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Barbara Read and Fred Schaad | all galleries >> US Landscapes >> US Southwest >> Arizona >> Pima & AMARG > AMARG - Stored and Ready
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April 2012 Fred Schaad

AMARG - Stored and Ready

Tucson, Arizona

There are four categories of storage for planes at AMARG:

Long Term – Aircraft are kept intact for future use
Parts Reclamation – Aircraft are kept, picked apart and used for spare parts
Flying Hold – Aircraft are kept intact for shorter stays than Long Term
Excess of DoD needs – Aircraft are sold off whole or in parts

AMARG employs 550 people, almost all civilians. The 2,600 acres (11 km2) facility is adjacent to the base.
For every $1 the federal government spends operating the facility, it saves or produces $11 from harvesting spare parts and selling off inventory.
Congressional oversight determines what equipment may be sold to which customer.

An aircraft going into storage undergoes the following treatments:

All guns, ejection seat charges, and classified hardware are removed.
The fuel system is protected by draining it, refilling it with lightweight oil, and then draining it again. This leaves a protective oil film.
The aircraft is sealed from dust, sunlight, and high temperatures. This is done using a variety of materials,
ranging from a high tech vinyl plastic compound, called spraylat after its producer the Spraylat Corporation,
of an opaque white color sprayed on the aircraft, to simple garbage bags.
The plane is then towed by a tug to its designated "storage" position. (Wikipedia)

Canon EOS 1D Mark IV ,Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM ,Digital
1/1000s, f/5.6, 45mm, ISO 320 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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comment
Dan Greenberg12-Dec-2013 06:32
Great shot and interesting narrative. I still want to get in there to shoot some how, some day. ~V~
Don Mottershead09-Dec-2013 00:54
You were shopping, I presume. ;)
Very interesting image. ~V~
Yi Feng09-Dec-2013 00:37
Beautiful shot of these huge plane.
Peter Sussex08-Dec-2013 20:26
Splendid row of aircrafts and thanks for the added info, really broadened my mind. V
Tom Munson08-Dec-2013 16:28
Great shot, Fred! That is an impressive place the way they have them lined up.
Milan Vogrin08-Dec-2013 10:46
Very nice photo!
Raymond Ma08-Dec-2013 03:09
Great line up of these very capable looking birds. V
Sam Rua08-Dec-2013 01:02
Cool capture, Fred. Pano works very well.