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The Great Camel Experiment: Part I – Quartzsite, AZ

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Warbirds at Lackland Air Force Base

The park’s concrete walkway circled around the ceremonial parade field. On the outer parameter of the parade field is an amazing collection of ‘War Birds’ of past wars and conflicts. Nicely manicured landscaping allows visitors an up-close-and-personal look at these incredible aircraft that credits our Air Force’s fighting success. You can touch the planes and feel their once, vibrant spirit.
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Chief Master SGT William Petrie |
Assembled between various War Birds were ‘…an enlisted story’ plaquards of notable Enlisted Airmen of the Air Force. Since Lackland AFB is home to the Air Force’s Basic Military Training facility, it’s fitting to have these as inspiration and historical notables of the service’s enlisted heroes to teach our newest generations. We were privileged to attend an Air Force BMT Graduation and wrote a previous blog about our experience; Off We Go into the Wild Blue Wonder. This is just one of the many ‘an enlisted story’ plaques.
One of my favorites was the SR-71 Blackbird! Like all of the aircraft exhibits, it was cool that we could actually touch and look completely around the Blackbird’s fuselage. This is one of those, ‘you gotta see it to believe it’. The SR-71 first flew in December 1964; we were only about two years old back then. It was retired by NASA in 1999. For over 30 years, this spy plane flew over Mach 3 speeds and was the fastest plane which could outfly any missle. This bird ranged 3682 miles without fueling. To put that into perspective, its 2572 miles from New York City to San Francisco.
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The Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” |
Manufacturer: | Lockheed Aircraft Corporation |
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Length: | 107′ 5″ |
Length of Nose Probe: | 4′ 11″ |
Wing Span: | 55′ 7″ |
Wing Area: | 1,795 ft. sq. |
Wing Aspect Ratio: | 1.939 |
Wing Root Chord: | 60.533 |
Wing Dihedral Angle: | 0 degrees |
Wing Chord: | 0.00 |
Wing Sweep: | 52.629 degrees |
Inboard Elevon Area: | 39.00 ft. sq. |
Outboard Elevon Area: | 52.50 ft. sq. |
Total Vertical Rudder Area: | 150.76 ft. sq. |
Moveable Rudder Area: | 70.24 ft. sq. |
Rudder Root Chord: | 14.803 ft. |
Rudder Tip Chord: | 7.833 ft. |
Height: | 18′ 6″ |
Empty Weight: | 59,000 lbs. |
Maximum Weight: | 170,000 lbs. |
Fuselage Diameter: | 5.33 ft. |
Service Ceiling: | 85,000’+ |
Maximum Speed: | Mach 3.3+ (Limit CIT of 427 degrees C) |
Cruising Speed: | Mach 3.2 |
Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whittney J-58 (JT11D-20A) with 34,000 lbs. of thrust. |
Range: | 3,200 nautical miles (without refueling) |
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Dan reading an ‘…an enlisted story’ pertaining to this Warbird |

At the opposite end of the parade field and on the War Bird Park is a newer memorial (2009) dedicated to our Nation’s Military Working K-9’s. While we have visited many military memorials nationwide, including several in Washington D.C., this one truly moved us emotionally. Perhaps it’s our love for animals but mostly it’s because of our appreciation of these ‘war dogs’ that were stationed with our son’s Cavalry units in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since we connected on a personal level, seeing this memorial put lumps in our throat, tears in our eyes and exceptional love in our hearts for our military working dogs.
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The Military Dog Handler’s helmet was filled with coin donations from visitors |
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The back of the memorial wall is a beautifully etched mural of military working dogs from all five branches of the military |
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These are just a few of the many photos I took when there were very few visitors. The collection is much more extensive with other War Birds that you’ll just have to come see for yourself. If you’re a military historian or military history enthusiast, we highly recommend visiting this fabulous display of military aircraft. What an amazing place to not only take in the history of our Air Force but also to enjoy a good walking workout.
If you can, include a Friday so you can witness another 700+ men and women marching into their new rolls as United States Air Force Airmen. You can read about our experience ‘Off We Went into the Wild Blue Wonder’.
9/11 Pentagon Memorial

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