Having no airshows to attend I had to hastily rearrange my itinery, cancel hotels and re-book rooms for the weekend.
I left Gila Bend and headed north, I’d found a small museum , the Lauridsen Aviation Museum, on the edge of Buckeye at the local field. Unfortunately there were no staff/volunteers around so I had a short look around the aircraft on show. Amongst them the C-119 Boxcar that had been used on the remake of Flight of the Phoenix.
The collection comprised of the aforementioned Boxcar, DC3, PBY-5, B-25 and Albatross. There may have been more inside the museum building, but that was closed with no sign of any life.
I then moved on to the east of Phoenix, to the Commemorative Air Force, Arizona Airbase at Falcon Field, Mesa. Thankfully, it was open and welcoming.
A great collection of aircraft, including B-17G “Sentimental Journey”, vietnam era aircraft and the obligatory WW2 collection.
Moving on, only after partaking in the obligatory super shake from Dairy Queen, I made my way down to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway in the hope of something “interesting” on the ramp. Well, there wasn’t, so I have to make do with a T-38 on a stick instead!
The rest of the day was spent finding the hotel, that’s another story though. Below are the general photos around Phoenix from Mesa and the Lauridsen Museum.
Day two and a movie star to follow!
