martin_sam_2000 Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 time for some advice.... I am going to phoenix at the end of May for a few days (arriving noon on a sat and leaving first thing wed morning) and I am looking for things to do. So far my list includes: Sat: spotting at Sky harbour Sun: Commemorative AF hangar, spotting at falcon field, spotting sky habour Mon: Drive to Tucson and do Pima, boneyard tour, swing by Pinal on the way home Tues: Goodyear airport and spotting at Luke AFB Is the anything else around that I can do? For the aviation spotters around here, I am planning on spending my time at sky harbour on the south side at the dead end of S 40th street, with the top level of the parking garage as my back-up. Is there another golden spot around that I am missing? And for Luke, I am leaning towards N Alsup rd. Again, anywhere else worth sitting? I am planning on only taking carry-on so I wont be doing any model buying, but I am interested in museums, spotting and overall interesting aircraft sites. Any info or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 MCAS Yuma. Harriers and F-35s, lots of transient traffic too. Also Google Yuma Proving Grounds. They have cool stuff there, but I don't know how much of it is open to the public... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 24 minutes ago, TaiidanTomcat said: MCAS Yuma. Harriers and F-35s, lots of transient traffic too. Also Google Yuma Proving Grounds. They have cool stuff there, but I don't know how much of it is open to the public... True, and a good place! Although granted it is about, what, 3-4 hours west, one way.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 All I can say is pack some lip balm. In my one visit to Scottsdale, I had chapped lips after six hours. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 1 minute ago, Slartibartfast said: All I can say is pack some lip balm. In my one visit to Scottsdale, I had chapped lips after six hours. That's true. I've been an hour away in Tucson for 20 years now and always carry chapstick with me. Drink LOTS of water. At least it'll be May, and nothing NEAR as bad as June/July/August. We hit 116 a few times last summer. No WAY I'm retiring here. *grumbles* Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy said: That's true. I've been an hour away in Tucson for 20 years now and always carry chapstick with me. Drink LOTS of water. At least it'll be May, and nothing NEAR as bad as June/July/August. We hit 116 a few times last summer. No WAY I'm retiring here. *grumbles* Part of the reason I booked in may, But then to be honest, it was -20C (-4F) before the wind here the other day, I could use a few days in an oven! 34 minutes ago, Slartibartfast said: All I can say is pack some lip balm. In my one visit to Scottsdale, I had chapped lips after six hours. I will keep that in mind. I will most likely buy a cooler, water and now lip balm once I am there and then just leave all the extras there. 2 hours ago, TaiidanTomcat said: MCAS Yuma. Harriers and F-35s, lots of transient traffic too. Also Google Yuma Proving Grounds. They have cool stuff there, but I don't know how much of it is open to the public... Yuma is a little far away for such a short trip. I planned this all around Pima and have added extras to fill time Edited January 16, 2017 by martin_sam_2000 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Koen L Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Phoenix Mesa-Gateway Airport is worth a look if you're in the area. They tend to get quite a few interesting military visitors. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 About 30 minutes south of Pima is the Titan Missile museum. This is a fully restored underground silo with a deactivated missile. I spent an hour or so there and thought it was worth the short trip south of Tucson. Have fun modeling Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 1 minute ago, Mike J. Idacavage said: About 30 minutes south of Pima is the Titan Missile museum. This is a fully restored underground silo with a deactivated missile. I spent an hour or so there and thought it was worth the short trip south of Tucson. Have fun modeling Mike I was thinking of that but I think it depends on how much time I spend at Pima. I have a feeling it will be a full day there. I was hoping to do the full 5 hour tour, but it won't be done on the days I am there. Does look cool tho. Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ST0RM Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Phoenix/Gateway is doing ramp construction atm, so you wont get taxiing shots. I was at Luke in early December. Great lighting. Here's a guide to some great areas. http://aviationphotodigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/LUKE-AFB-OG-ver-1.2.pdf Cheers, Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bashace Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 You can take my Harley for a spin...lol! Hasn't been run in almost 4 months, it's in Mesa. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nickdanger Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 If you drive down and back the same day you're looking at about 4 hours on the road. As a former Tucsonan I'd recommend staying down there for the night. If you want to do things other than Pima, Saguaro National Park and the Sonoran Desert Museum are both awesome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 45 minutes ago, nickdanger said: If you drive down and back the same day you're looking at about 4 hours on the road. As a former Tucsonan I'd recommend staying down there for the night. If you want to do things other than Pima, Saguaro National Park and the Sonoran Desert Museum are both awesome. It is a bit of a drive but I don't mind. Ive done Detroit-USAF museum-Detroit in the same day. I kind of wish i had made this trip a bit longer so I could have taken in some of these other sites, but I am doing this without my wife and 1 year old daughter So I want to keep it a little shorter. Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) Agree with Nick Danger. The Tucson area is beautiful and worth exploring*. If you decided to stay only in Phoenix, a trip to Tonto National Forest is well worth it. Beautiful mountainous region just a bit east of town. Lots of great hiking. (Former Tucsonian, wishing I never left) Edited January 31, 2017 by RKic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 RKic, we can trade, my friend! I've been in Tucson 21 years now and it's just too danged hot; I can't retire here, I've known for some time. Hit 116F a few times last summer and we had some foreign tourists who died when they tried to hike in it unprepared. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mika14 Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Hi everyone! Sorry for bringing up this post. Will be visiting Phoenix, Arizona soon, understand there are a lot of model hobby shops in Phoenix especially Hobby Lobby, Hobby Bench, Andy's Hobby Hq, Hobby Depot & Hobby Destination. Any other good hobby shops in Phoenix to recommend? Prefer non-Gundams and non-R/C... Thanks for reading... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wxltcol Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 8 hours ago, mika14 said: Hi everyone! Sorry for bringing up this post. Will be visiting Phoenix, Arizona soon, understand there are a lot of model hobby shops in Phoenix especially Hobby Lobby, Hobby Bench, Andy's Hobby Hq, Hobby Depot & Hobby Destination. Any other good hobby shops in Phoenix to recommend? Prefer non-Gundams and non-R/C... Thanks for reading... Andy's Hobby Headquarters is a good hobby store. The Hobby Bench on N 19th Ave is pretty good and there's a used book store across the parking lot. Hobby Depot is OK, too. I don't know that I've been to Hobby Destination. Will have to go next year while I'm down there for spring training baseball. enjoy! Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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