B24 at China Lake...

[Taigh Ramey]

Send the suburbans. My address can be found on my web site which is listed below.

[muddyboots]

Maybe...maybe not. I don't know who wrote that on the website and I don't really care. The point being made IMHO is that there are NO B-29's available to anybody....period, end of discussion. So do NOT call asking to see them, touch them, gets parts from etc. those lucky enough to have visited Echo Bird, Airport Lake and other areas are d@mn lucky to have done so (and even luckier to have pictures....got a photo pass? were those pics cleared through the PAO? if not the black suburbans will be there shortly )

If you want to visit the base and see what IS on display (and take all the pics you want around the museum area...) call the museum 760-939-3530. CALL BEFORE ARRIVING so you know what's required to get past the main gate (the security level tends to fluctuate depending on planetary alighnment and what DHS see's on their ouiji board that morning) they have an excellent display on the history of RDT&E at China Lake including a whole section on the Sidewinder. See the aircraft on display outside. Make a donation to help put MORE aircraft on display (a big enough donation will probably get a B-29 on display!)

Dude, where do we grab a decent bite to eat in Ridgecrest? Theres a little joint called the golden Ox where I found decent soft tacos, but we never have time for a good food search. The farmers market by the movie theatre on Fridays rocks, btw! Expect more questions once I get oriented and can place where all these goodies I see are

[APG85]

I think I'm going to puke looking at those pictures...

[Taigh Ramey]

I am thankful that they are still around. There is enough to make a big piece of a B-29 which is better than nothing. Even the burned out hulk will yield engines and QEC's.

The white painted one, even though it has been subjected to a "severe overpressure" will have good bulkheads and parts to help resurect one more airframe. As long as they aren't scrapped they will be useful to someone or some organization.

I am sad to report that Tom Dawson of the Museum of Flight in Seattle has died. Tom was the lead on resurecting the B-29 at their museum. Tom was a great guy and it was a pleasure to work with him over the years. I have run across many people who have been less than reputable in this business and Tom was on the other end of that spectrum. He was a man of his word. I will miss you Tom and thank you for what you have done on the museum's B-29.

Sincerely,
Taigh

[Mark Nankivil]

I know, no piston aircraft engines to be found anywhere but interesting nonetheless:

35°43'48.18"N 117°34'13.03"W

I see at least 4 RA-5C Vigilantes, lots of F-14s and plenty of F-4 fuselage carcasses, an OV-10 and a C-130 with some sort of canopy or roof over the right side of the aircraft.....

Anyone have the coordinates for the B-29s?

Enjoy the Day! Mark

[Curtis Block]

I posted coordinates on page 2 for a B-29.

Who knows the aproxamate location of Echo range?

I also have tried to locate the Hellcat, but no luck yet.

Last edited by Curtis Block on Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Curtis Block]

Sorry,
I just looked at those coordinates I posted.
I guess I need more practice with google Earth. I'll get them up after work.

[RMAllnutt]

muddyboots... this is a very interesting thread, thanks for starting it. I am very curious by what your "dig" is. Is it something you can talk about?

Cheers,
Richard

[bluethunder28]

I'm glad that they did get some of those birds out or we wouldn't have the ones we have today. The ones that remain at China Lake can now rest as they served their duty.

From the looks of the planes, maybe C.L. will be able to put a tail on their's someday.

Now the one I hear about in the Dugway range will make you glow in the dark if you get too near it. It's suppose to be in good condidtion

[n5151ts]

they were used to test chemical agents to the best of my knowledge, not nukes.

[muddyboots]

My dig isn't as exciting as all the wrabirds left out tehre, at least to you guys. We're excavating some prehistoric camp sites. So far we have found a lot of detritus, and a number or chopping tools, and I found a rock quarry. Back then the area had more water (it was a lake, after all) and people traveled around the lake, camping and using resources and then moving on. Oh, we have found a bunch of petroglyphs as well. China lake is a smorgasboard for folks like me

What else would a grunt do but become an archeologist? Dah da dum dum da da dah dahdah *cracks whips*

[Forgotten Field]

Muddy Boots,
Now that I know you know what Woodland, Archaeic, Paleo, Clovis, Adena, stratification, fluting, etc. mean, your candle has gotten brighter in my book. I have scraped a few centimeters with trowels... Have three sites on the registry with State of PA and DE. Tell, tell, PM or not, what you are excavating and what you are finding in further terms....

Forgotten Field,
wannabee archaeologist/anthropologist...

[Curtis Block]

Ok,
Here are the actual coordinates for B-29 S/N 44-69957 at Airport Lake.

35°54'08.74"N 117°43'26.17"W

The other interesting aircraft are around...

35°54'17.89"N 117°44'02.18"W

...still at Airport Lake.

What are they?

Sorry about my bad info, I'm going to edit it now.

[m50a1ontos]

Well 35°54'17.89"N 117°44'02.18"W could be just Sea Vans....tons of 'em get blown up now as they're cheaper and easier to move than an airplane. 20 footers come in by the truck load and a few placed "just so" can look like wings and a fuselage...and most are oxide red these days. The 40 footer I bought for storage is the same color.

[muddyboots]

Muddy Boots,
Now that I know you know what Woodland, Archaeic, Paleo, Clovis, Adena, stratification, fluting, etc. mean, your candle has gotten brighter in my book. I have scraped a few centimeters with trowels... Have three sites on the registry with State of PA and DE. Tell, tell, PM or not, what you are excavating and what you are finding in further terms....

Forgotten Field,
wannabee archaeologist/anthropologist...

He FF-I WILL do just that. I'm sort of busy at the moment, but I promise to both back date you, and give you timely pm's when I come back. If I forget, well, I'll ALSO be looking for more warbirds, so you'll see my China Lake posts again