AMARC question, who re-sells parts?

Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:22 pm

I haven’t been down to the bone yard in a very long time but I’ve always wondered who the local contractors are who buy the scrap for the airplanes they cut up there. I’d love to be able to pick through the scrap if fuselage sections and wings to get panels with markings on them. As I can’t be the only person ever to think this, does anyone know which companies would be most likely to handle that and if they allow people to pick through parts for purchase?

Sat Oct 03, 2009 8:01 am

Sorry I posted anything. :roll:

Try the yellow pages.

Last edited by Mike Bates on Sat Oct 03, 2009 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sat Oct 03, 2009 10:33 pm

I had a feeling I'd get that kind of response (the one above had some good photos and a story about the poster finding some cool stuff but had no location or name). Any name associated with the place you're talking about so I can get an answer to my question???

Last edited by p51 on Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sun Oct 04, 2009 2:20 am

When I visited the Pima Aerospace Museum a few years back, they had some salvaged bits for sale in the gift shop..mostly control panel chunks and switch boxes and such. From what I saw from the road of the salvage operatoins (they were chopping up C-141s) once the planes are stripped of usable components and turned over to civilian salvage outfits, they're quickly hacked up and recycled. While it'd be cool to have a peice of skin with an insignia or unit markings, unfortunately I doubt the salvage outfits would consider it worth the extra time and effort to save such bits.

Also, the Starlifter hulks I saw being chopped up had the insignia and unit markings painted out, and it looked like someone had taken an ax ahd hacked up the "US AIR FORCE" on the fuselage (not cut it the area out, just chopped a bunch of gashes through it.) I assumed the military had a rule that aircraft couldn't be released for salvage if they still displayed any official markings.

SN

Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:16 am

p51 wrote:I had a feeling I'd get that kind of response. Any name associated with the place you're talking about so I can get an answer to my question???

I guess it might be best to contact AMARG at Davis Monthan AFB?
http://www.dm.af.mil/units/amarc.asp

I know that some companies next to the base at Wilmot rd and South Houghton rd have aircraft parts in storage but I have no idea about their company names. Especially the bussines' at Wilmot rd are in a kind of rough neighbourhood.

Sun Oct 04, 2009 5:23 pm

I may be totally wrong..... But in the invitations to bid that I have read, if you buy a plane for SCRAP, then you have to scrap it and not sell off bits and pieces...... They want those parts all destroyed before they leave AMARC.........

HOWEVER, there are yards all around that have planes and parts from the olden days and you may well be able to find something interesting there....

Mark H

Sun Oct 04, 2009 5:40 pm

In th current issue of Warbird Digest there is an interesting article about the goings on at AMARC.

Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:08 pm

P51Mstg wrote:HOWEVER, there are yards all around that have planes and parts from the olden days and you may well be able to find something interesting there....

Right, that was exactly what I was asking about. Does anyone know of one of these scrap places to call???

Mon Oct 12, 2009 12:43 pm

A/C sold are supposed to have any US markings painted out before they leave the AMARG grounds. This is whether they are to be scrapped, or intact (such as de-mil transports). They may still have unit marks, but no USAF, no stars and bars, or anything like that.

I am not an expert by any means, but it seems like rules for sales have changed over the years. I think they've cracked down quite a bit since higher tech aircraft have started getting chopped up. Rules are in place to prevent incidents like Iranians picking up spare Tomcat parts.

I'm not sure what is going on out there now, but it also seems like they've clamped down on access as well. It used to be that many folks could get access to the arrivals ramp to photograph a/c coming in, but no longer. I know a couple of guys who shot there almost every weekend who can't get any access at all now. I don't know if they got a new boss, or if they're trying to keep the public from knowing exactly how fast they are chopping up our airplanes. Would love to know the straight story.

Mon Oct 12, 2009 1:04 pm

Back in the mid 80s, I was at D-M for business. Awiting my flight home I stopped by a couple of the nearby scrapyards and asked if I could buy anything. I figureed t he worse they could do is say no, or sick the dogs on me.
"Sure" thay said.

They had a very complete forward fuselage of an F-105...the guy said he wanted to keep it for fun. Wonder where it is now.

Here's what I got: a H-34 tail rotor blade (which I took home as carry-on luggage. When I showed up at the ticket counter the TWA agent, an older guy, said...All of our planes are jets now, you don't have to bring your own propeller".)

A T-29/C-131 control wheel for $20;
and various intruments (fuel quantity gauge, rate of climb, ground speed in knots) for about $5 apiece.)

Moral of the story, if you're in the neighborhood, ask.

Sun Oct 18, 2009 6:47 pm

One of the neat things that I saw in the Pima gift shop was B-52 control wheel centers, a bit pricey for me, but if you want one, you can get one.

The scrap yard on Kolb Rd, near Escalante, has numerous F9F nose sections along the fence line. Now's your chance.

Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:03 pm

JBoyle wrote:Here's what I got: a H-34 tail rotor blade (which I took home as carry-on luggage. When I showed up at the ticket counter the TWA agent, an older guy, said...All of our planes are jets now, you don't have to bring your own propeller".)

There's an agent on the ball.. Nice one.

Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:16 pm

p51 wrote:
P51Mstg wrote:HOWEVER, there are yards all around that have planes and parts from the olden days and you may well be able to find something interesting there....
Right, that was exactly what I was asking about. Does anyone know of one of these scrap places to call???

In Tucson try National Surplus or Don's(irrc) all in the scrap area of town. i wouldn't call at all i would just show up.

Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:05 pm

t he worse they could do is say no, or sick the dogs on me.

I went to the boneyard in 2007 and drove by the scrap yards out on the dirt road behind the base.

I went into one yard (it has some Neptunes and some old Pontiacs out the front) and the guy's mongrel dog (fairly big) came out and bit me on the leg while he watched, luckily I was wearing RM Williams stockman's pants(used in the australian outback for herding cattle) which are really thick and the dog probably hurt his teeth as he took one bite and as I didn't react went back and sat under the porch ,I had a couple of small bruises.

Well the junkyard guy didn't say anything about the dog and he said nothing was for sale and go away. I didn't make a fuss about the dog either, I just figured with an -$$hole like that what's the point. After hospitality like that I went to the Pima museum instead and had an interesting time.

Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:50 pm

skymstr02 wrote:One of the neat things that I saw in the Pima gift shop was B-52 control wheel centers, a bit pricey for me, but if you want one, you can get one.

The scrap yard on Kolb Rd, near Escalante, has numerous F9F nose sections along the fence line. Now's your chance.

THANKS, that gives me a place to start looking!