Should have mentioned the tourist bonanza at the Shell station at Picacho Peak, the railroad lines with trains loaded with containers, and the airplane storage and breakdown facility, Evergreen Air Center, could be a whole story in itself; I worked there a few years doing security; they always had one of the 2 747's that are fitted to carry the space shuttles, in for maintenance. They worked on refitting 747's which could be converted in about 1 1/2 days to firefighting units, able to drop large amounts of suppressant where needed. Also the Navy Seals have training there, and it was amazing sometimes to see a sudden opening of parachutes as they practiced HALO ..High Altitude Low Opening --maneuvers
Unfortunately, I believe at least 3 Seals have died during training from parachute problems, RIP.
Sometimes we would close off the road from the highway to the Evergreen Air Center,for a while at night, so they could land and launch a small troop carrying plane for practice. I believe many of those little dots of light you usually see flying around Tucson at night in groups of maybe 4, are Navy Seals in paragliders which I think convert to ground transportation, preparatory to action in Afghanistan and other rural settings..
The Evergreen ties to the military and especially CIA airlines could probably foster a book in itself. Their home base in Everett, Washington, has the famous Spruce Goose giant airplane built by Howard Hughes. Some visitors from Washington had a story about meeting the original owner, don't know his name, as he was sweeping the concrete at Everett...
There was something sad in seeing many formerly queens of the sky being torn apart for salvage and scrap; used to like to wander inside some of the stored planes where access was available,secretly, at night....
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Unfortunately, I believe at least 3 Seals have died during training from parachute problems, RIP.
Sometimes we would close off the road from the highway to the Evergreen Air Center,for a while at night, so they could land and launch a small troop carrying plane for practice. I believe many of those little dots of light you usually see flying around Tucson at night in groups of maybe 4, are Navy Seals in paragliders which I think convert to ground transportation, preparatory to action in Afghanistan and other rural settings..
The Evergreen ties to the military and especially CIA airlines could probably foster a book in itself. Their home base in Everett, Washington, has the famous Spruce Goose giant airplane built by Howard Hughes. Some visitors from Washington had a story about meeting the original owner, don't know his name, as he was sweeping the concrete at Everett...
There was something sad in seeing many formerly queens of the sky being torn apart for salvage and scrap; used to like to wander inside some of the stored planes where access was available,secretly, at night....