving around the Marietta perimeter, there are a few locations where the C-130 test flight ramp and US Army Guard ramp are visible, but shots are very difficult. Landing shots are also difficult, from either end of the runway, with no ideal location to shoot from. Probably the best spot is from a car park in the industrial estate, to the South of the final approach on runway 29 (in the afternoon), although the airfield can’t be seen because of trees. In any case, this place is very hit and miss, and can be dead at times, as after talking with one local photographer present, he didn’t expect much flying today (with no C-130’s taken off on test flights, so non returning). So, after shooting US Army UC-35B 99-0103 in the circuit, I got bored and decided to head off, to another airfield I wanted to fit in over the two days while in this area…

Cartersville Airport is 25 miles to the North West of Marietta, and is the home base of Phoenix Air. With a fleet of Learjets and Gulfstreams, the company’s main business is the ‘Phoenix Force’, providing similar services to the US Military (and other nations) as Cobham do for the UK Military. The aircraft can be fitted with various pods and equipment on underwing hard points for real-time threat training, providing realistic electronic attack, radar jamming and target towing services etc.

Learjets present, lined up on the ramp today were: N32PA, N54PA, N71PG, N80PG, N527PA/VA, N544PA, N545PA/GA & N547PA/GA. Of these, the three ‘coded’ aircraft were painted in the matte grey military-style colours with Phoenix Air titles, with the two ‘GA’ aircraft also having tiger-style stripes. A ninth Learjet present was N56PA, which was in a hangar, with an underwing pod fitted (looked like an ALQ-167 ECM pod). It seems the aircraft are not fitted with any external stores until a particular mission is known, with all the Learjets outside being ‘clean’.

The company also operates the Gulfstream 1 on similar duties, and is now the world’s largest operator of this classic aircraft. Among the missions flown by these, they include launching the Northrop BQM-74 Chukar Aerial Target Drone for the US Navy, from an under-belly hard point. Unfortunately, the guys here were not too keen on the Gulf 1’s being photographed from airside, so lets just say I was ‘discreet’. As well as a couple in a hangar being worked on, two outside appeared operational: N190PA (c/n 195) and N193PA (125). The latter still retains basic NASA colours, after operating for them as N5NA from 1976-1997.

Two others outside were certainly WFU, with engines and other parts missing: N167PA (117) reg canx March’05 after being WFU, and N820CB (093) in ‘Aero Marti’ colours with a SatCom-looking antenna on the roof. This aircraft has a very interesting story behind it!

Following Radio Marti and TV Marti, the US OCB (Office of Cuba Broadcasting) set up ‘Aero Marti’ and started flights out of Key West on 24^th October 2006 using this Gulf 1, operated by Phoenix Air. This replaced the USAF EC-130 ‘Commando Solo’ flights, being able to broadcast live ‘accurate and objective’ news and programming to the Cuban people, avoiding the electronic interference and information blockade from the ‘dictatorship’. Previously, TV Marti was only able to broadcast recorded TV. Flying six days a week, prime time between 6pm and 11pm, even the aircrafts registration was personalized, with ‘82’ being the year that Reagan approved the creation of Radio Marti, and ‘0CB’ for the US OCB.

Cartersville is certainly an interesting little airfield, and quite unusual that there are no fences between the main road that goes right past it (the Dallas Hwy SW) and the main ramp! Of course, Phoenix Air monitor cameras (as a security guard does overnight), so its still best to ask before just walking out, as you will be seen! As well as the Phoenix aircraft, occasional biz-jets and GA call in, with new Cessna 510 Mustang N378CM ‘High Sierra Edition’ demonstrator arriving during my visit. Also, one ‘interesting’ tin present here is 1947 Seabee N6314K, kind of derelict without wings (reg cancelled in 1996). From here it was straight back to the hotel at Marietta.  Part 3 to follow...

Back to  Home Page  Trip Menu